Inventory Head - D2C Fashion

Description:

The Inventory Head will be responsible for end-to-end inventory planning, control, forecasting, and optimization across warehouses and sales channels. The role requires deep expertise in fashion inventory cycles, SKU management, demand forecasting, and reducing stock-outs and overstock.

This role is critical to ensuring working capital efficiency, high sell-through rates, and seamless customer experience.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Inventory Planning & Forecasting

- Develop demand forecasts based on historical sales, seasonality, and trend analysis.

- Plan inventory buys aligned with product launches, festive spikes, and campaign calendars.

- Work closely with merchandising and sourcing teams to align supply with demand.

2. Stock Optimization

- Maintain optimal inventory levels to minimize stock-outs and excess inventory.

- Monitor aging stock and drive liquidation strategies.

- Improve inventory turnover ratio and sell-through performance.

3. Warehouse & Operations Management

- Oversee inventory across multiple warehouses (Bangalore & other locations).

- Ensure accurate stock reconciliation and cycle counts.

- Implement SOPs for inward, outward, returns, and dead stock management.

4. Data & Reporting

- Build inventory dashboards (WMS/ERP/Excel/BI tools).

- Track key metrics:

- Inventory Turnover

- Days of Inventory (DOI)

- Fill Rate

- GMROI

- Aging Analysis

5. Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Coordinate with:

- Merchandising

- Marketing (for promotions & liquidation campaigns)

- Finance (working capital planning)

- Marketplace teams

6. Process & Systems Implementation

- Improve inventory tracking systems (ERP/WMS).

- Drive automation and data-driven planning practices.

- Implement demand planning tools if needed.

Candidate Profile:

Must Have:

- 6-12 years of experience in inventory planning (fashion/apparel preferred)

- Experience in D2C or omnichannel retail

- Strong understanding of SKU-heavy environments

- Hands-on with ERP/WMS systems

- Strong analytical and Excel skills

- Experience managing multi-warehouse inventory