Planning Associate

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly analytical and detail-oriented Planning Associate to support inventory planning, forecasting, sales analysis, and reporting across a high-volume, SKU-intensive apparel business.

This role is ideal for someone with 2–3 years of planning, merchandising, or analytical experience who is highly proficient in Excel and comfortable working with large datasets.

The Planning Associate will work closely with Planning, Sales, Merchandising, and Operations to turn detailed style, color, and size-level data into clear recommendations that support sales, inventory productivity, and business growth.

The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between detailed SKU-level analysis and broader business trends, identifying issues and opportunities, and maintaining accurate and repeatable reporting processes.

Key Responsibilities

Support weekly, monthly, and seasonal sales, inventory, and demand planning across brands and sales channels.

Maintain and analyze forecasts at the style, color, size, and SKU level using historical sales trends and current business performance.

Monitor key metrics including sales, inventory, weeks of supply, sell-through, receipts, and forecast performance.

Identify inventory shortages, overstock, replenishment opportunities, and emerging sales trends.

Analyze SKU, style, color, and size productivity to support buying, replenishment, allocation, and inventory recommendations.

Maintain recurring weekly and monthly reporting and develop ad hoc analyses to answer business questions.

Work with large datasets from multiple sources, ensuring data is accurate, consistent, and actionable.

Use Excel to build and maintain PivotTables, formulas, lookups, and repeatable analytical tools.

Translate detailed analysis into clear findings, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.

Help improve and automate recurring planning and reporting processes to increase efficiency and accuracy.

Cross-Functional Support

Partner with Sales and Merchandising teams to understand product performance and upcoming business needs.

Work with Operations to monitor inventory availability and incoming receipts.

Assist with seasonal buys, forecasts, product launches, and inventory reviews.

Ensure planning reports and underlying data are accurate and delivered on schedule.

Communicate inventory risks and opportunities clearly to appropriate stakeholders.

Qualifications

2–3 years of experience in merchandise planning, inventory planning, allocation, retail analysis, wholesale planning, demand planning, or a similar analytical role.

Strong Excel skills are required.

Experience working with large datasets and high SKU counts.

Ability to identify trends and exceptions within detailed data.

Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple recurring deadlines.

Comfortable working independently while also collaborating across departments.

Ability to communicate analytical findings clearly to both analytical and non-analytical audiences.

Apparel, fashion, retail, wholesale, or consumer products experience preferred.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Planning Associate will not simply maintain reports. They will understand what the data is showing, recognize when something requires attention, and help turn detailed SKU-level information into actionable recommendations.

They will become a reliable owner of recurring planning processes while continually looking for ways to make reporting and analysis faster, more accurate, and easier to repeat.