Director of Inventory Planning

About the Role

We seek a strategic and analytically driven Director of Inventory Planning to oversee inventory strategies at New York or Nowhere. This leadership position ensures product availability across ecommerce, retail, wholesale, and special projects by balancing inventory investments with demand.

The successful candidate will possess extensive experience in inventory planning, forecasting, and allocation, thrive in dynamic settings, and collaborate effectively with Production, Merchandising, Finance, Retail, and Operations teams. They will establish processes and reporting systems to support brand growth while maintaining optimal inventory levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead inventory planning strategies spanning all categories and channels.
• Create demand forecasts incorporating past sales data, seasonal trends, new product launches, marketing activities, and market trends.
• Define inventory targets, safety stock, and replenishment approaches.
• Monitor inventory status proactively to address risks like stockouts, excess stock, and aging items.
• Direct seasonal purchasing plans and inventory investment strategies.
• Develop and maintain forecasting models to enhance inventory accuracy.
• Analyze sales, productivity, and sell-through metrics by SKU, category, and channel.
• Design dashboards to support leadership decision-making.
• Spot trends and opportunities for increasing inventory efficiency and profitability.
• Track critical KPIs such as inventory turn, weeks of supply, fill rate, in-stock percentage, GMROI, and forecasting accuracy.
• Formulate allocation plans across ecommerce, retail, wholesale, and special projects.
• Optimize inventory distribution among locations based on demand patterns.
• Oversee replenishment for core product lines.
• Work alongside Retail Operations to align store inventory with business demands.
• Collaborate with Production and Product Development for purchase and production scheduling.
• Partner with Merchandising on assortment and product lifecycle management.
• Support Finance with budgeting, inventory valuation, and open-to-buy processes.
• Assist Operations and Logistics with inbound planning and inventory flow coordination.
• Provide inventory guidance for major launches, partnerships, and special events.
• Enhance inventory planning workflows and develop scalable best practices.
• Lead inventory reporting and maintain data accuracy across inventory systems.
• Coordinate with Operations and Technology to improve inventory visibility and reporting accuracy.
• Create standard operating procedures for inventory planning, forecasting, and replenishment.

Qualifications

• 7 to 10+ years in inventory, merchandise, demand, or supply chain planning.
• Background in apparel, retail, consumer goods, or ecommerce preferred.
• Proficient in advanced Excel and inventory planning/reporting software.
• Experience with Shopify and inventory management platforms is advantageous.
• Comprehensive knowledge of forecasting methods and inventory performance metrics.
• Excellent communicator capable of influencing cross-functional stakeholders.
• Exceptional organization and attention to detail.
• Adept at working in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments.
• Driven to build scalable systems and optimize processes continuously.