Senior Associate, Planning & Allocation

Wayfair LLC•Boston, MA

38d•Onsite

About The Position

At Wayfair Planning and Allocation, we believe there is a white space in the brick-and-mortar market and an opportunity to create a differentiated retail experience that showcases the breadth and depth of our catalog. The Planning and Allocation team partners across the organization to maximize the customer experience when shopping in person at our expanding fleet of Physical Retail Stores. We work closely with Merchandising, Operations, and Inventory Management teams to drive availability and enticing assortment selections in stores, ensuring customers are able to shop and purchase the curated assortment they want to see. Wayfair's Physical Retail team is seeking a highly motivated Senior Associate of Planning & Allocation who is comfortable operating in a fast paced and ambiguous environment for the Physical Retail P&A team to support the allocation of inventory to our stores. This role will partner with a variety of internal teams (Merchandising, Visual Merchandising, Marketing, Inventory Management) to support our Specialty Retail brands and execute the allocation strategy as we continue to scale stores across North America.

Requirements

3-5 years in an allocation, replenishment, or planning role within retail or a related analytical/operational function.
Proven ability to independently own and drive allocation or inventory strategies with measurable business impact.
Strong analytical toolkit with experience leveraging Excel/Google Sheets (pivots, formulas), GBQ and internal reporting systems to make data-driven decisions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize data into clear narratives and influence cross-functional partners.
Demonstrated ability to prioritize workload autonomously, balancing execution speed with strategic depth.
Bachelor's degree preferred in Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, Economics, or related fields.

Nice To Haves

Retail experience strongly preferred; experience in Home or adjacent categories (general merchandise, consumer goods) is a plus.

Responsibilities

Develop, execute, and refine allocation strategies to meet availability and turn goals while balancing sustainability and customer needs.
Leverage data to identify assortment gaps, forecast demand, and independently action next steps (e.g., curating product tests based on market and competitor insights).
Pivot allocation and inventory strategies when business priorities shift, ensuring alignment with higher-level goals and continuity of execution.
Build trusting relationships with internal stakeholders (Supplier Inventory Management, Merchandising, Store Ops) by aligning on goals, sharing insights, and following through on commitments.
Provide clear, concise, and audience-specific updates that highlight the "so what" behind business performance and recommendations.
Identify opportunities to streamline and scale allocation processes, proactively building tools, dashboards, or workflows that improve efficiency across the team
Take an 80/20 approach to prioritization, biasing toward action while maintaining focus on business outcomes.
Conduct in-depth analyses using internal dashboards, competitive benchmarks, and market trends to inform allocation strategies.
Track and report on KPIs, identifying performance gaps and leading action plans to address them.
Use second-order questioning and advanced problem-solving to navigate complexity and uncover new business opportunities.