Why this role exists
The Associate Merchandise Optimisation Manager leads the Inventory Optimisation team and its portfolio of analytics, process and planning system improvements. The role translates Officeworks inventory priorities into a structured pipeline of work and ensures analysis results in practical, measurable improvements to availability, inventory productivity and planning effectiveness.

The role is accountable for the performance and capability of the Inventory Optimisation Analysts and for the quality, prioritisation and delivery of the teams work. It remains close to complex analysis and solution design, providing direction, challenge and quality assurance where required.

Working with merchandise planning, replenishment, supply chain, Technology and Data teams, the role identifies root causes, shapes recommendations and supports implementation. Functional business owners retain accountability for operational planning decisions, policies and performance outcomes.

Where you will make a difference
In this role you will:
Inventory Optimisation and Portfolio Leadership
Translate business priorities into a clear portfolio of inventory optimisation, analytics, process and system initiatives.
Prioritise opportunities based on customer and commercial impact, inventory benefit, risk, effort and delivery capacity.
Define and govern inventory policies, service-level strategies and optimisation parameters that balance availability, inventory investment, cost and operational constraints.
Set clear outcomes, scope and accountabilities for initiatives and maintain visibility of progress, dependencies, risks and decisions.
Provide evidence-based recommendations to improve availability, inventory productivity, replenishment performance and stock flow.
Escalate material inventory-policy decisions, investment requirements and priority trade-offs to the appropriate business owners and governance forums.
Analytics, Process and System Optimisation
Lead diagnostic analysis to identify the root causes of inventory and availability outcomes, including issues arising from forecasts, parameters, master data, constraints or system configuration.
Oversee the development of dashboards and analysis covering measures such as availability, forecast bias, safety stock, service levels, replenishment efficiency, excess inventory and promotional performance.
Evaluate system-generated recommendations and ensure optimisation outcomes are understood, challenged and improved where required.
Lead the functional design, testing and optimisation of inventory policies, planning logic, workflows, parameters and automation within RELEX and related systems.
Ensure analytical outputs are accurate, clearly interpreted and translated into practical recommendations for business stakeholders.
Establish clear process documentation, controls,



parameter-governance routines and standard operating procedures for approved ways of working.
Contribute directly to complex analysis, problem-solving and quality assurance where additional judgement or experience is required.
Transformation Delivery and Adoption
Convert approved opportunities into practical delivery plans covering requirements, functional design, testing, implementation and adoption.
Coordinate Inventory Optimisation Analysts and business subject-matter experts through analysis, process mapping, requirements definition, scenario validation and user acceptance testing.
Partner with functional owners to ensure solutions reflect operational requirements and can be embedded into day-to-day planning.
Monitor implementation risks, dependencies and readiness, and intervene where delivery, solution quality or adoption is at risk.
Establish benefit measures and assess whether implemented changes deliver the intended availability, inventory, efficiency and control outcomes.
Capture lessons and apply them to future initiatives, analytical methods and implementation approaches.
Stakeholder Partnership and Governance
Act as the primary interface between the Inventory Optimisation and Australian inventory, replenishment and merchandise planning leaders.
Build shared understanding of business problems, priorities, decision rights and expected outcomes before work commences.
Work with Supply Chain, Finance, Category Management, Technology and Data teams to address cross-functional issues affecting inventory performance.
Provide concise reporting, insights and recommendations to support portfolio governance and inventory decision-making.
Manage relationships with RELEX and other planning-system vendors or delivery partners where required.

What success looks like
Inventory outcomes: Approved initiatives contribute to improved availability, inventory productivity, stock flow and management of excess inventory.
Portfolio value: Improvement work is prioritised against clear business needs and delivers measurable benefits.
Analytical quality: Insights and recommendations are accurate, clearly explained and trusted by business stakeholders.
Process and system improvement: Planning processes are simpler, better controlled and supported by effective system logic and automation.
Implementation and adoption: Approved changes are tested, documented and embedded into business operations.
Stakeholder confidence: Australian business owners have clear visibility of priorities, progress,



risks and expected outcomes.
Team capability: Inventory Optimisation Analysts demonstrate strong inventory, analytical, process and system capability and deliver consistently high-quality work.
Cross-location effectiveness: Bengaluru and Australian teams work through clear accountabilities, decision rights and delivery rhythms.
Demonstrates behaviours aligned to Officeworks values, contributing to a respectful, inclusive and high-performing culture.

Qualifications and work experience
Essential
8+ years experience across inventory optimisation, replenishment, supply planning, demand planning or inventory management in a complex, high-SKU environment.
A tertiary qualification in engineering, supply chain, operations, mathematics, statistics, data analytics or a related discipline.
Deep expertise in inventory optimisation, including service-level strategies, safety-stock calculations, demand and lead-time variability, inventory segmentation, replenishment parameters, excess inventory and working capital.
Strong understanding of how advanced planning systems translate demand, supply, inventory policies and operational constraints into inventory and replenishment recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to configure, tune and govern inventory optimisation parameters, analyse system-generated recommendations and diagnose issues arising from parameters, master data, forecasts, constraints or system configuration.
Experience leading highly analytical and technically capable inventory optimisation professionals by setting standards, reviewing analysis, challenging assumptions, developing team capability and resolving complex problems.
Strong scenario-modelling capability, with the ability to evaluate trade-offs between product availability, service levels, inventory investment, cost, risk and operational capacity.
Experience improving inventory policies, optimisation processes, parameter-governance routines, system usage and data quality.
Strong analytical capability using advanced planning systems, business intelligence tools and large, complex datasets to identify root causes and improve inventory outcomes.
Ability to translate complex analysis and system behaviour into transparent risks, options and recommendations for senior stakeholders.
Strong cross-functional influencing skills and experience working across planning, commercial, technology, data and operations teams.

Preferred
Experience in omnichannel retail, particularly fast-moving technology products.
Experience with RELEX or a comparable planning and inventory optimisation platform.
Working knowledge of SQL and Power BI, Tableau or comparable analytical tools; exposure to Python would be advantageous.
Experience supporting planning-system implementations, inventory optimisation transformations or major parameter redesigns.

📌 Associate Merchandise Optimisation Manager (Bengaluru)
🏢 Officeworks
📍 Bengaluru