Inventory Planning & Analytics Specialist

About the Role

We’re looking for an analytical and proactive Inventory Planning & Analytics Specialist to turn inventory, sales, and purchasing data into clear recommendations that improve stock availability and purchasing decisions. You will recommend what to reorder, when to reorder, and how much to order by SKU, size, colour, and location. Your recommendations will consider sales performance, available and incoming stock, supplier lead times, returns, seasonality, margins, and purchasing budgets. The role covers inventory across Qatar and Dubai. You will work closely with Inventory, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, and Management to improve forecasting, reduce excess stock, and support product availability. We need someone who takes ownership, verifies data accuracy, explains findings clearly, and follows approved actions through to completion. This is a planning and analytics position, not a warehouse operations role. Purchasing approvals and supplier ordering remain with Procurement and Management.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor available, reserved, and incoming inventory across Qatar and Dubai by SKU, size, colour, and location.
• Analyze Shopify sales and ERP inventory data alongside purchase orders, transfers, returns, cancellations, and other relevant demand signals.
• Develop and maintain demand forecasts, reorder points, safety-stock levels, and stock-coverage targets in coordination with Procurement.
• Recommend replenishment quantities using sales velocity, supplier lead times, available stock, incoming orders, and agreed planning rules.
• Recommend initial quantities for new products using comparable-product performance, expected demand, and agreed product-testing guidelines.
• Evaluate stock transfers between Qatar and Dubai before recommending new purchases.
• Identify fast-moving, slow-moving, aged, overstocked, and stockout-risk products and recommend specific actions.
• Monitor sell-through, inventory turnover, stock aging, and days of coverage to assess inventory performance.
• Investigate changes in sales by category and product, identify stock-related factors, and coordinate with relevant departments to assess other possible causes.
• Estimate demand lost during out-of-stock periods and recommend urgent transfers or replenishment where appropriate.
• Analyze returns, cancellations, failed deliveries, damaged inventory, and customer feedback to identify recurring product or stock issues.
• Use Finance-provided costs, margins, inventory values, and budgets to prioritize replenishment recommendations and support category purchasing plans.
• Build and maintain inventory dashboards and automated reports using Microsoft Excel, Power BI, and ERP data, working with the technology team where required.
• Validate data before reporting and work with the inventory team to investigate discrepancies and resolve data-quality issues.
• Submit replenishment recommendations for approval, then share approved quantities and supporting analysis with Procurement.
• Track approved recommendations through purchase requests, purchase orders, shipment, and receipt. Compare recommended, ordered, and received quantities and report discrepancies.
• Provide Marketing with weekly product-priority lists covering new arrivals, restocks, best sellers with sufficient stock, slow-moving products requiring support, and products to avoid promoting due to stock or return-related risks.
• Maintain an action tracker with owners, deadlines, and completion status. Follow up with responsible departments and escal....
• Prepare daily action summaries, urgent stock-risk alerts, weekly management analysis, and monthly inventory-planning reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Data Analytics, Statistics, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of practical experience in inventory planning, demand planning, replenishment, merchandise planning, or retail inventory analytics.
• Experience in fashion retail, e-commerce, general retail, or FMCG.
• Strong knowledge of demand forecasting, reorder points, safety stock, stock coverage, sell-through, and inventory turnover.
• Experience analyzing inventory and recommending quantities by SKU, size, colour, and location.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets skills, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, SUMIFS, and data analysis.
• Experience working with ERP systems and Shopify or a similar e-commerce platform.
• Experience building dashboards using Power BI or a similar business-intelligence tool.
• Ability to connect inventory analysis with sales performance, margins, purchasing budgets, and customer demand.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with excellent attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Ability to explain findings clearly, recommend practical actions, and follow up independently without repeated reminders.
• Strong written and spoken English. Arabic is preferred.
• Currently based in Qatar, available to join immediately, and able to work full-time on-site in Doha.

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