Who We Are:

Since 1906, New Balance has empowered people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world. We innovate fearlessly, guided by our core values and driven by the belief that conventions were meant to be challenged. We foster a culture in which every associate feels welcomed and respected, where leaders and creatives are inspired to shape the world of tomorrow by taking bold action today.

JOB MISSION:

The EMEA Inventory Planner plays a central and critical role in delivering EMEA business results. They plan and manage the purchasing and reservation of Finished Goods stock for the assigned product area. This team is responsible for the end-to-end flow of inventory in and out of the Region. Inventory Planning is responsible for the translation of forecast and demand requirements into purchase orders, resulting in optimised order book fulfillment to service all New Balance channels of business.

The ideal candidate will develop strong relationships with various teams across the business, demonstrating our key values; integrity, teamwork, and total customer satisfaction. Confidence in influencing others will be key to this role, with cross-functional collaboration essential.

We offer hybrid working and flexibility in working hours to accommodate for a healthy work-life balance.

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Inventory Management

• Finished Goods Purchasing for Footwear, Apparel, Accessories, and Equipment.
• Translate market forecast and demands into Purchase Requisitions.
• Manage Make to Stock (MTS) and Make to Order (MTO) items via Purchase Requisitions review and approval process.
• Manage and Approve Direct & Cross-dock requirements.
• Execute the planning and on-time delivery of Strategic and Allocated Programs.
• Manage inventory levels by channel, product line, & line plan business.
• Using insight from sales planning, S&OP meetings, and available reporting, dynamically manage on-hand and incoming inventory.
• Interface with Sales, Merchandising & Finance to drive sell-thru before End of Life where inventory opportunity has been identified.
• Item Life Cycle Management: Beginning of Life (BOL), Middle of Life (MOL), and End of Life (EOL) strategy execution.
• Review and manage life cycle behavior to ensure that item transitions are driven effectively.
• Collaborate with Global Supply Planning across all Source Types to ensure Key Launch strategies are supported.
• Analyse size curve recommendations and propose adjustments to optimise demand fulfillment and best utilisation of finished goods inventory.
• Partner with collaborators across different departments to implement reservation & prioritisation business rule logic.
• Implement best-in-class operating models and business practices to maximise inventory turns, on-time order fulfillment, and minimise EOL inventory obsolescence (i.e., Booking Program Logic, Inventory Pool Optimisation, Inventory Shareability across markets & channels, Go-to-Market Execution).