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