Lead, Supply & Inventory Planner Manager, APLA

The APLA Supply & Inventory Planning Team’s mission is to optimize our Supply and Demand match while ensuring our key inventory targets are met! We interact across various partners in the APLA organization and Nike’s Global teams. We also have governance over Finished Goods Purchasing processes and recovery action plans to solve for buy and late delivery issues.

Who we are looking for

We’re looking for a Lead, Supply and Inventory Planning Manager to drive supply/inventory health for key segments of the APLA consumer business.

This role will own and lead supply and inventory plans across multiple seasons, ensuring that all products are planned, evaluating risks and opportunities, escalating issues, and communicating all relevant information within S&IP and Consumer teams that drive productive inventory and strong business results. This role will collaborate and influence cross functional business partners through proactive planning and analysis of key metrics to build strategic supply and deliver balanced & productive inventory positions.

The candidate needs to have proven track record of critical thinking, resolving sophisticated business issues as well as the ability to communicate complex and/or controversial topics and provide recommendations to a wide and diverse audience. Candidates will be advanced in Excel specifically with complex analysis and storytelling with data.

What you will work on

If this is you, you will be accountable for the planning performance and inventory health of an assigned consumer segment, collaborating with internal and cross functional teams. You will lead monthly inventory and supply reviews, including issue escalation and storytelling to leadership and stakeholder teams. You’ll be conducting analysis to proactively identify challenges and lead communication, recommendations and execution of a wide variety of supply shaping activities. You will drive multi-season KPI reviews across key franchise or classifications to drive inventory health on our most critical products; influencing marketplace decisions and future inventory investment. At times, we will look to you to take initiative on projects and support key initiatives that have an impact to our day-to-day business.

A typical day/week revolves around proactively driving actions to keep a healthy inventory position in the assigned business segment. You will use multiple reports and dashboards to review key metrics, raising any issues that will cause unfulfilled demand and/or a delay to the encouraged timelines and lead recommendations/decisions that maintain a healthy Weeks of Supply for your Consumer Segment. You will report and communicate to territory teams and consumer planning teams delivery expectations, risks and opportunities. You will support and improve critical initiatives that are relevant to our GEO and Territories.

Who you will work with

You will report into the Supply & Inventory Planning Director, working closely with S&IP analysts and inventory operations to resolve issues. You will serve as the S&IP key partner for the Merchandising Planning leadership team, including Assortment Planners, Merchandising and Global Supply Planning.

What you bring

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Logistics or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 5 years of work experience in merchandise planning, retail demand planning, merchandising, allocation, or financial planning
• Process-oriented, results driven, and able to strategize and innovate to build a roadmap for the future.
• Be a flexible thinker and outstanding communicator who is comfortable working cross-functionally to drive change and influence leaders while also developing rigorous processes and well-communicated deliverables.
• Sophisticated planning expertise with clear understanding of E2E Planning Ecosystem; including Retail Sales / Demand, Supply / Inventory, Revenue / Margin and Operational Planning.
• Understanding of product, merchandising or consumer code processes with strong consumer awareness and ability to interpret consumer trends into effective plans.
• Experience assessing and mitigating risks and liabilities that could change our ability to meet market demand; strong ability to assess and quantify risks, determine scenarios and tradeoffs and recommendations with balanced incentives
• Flexibility in switching from strategic to tactical and operational levels of thinking and working, specifically in strategy deployment ensuring priorities are clear and plans are aligned to meet commitments and organizational goals
• Outstanding interpersonal, influencing and facilitation skills with the ability to work both cross-functionally and cross-culturally, specifically encoura