Sr Forecasting Analyst

Mattel•Rogers, AR

About The Position

The Sales & Planning Analysis (SPA) Senior Analyst will lead the day to day replenishment & execution of the business, in partnership with the Mattel commercial team and the retailer. This role spans all aspects of commercial execution including store level inventory management, order writing/analysis, internal inventory readiness, and order fulfillment, through to on shelf availability. This role is instrumental in supporting the sales team and driving the business with our Walmart partners. The individual will report into the Walmart Forecasting Sr. Manager.

Requirements

Strong Analytical Skills – ability to coordinate diverse information, identify relevant data, recommend and implement corrective actions
Solid Interpersonal and Communication Skills – ability to communicate effectively across all organizational levels and all functional areas, ability to understand, assess and present the viewpoints of others
Sound Business Judgment – ability to interpret issues and recommend actions to best support group, division and corporate goals
Process Oriented - Ability to identify and address process improvements and share expertise with others
Proficient in MS Office, Excel Power User
Direct replenishment experience planning in a highly seasonal environment with long lead times
Experience in analyzing large data sets, blending data from a variety of sources, conducting own analysis and compiling into an effective actionable summarized report to facilitate decision making & strategic planning
Have at least 3+ years relevant experience in sales analysis or merchandise buying/planning.

Nice To Haves

Experience in CPG or retail
Experience with PowerBI, Alteryx, BigQuery or other database programs
Knowledge of demand forecasting tools and cross functional forecasting processes (JDA, SAP, Demantra, Anaplan etc.)
Experience with statistical forecasting techniques, systems applications and model building

Responsibilities

Own store in-stock metrics by influencing the end-to-end order process including order creation, reviewing daily orders, maintaining perfect PO’s, and optimizing fill rate.
Own the execution of our Direct Import business out of Asia, partnering closely with the Customer Service team in our Hong Kong office.
Drive a weekly shipping plan by item, by channel, to support POS plans, retailer in-stock and future order needs.
Daily/Weekly involvement with the sales team coupled with retail analysts/buying team, joint business planning related to in season execution for promotional planning and fulfillment, domestic and import order reviews and chase/cancel with retailer.
PO order recommendations for current and future looking domestic and direct import.
Liaison between customer service and supply planning and allocations teams to maximize PO fill rates.
Actively lead and participate alongside Mattel sales team in key CPFR forecasting meetings with Walmart.
Present business findings and recommend action plan for the season or year.
Assist in managing and prioritizing follow-ups from meetings.
Attend internal consensus meetings to present and share current execution at retail, provide key data findings to cross-functional S&OP teams to reach a consensus forecast on a month to month basis.
Reporting as requested to support the sales team / customer and other business needs.