Merchandise Operations Analyst

Guitar Center•Westlake Village, CA

21d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Merchandising Operations Analyst supports the Merchandising Operations organization through analytical, planning, governance, and strategic execution across vendor operations, business systems and reporting, pricing and promotional operations, and inventory-related processes. The role translates complex business needs and data into scalable processes, reporting, controls, and recommendations, partnering closely with Merchandising, Planning, Finance, Accounting, Distribution, Technology, and vendors to ensure critical merchandising programs are accurate, timely, and operationally effective. The position is based at Guitar Center’s Westlake Village, California corporate offices and follows a hybrid schedule, with two to three days onsite per week. It supports vendor funding and partnerships, vendor compliance, merchandising systems and planning, store fulfillment and inventory operations, and cross-functional process improvement. The analyst provides reporting, analysis, issue resolution, and decision support to business partners and leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant work experience; the preferred fields include Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Analytics, Merchandising, or a related field.
At least 3 years of relevant experience in Merchandising, Planning, Inventory, Vendor Operations, Business Operations, Analytics, or a related field.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex formulas, pivot tables, data modeling, and large-data analysis.
Strong financial and analytical acumen, including reconciling data, evaluating variances, understanding business drivers, and communicating recommendations clearly.
Experience with Business Intelligence/reporting platforms and the ability to translate business requirements into scalable reports, dashboards, or system solutions.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to organize complex work, influence cross-functional partners, and manage multiple priorities.
Ability to perform the analytical, collaboration, initiative, communication, organizational, and technology skills described in the core competencies.

Nice To Haves

Experience with automation tools, SQL, Access, or similar tools.
Experience supporting enterprise systems, UAT, issue resolution, process improvement, or system implementation.

Responsibilities

Own analytical and operational support for vendor funding programs, including budgets, forecasts, gap analysis, and performance reporting.
Coordinate accruals, deductions, invoicing, vendor disputes, reconciliations, and month-end support with Merchandising, Finance, and Accounting.
Support Joint Business Planning through vendor plans, targets, commitments, reporting, and partnership tracking; identify risks, opportunities, and progress against commitments.
Maintain and govern vendor terms and support vendor-funding systems, vendor profitability/AGM reporting, and related data requirements.
Develop reporting and analysis on vendor contribution, profitability, funding performance, and partnership commitments.
Analyze and govern vendor compliance programs, including scorecards, shipping and routing standards, on-time and in-full performance, infraction reporting, and issue resolution.
Partner with Distribution Centers, Transportation, Merchandising, and vendors to investigate compliance exceptions, identify root causes, and improve operational adherence.
Track supplier readiness, adoption, performance, and exceptions for RFID enablement and compliance, and help drive scalable vendor onboarding and compliance practices.
Develop vendor compliance reporting, operating cadences, and escalation processes.
Own or co-own governance for core merchandising reporting, including enterprise reporting, recurring merchant reporting, operational analytics, and data validation.
Support Open-to-Buy, Merchandise Financial Planning, seasonal strategy, forecasting, and planning through reporting, analysis, timeline coordination, issue resolution, and process controls.
Translate business requirements into reporting, automation, system enhancements, and future-state workflows; partner with Data/BI and Technology teams on data migration, reporting modernization, and scalable solutions.
Analyze large datasets to identify trends, anomalies, risks, and opportunities, and provide actionable recommendations.
Provide analytical support across merchandising systems and tools, including o9, SO99+, Board, Relex, VC Pro, Cost Update Tool, Vendor Portal, Product Lifecycle tools, and related platforms.
Provide analytical ownership and process oversight for new-store, remodel, and relocation fulfillment, focusing on in-stock readiness, inventory sufficiency, issue identification, and performance tracking.
Analyze and govern store inventory requests, intercompany transfers, assortment rationalization, and other inventory movement or assortment processes; identify opportunities to improve service, productivity, and inventory effectiveness.
Support reserve review, aged and slow-moving inventory analysis, and reverse-logistics/MIT processes through reporting, risk identification, coordination, and recommendations.
Support drop-ship and assortment-related initiatives requiring analysis, governance, or cross-functional problem solving.
Lead or support cross-functional initiatives to improve Merchandising Operations processes, reporting, systems, controls, and scalability.
Establish business requirements, success measures, process ownership, and operating cadences for new or changing workflows.
Partner with Specialists to keep recurring processes, documentation, training, and execution standards aligned with business intent.
Provide ad hoc analytics and decision support to Merchandising leadership and business partners, and perform additional duties and special projects as assigned.