Inventory Planning Manager (IC)

CVS Health•Woonsocket, RI

8d•$66,330 - $145,860

About The Position

The End-to-End Planner is responsible for the integrated planning and execution of demand, supply, inventory, and replenishment strategies across assigned product categories. This role serves as the central point of coordination between Merchandising, Category Management, Inventory Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, Vendors, Logistics, and Analytics teams to ensure product availability, optimize inventory investment, and achieve sales, margin, service, and operational objectives. The End-to-End Planner owns the development of demand forecasts, inventory plans, replenishment strategies, and purchase plans while driving alignment across the organization through a single, consensus-based plan. This position balances customer demand, supply constraints, inventory productivity, and financial goals to ensure the right products are available at the right place, at the right time, and at the optimal cost.

Requirements

3–5 years of experience in retail merchandise planning, demand planning, supply planning, inventory planning, or supply chain management.
Strong knowledge of forecasting methodologies, inventory optimization, replenishment planning, and statistical analysis.
Demonstrated business and financial acumen with an understanding of retail supply chain operations.
Self-motivated individual with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other analytical tools.
Ability to effectively influence and collaborate across multiple functions and organizational levels.
Strong communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
Experience managing forecasts, inventory, replenishment, or category planning within a retail environment.
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Operations, Economics, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience with JDA/Blue Yonder Forecasting, Replenishment, Fulfillment, and Order Optimization solutions.
Master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration (MBA), or a related discipline.
APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP, or equivalent).
Experience supporting Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes.

Responsibilities

Develop, maintain, and continuously improve baseline, promotional, seasonal, and event-driven forecasts for assigned product categories.
Collaborate with Category Management, Merchants, Buyers, and Analysts to align forecasts with business strategies, new item introductions, promotional activities, and market trends.
Adjust forecasts based on market intelligence, consumer trends, supplier inputs, and business performance insights.
Monitor forecast accuracy, identify root causes of forecast bias and variances, and implement corrective actions to improve planning performance.
Generate forecast performance metrics and provide actionable insights to leadership and cross-functional partners.
Utilize forecasting tools and analytics to determine appropriate forecast models, assumptions, and parameters.
Develop and manage inventory, replenishment, and purchase plans that support forecasted demand while achieving inventory productivity and service level targets.
Own inventory performance for assigned products, vendors, and categories, ensuring appropriate inventory levels to support customer demand.
Establish and maintain replenishment parameters, safety stock levels, and inventory strategies using analytical recommendations and business requirements.
Monitor inventory health, receipts, replenishment execution, and supplier performance to proactively address risks and opportunities.
Manage stock-out prevention plans and excess inventory mitigation strategies.
Evaluate purchasing opportunities, including forward-buying and deal-buying decisions, balancing financial returns with inventory objectives.
Monitor promotional, seasonal, and new product receipts while partnering with suppliers and logistics providers to ensure timely product availability.
Facilitate a collaborative planning process that aligns demand forecasts, supply plans, inventory investments, and business objectives.
Partner with Finance, Logistics, Transportation, Category Management, and Vendor partners to identify opportunities that improve profitability, service levels, and inventory efficiency.
Support Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes by providing demand, inventory, and supply insights that enable informed business decisions.
Communicate supply risks, inventory issues, forecast changes, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and leadership teams.
Develop and present planning recommendations that support strategic and operational decision-making.
Achieve sales, margin, in-stock, service level, inventory turn, and inventory productivity goals.
Analyze demand, inventory, and service-level performance to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
Generate and maintain reporting that provides visibility into forecast accuracy, inventory health, replenishment performance, and key business metrics.
Leverage statistical and analytical techniques to drive continuous improvement across planning processes.
Create meaningful aggregations of demand and inventory data to support executive reporting and cross-functional communication.