Category Planner
ArticleDepartment:
Supply Chain
Location:
Vancouver
Compensation:
CA$70,000 - CA$90,000 / year
Description
Hi there, we’re Article. 👋 Since 2013, we have been redefining the furniture industry one sofa at a time. It’s not easy — it requires solving challenging, meaningful problems. This is where you come in. As a
Category Planner
, you'll own the end-to-end planning cycle for your assigned categories
...
, aligning inventory investments with sales goals to ensure our customers always find the products they love in stock.
Why We Need You
On the team, we balance sales velocity, stock availability, and financial performance across all our sales channels. This fits into our larger need to scale our product offerings profitably, preventing costly stockouts or overstock situations while maximizing Open-to-Buy efficiency as Article continues to grow.
Within the first few months, you’d establish accurate SKU-level forecasts and reconcile top-down financial goals with bottom-up inventory strategies. In a year, you’ll be proud to say you’ve optimized the inventory health of your assigned categories, directly driving bottom-line growth through data-backed Open-to-Buy management and seamless cross-functional alignment.
About the Team
We are a collaborative, data-driven team that bridges the gap between financial targets and physical inventory. We work closely with Category Management, Sourcing, Order Management, and Finance to ensure our assortment strategy comes to life seamlessly. We leverage tools like Excel/Google Sheets, Tableau, and modern planning platforms (such as SAP IBP, Blue Yonder, John Galt, or Anaplan) to translate complex metrics into clear strategies.
We are a hybrid team - you'll be in the office 3 days per week.
What You’ll Do
You’ll be part of a high-performing team working to solve complex demand forecasting and inventory distribution challenges.
• Develop and maintain precise, SKU-level demand forecasts to support category growth and satisfy customer demand across all channels.
• Reconcile top-down category financial goals with bottom-up SKU plans to build achievable, profitable targets.
• Own Open-to-Buy (OTB) execution, ensuring inventory investments directly mirror our merchandising and financial strategies.
• Manage stock levels to balance inventory health, maintaining high product availability while mitigating overstock and stockout risks.
• Analyze historical sales data, market trends, and underlying performance drivers to continuously refine forecast accuracy.
• Track and report on core key performance indicators, including sell-through rates, inventory turn, and forecast precision.
• Deliver actionable business insights and strategic recommendations to help Category Managers maximize their product performance.
• Partner with Sourcing and Order Management teams to align vendor capacity and production planning with real-time customer demand.
• Identify and drive opportunities for process automation and workflow improvements to increase overall planning efficiency.
Who You Are
• 3+ years of experience in merchandise planning, demand planning, or merchandising.
• Strong proficiency in Retail Math, Open-to-Buy (OTB) execution, and pre-season planning concepts.
• Highly skilled in data analysis with advanced expertise in Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets.
• Experience utilizing enterprise planning and analytics tools (e.g., SAP IBP, Blue Yonder/JDA, John Galt, Anaplan, Tableau).
• Exceptional communication skills with a proven track record of collaborating across cross-functional teams like Finance, Sourcing, and Marketing.
• Confident decision-maker who uses data and structured analysis to back up strategic choices.
• Able to influence internal stakeholders and cross-functional partners to drive key initiatives forward.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Legally able to work in Canada.
• Completion of criminal background check