Job Description

Overview Of The Role:
The Planner role at Watsons is pivotal to managing Open-To-Buy (OTB), stock, sales, and margin at a detailed level. The purpose is to maximize sales and minimize inventory levels through strategic planning and forecasting. Success in this role involves accurate sales and margin forecasting, effective promotional and markdown management, and maintaining optimal inventory levels within multiple market segments. The Planner collaborates closely with various departments, including buying, financial planning, operations, and marketing, to ensure the product offerings align with market demands and promotional strategies. The role also includes maintaining SAP efficiency and delivering reliable reports for strategic decision-making.
What You Will Do:
Top Line Performance and Profitability

• Set overall guidelines for margin by product area and ensure processes are established to analyze margin deviation.
• Forecast weekly sales and margin by store and region, highlighting risks and opportunities.
• Manage markdown and promotional strategies to ensure margin is maintained to achieve bottom line results.
• Drive the Business Planning process for the brand to meet budgeted sales and margin targets.
• Evaluate performance against sales and margin achieved versus BP and LE benchmarks.
• Ensure forecast accuracy within a +/- 10% range.

Stock Management and OTB

• Oversee full OTB process, sell through, and markdown policy to manage sales, inventory, and margin effectively.
• Provide accurate OTB plans for each category to maximize sell-through.
• Forecast intakes to provide an accurate picture of weekly stockholding by brand.
• Manage store clustering and distribution of stock to stores effectively.
• Maintain MSSI/WSSI reports and manage monthly intake and deliveries according to brand and market needs.
• Ensure markets maintain optimum inventory levels and reduce aged inventory.

Team Collaboration

• Work with the buying team to develop an effective, profitable assortment range.
• Collaborate with the Financial Planner to forecast budgets and estimates by region and store.
• Manage range plans together with buying to ensure OTB control.
• Engage with Marketing, Operations, and Brand teams to confirm the commercial calendar for all brands.
• Support and develop allocators/admin assistants towards future managerial roles.
• Maintain regular meetings with stakeholders to ensure effective relationships and alignment.

SAP Inventory Management & Reporting

• Ensure SAP is maintained and operating effectively from an inventory standpoint.
• Develop and publish reliable reports to facilitate management decision-making.
• Understand gaps in the existing inventory control process and address them pro-actively.
• Assist in developing and enforcing robust inventory/stock procedures to ensure efficient SAP replenishment.

Skills Required