Manager - Demand Planning

Summary:

The Wholesale Planning Manager for Crocs is responsible for leading key account planning, demand forecasting, buy guidance, and inventory management for the India Wholesale channel. Reporting to the Asia Wholesale Planning Director within the Planning department, this role partners closely with Sales, Merchandising, Finance, Customer Service, Supply Planning, and external wholesale customers to align sell-in, sell-out, inventory, and revenue plans.

Role & responsibilities:

- Lead end-to-end key account planning across pre-season and in-season cycles, including planning calendars, milestones, ownership, sell-out planning, account-level demand, inventory health, and revenue risk/opportunity management.

- Partner with Sales, Merchandising, Finance, Customer Service, Supply Planning, and external wholesale customers to translate financial targets, product strategy, assortment segmentation, must-buy options, optional assortment frameworks, and market feedback into account-level buy guidance, sell-in plans, and sell-out forecasts.

- Drive key account forecasting and partner buy guidance by partner, door segment, style-color/material, and size, using historical sell-through, product ranking, inventory position, growth assumptions, and in-season planning learnings.

- Lead booking reviews, S&OP, and in-season execution by incorporating order bookings, Left to Book, At Once plans, confirmed shipments, allocation feasibility, inventory strategies, POS sell-through, on-order position, and historical trends.

- Develop and manage wholesale inventory strategy by product category, including core carryover planning, partner inventory, inventory turns, excess/EOL exposure, supply delays, confirmed shipment risks, allocation readiness, and launch-date feasibility.

- Represent Demand Planning in MBR/QBR, marketplace health reviews, and cross-functional forums by providing visibility to actual sales, confirmed shipments, forecast gaps, KPI performance, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.

Preferred candidate profile:

- Bachelors degree in Business, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Finance, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

- Minimum 8 years of experience in demand planning, wholesale planning, merchandise planning, inventory planning, or a related commercial planning function.

- Experience in FMCG, apparel, footwear, fashion, or consumer goods with a wholesale business model preferred.

- Strong understanding of demand planning, key account planning, inventory management, OTB modeling, sell-in/sell-out forecasting, and wholesale customer planning processes.

- Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate large data sets into clear insights, recommendations, and business actions.

- Proficiency in planning systems and Microsoft Office applications, including advanced Excel; experience with Power BI, Power Query, Power Pivot, Power Automate, or o9 is an advantage.

- Highly collaborative, commercially minded, and able to influence stakeholders across country, regional, cross-functional, and external wholesale account teams.