Sales Planning Manager - Merrell

Wolverine Worldwide•Rockford, MI

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sales Planning Manager is responsible for developing accurate, account-level sales forecasts that support revenue growth and inventory alignment for a defined portfolio of wholesale accounts. This role blends strategic and tactical planning, leveraging historical sales data, market trends, and customer insights to inform forecasts. Partnering closely with Sales, Finance, Merchandising, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain, the Sales Planning Manager ensures that sales plans are efficiently executed, accurate, and aligned with the brand’s strategic direction and financial goals. The role also delivers timely analysis, supports account planning, and contributes to continuous improvement of planning tools and processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field
6-8+ years of experience in Sales Operations and/or Sales Planning
Intellectual curiosity and a desire to use data to identify and illustrate product sales and market trends
Strong analytics background with financial modeling skills
Proficiency in Advance MS Excel skills
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships both internally and externally.
Ability to understand LRP and Corp Finance Targets and ensure projected volume / MFP outputs are in alignment
Has a broad understanding of Merch, Planning and Supply Chain functions; processes and ERP system
Ability to negotiate and gain cooperation between functions
Ability to continuously solve problems with independent decision making.
Ability to provide managerial supervision to team members.

Responsibilities

Manage the monthly sales forecasting process for assigned wholesale accounts, including the collection, validation, and consolidation of forecasts in collaboration with Sales and Finance partners.
Support the annual account planning process by preparing templates, conducting analysis, and contributing to the development of account-level sales plans.
Produce trend analysis for key accounts, sales territories, etc., on future seasons to enable accurate financial forecasting and to support inventory planning.
Translate account-level insights, historical performance, and market trends into accurate sales forecasts that support inventory planning and financial targets.
Monitor sell-in, sell-through, bookings, backlog, and shipments to identify risks and opportunities.
Recommend in-season adjustments to forecasts and tactics to optimize performance.
Partner with cross-functional teams—including Sales, Finance, Merchandising, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain—to ensure alignment between sales forecasts, inventory strategies, and financial goals.
Own the setup, maintenance, and governance of sales forecast templates to ensure consistency, accuracy, and usability across accounts and planning cycles.
Analyze sales forecasts to Mid-Range Plan (MFP), Long-Range Plan (LRP), and Corporate Finance targets to ensure alignment on volume, margin, and style adoption goals.
Identify and communicate variances and recommend adjustments as needed.
Deliver timely and accurate reporting and analysis to support Integrated Business Planning (IBP), brand milestone meetings, and other key forums.
Assist in the continuous improvement of forecasting tools, templates, and processes to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
Provide planning support for new product launches, seasonal transitions, and key account initiatives.
Perform all duties in alignment with company AAP/EEO policies and carry out additional responsibilities as assigned.
Performs other duties as required/assigned by manager.