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.

– Robust 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.

📌 Hiring For Instock/Inventory Manager (Bengaluru)
🏢 Dawntech
📍 Bengaluru