Inventory Planning & Analytics Specialist

Position Overview

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Inventory Planning & Analytics Specialist to transform inventory, sales, and purchasing data into actionable recommendations that enhance stock availability and optimize purchasing decisions across Qatar and Dubai.

Key Duties

• Track inventory status—available, reserved, incoming—by SKU, size, color, and location across both regions.
• Examine Shopify sales, ERP inventory data, purchase orders, transfers, returns, cancellations, and other demand indicators.
• Create and update demand forecasts, reorder points, safety stock, and stock coverage targets collaborating with the Procurement team.
• Advise on replenishment quantities based on sales trends, supplier lead times, stock levels, incoming shipments, and established planning criteria.
• Propose initial stock amounts for new products using similar item performance and testing standards.
• Assess inter-location stock transfers before endorsing new orders.
• Identify products that are fast-moving, slow-moving, aged, overstocked, or at risk of stockouts and suggest specific measures.
• Monitor metrics such as sell-through rates, inventory turnover, stock aging, and coverage days to evaluate inventory health.
• Analyze sales pattern changes by category and product to diagnose stock-related factors, coordinating with departments to explore other causes.
• Estimate lost demand during stockouts and recommend urgent stock transfers or replenishment.
• Review returns, cancellations, delivery failures, damaged stock, and customer feedback for recurring issues.
• Utilize financial data on costs, margins, inventory values, and budgets to prioritize restocking and support purchasing plans.
• Develop and sustain dashboards and automated reports with Excel, Power BI, ERP data, collaborating with the technology team as necessary.
• Ensure data accuracy before reporting and work with inventory teams to resolve discrepancies.
• Submit stock replenishment proposals for approval, then relay approved quantities and analyses to Procurement.
• Track approvals through purchasing processes and shipment, comparing recommended, ordered, and received quantities, reporting any inconsistencies.
• Support Marketing with weekly prioritized product lists, covering new arrivals, restocks, best sellers with sufficient stock, slow movers needing promotion, and products to avoid due to stock or return risks.
• Maintain an action log tracking owners, deadlines, and progress; follow-up and escalate delays as needed.
• Provide daily summaries of actions, urgent stock risk alerts, weekly management reports, and monthly inventory planning reviews.

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Data Analytics, Statistics, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or closely related discipline.
• Between 2 and 4 years of hands-on experience in inventory/demand planning, replenishment, merchandise planning, or retail inventory analytics.
• Background in fashion retail, e-commerce, general retail, or fast-moving consumer goods sectors.
• In-depth understanding of demand forecasting, reorder points, safety stock, stock coverage, sell-through, and inventory turnover.
• Proven skills analyzing inventory and recommending reorder quantities by SKU, size, color, and location.
• Expertise in advanced Excel or Google Sheets functions including PivotTables, XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, SUMIFS, and general data analysis.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and e-commerce platforms like Shopify.
• Experience creating dashboards using Power BI or similar business intelligence software.
• Capability to correlate inventory data with sales results, profit margins, purchasing budgets, and customer demand patterns.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, with great attention to detail and data quality assurance.
• Excellent communication skills in English (written and oral); knowledge of Arabic is preferred.
• Currently residing in Qatar, ready to start immediately, and available for full-time, on-site work in Doha.