Hiring For Instock/Inventory Manager

Role & responsibilities -

1. Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Own forecasts across all horizons at category, sub-category and SKU level: weekly forecast, rolling 46 week forecast, 3-month rolling sell-in projections, 12-month demand plan and 3-year plan.
• Combine statistical models (built in Excel and planning tools) with business inputs launches, promotions, pricing, channel plans; track forecast accuracy and bias (MAPE, WMAPE) and improve continuously.
• Translate forecasts into purchase plans, open-to-buy and inventory budgets; lead the monthly demand review within the S&OP cycle with Sales, Category, Finance and Operations.

2. Pricing, Demand Variation & Seasonality

• Estimate the demand impact of price changes, discounts, promotions and competitor activity (price elasticity / uplift) and build upside / downside scenarios into the buy plan.
• Plan seasonal and event peaks (festive season, sale events, year-end) with pre-builds and ramp-downs, and manage lifecycle events launches, transitions and end-of-life to avoid stock-outs and obsolescence.

3. Inventory Health & Capacity Management

• Deliver maximum in-stock % while keeping inventory healthy; set safety stock, reorder points, min/max levels and service-level targets using ABC/XYZ segmentation.
• Monitor days of cover, turns, ageing, slow/non-moving and excess & obsolete stock; drive liquidation, return-to-vendor and re-allocation plans with Category and Finance.
• Align demand plans with vendor production, warehouse and logistics capacity, flag constraints early and build mitigation plans (pre-builds, phased inbounds, alternate vendors or locations).

4. Supply Chain Optimization, Cost & Vendors

• Map the end-to-end supply chain and apply optimization levers — EOQ / MOQ, lead-time reduction, safety stock optimization, order consolidation, multi-sourcing, VMI, network and placement optimization.
• Identify and deliver cost reduction and waste removal across procurement, freight, carrying cost and working capital, working with vendor leadership and operations senior leaders.
• Strengthen relationships with key vendors, track fill rate, on-time delivery and lead-time adherence, and negotiate operational changes (lead times, MOQs, order frequency, capacity) with the Vendor Manager.

5. Automation, Metrics & Financial Analysis

• Build long-term solutions that automate or simplify category processes — auto-replenishment, exception alerts, standard dashboards — working with technical teams and vendor operations.
• Use metrics to manage trade-offs and make decisions with internal and external stakeholders; analyze inventory value, working capital, margin impact and write-offs to improve the inventory position.

6. People Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop 2–3 Instock Associates; set goals, allocate category / SKU ownership, establish SOPs and build a culture of ownership, accuracy and continuous improvement.

Preferred candidate profile -

• Education: Post Graduate – MBA (Operations / Supply Chain preferred); an engineering or analytical undergraduate degree is an advantage.
• Experience: 4–5 years in operations, inventory planning, demand forecasting, supply chain management and/or product life cycles, including at least 1–2 years leading or mentoring a small team. Proven record of improving availability and inventory health while reducing cost; electronics, consumer durables, e-commerce or retail experience preferred.
• Skills & Tools:

– Advanced Excel — pivot tables, XLOOKUP / INDEX-MATCH, Power Query, what-if analysis, Solver, forecasting models and dashboards.

– Hands-on experience with supply chain / demand planning, inventory management tools and ERP systems.

– Strong grasp of forecasting (time series, exponential smoothing, seasonality indices), inventory optimization (safety stock, EOQ, service levels, ABC/XYZ) and pricing / promotion impact modelling.

– Financial acumen — working capital, carrying cost and P&L impact of inventory decisions.

• Behavioural Competencies: Self-starter with high flexibility and commitment; proven influencing skills with senior stakeholders and vendors; thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment; strong prioritization, time management and attention to detail; a people leader who builds and motivates a high-performing team.
• Good to have: Power BI / Tableau; SQL or Python; advanced planning tools (e.g., o9, Kinaxis, Blue Yonder); Lean / Six Sigma; APICS / ASCM (CPIM, CSCP) certification.