Merchandise Planner Resume examples & templates
Copyable Merchandise Planner Resume examples
Did you know that retailers with effective merchandise planning see up to 37% less excess inventory at the end of each season? That's the quiet power of merchandise planners working behind the scenes to balance customer demand with inventory investment. While customers browse racks and websites, merchandise planners are analyzing sales histories, forecasting trends, and ensuring the right products arrive at precisely the right time (and in just the right quantities).
The field has undergone a dramatic shift in recent years, with planners now leveraging AI-powered analytics to predict micro-trends across different markets. Gone are the days of gut-feel ordering and spreadsheet gymnastics. Today's merchandise planners blend creative trend interpretation with data science to maximize both profitability and customer satisfaction. With retail's digital transformation accelerating post-pandemic, merchandise planners who can navigate both the art and science of inventory management will find themselves uniquely positioned to shape the future of retail in an increasingly unpredictable consumer landscape.
Junior Merchandise Planner Resume Example
Jordan Taylor
Oakland, CA • (510) 555-4829 • jtaylor.planning@gmail.com • linkedin.com/in/jordantaylor
Professional Summary
Recent business graduate with 1+ year of merchandise planning experience at a fast-growing retail company. Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Excel, SQL basics, and retail forecasting tools. Looking to grow my career in merchandise planning where I can apply my data analysis abilities and passion for retail trends to optimize inventory and drive sales.
Experience
Associate Merchandise Planner – Urban Style Collective, Oakland, CA
June 2023 – Present
- Support senior planners in managing $4.2M in inventory across women’s accessories category
- Create and maintain weekly sales reports using Excel to track performance against targets
- Assist with forecasting seasonal inventory needs, achieving 87% sell-through for Fall 2023 collection
- Collaborate with buying team to analyze slow-moving inventory and recommend markdown strategies
- Monitor stock levels to identify replenishment needs and prevent stockouts (reduced out-of-stock instances by 13%)
Merchandise Planning Intern – Urban Style Collective, Oakland, CA
January 2023 – June 2023
- Assisted with data entry and maintenance of inventory spreadsheets
- Prepared weekly sales recap reports for planning team meetings
- Participated in Open-to-Buy meetings and learned forecasting methodologies
- Conducted competitive analysis of similar retailers’ pricing and product assortment
Retail Sales Associate – The Trend Shop, Berkeley, CA
September 2021 – December 2022
- Maintained merchandise displays and restocked inventory
- Provided customer service and processed transactions
- Tracked bestselling items and communicated trends to store manager
Education
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
University of California, Berkeley
Concentration: Retail Management
Graduated: May 2022
Certification in Retail Analytics Fundamentals
National Retail Federation
Completed: November 2022
Skills
- Inventory Management
- Sales Forecasting
- Excel (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables)
- Basic SQL
- Retail Math & KPIs
- Markdown Analysis
- Assortment Planning
- JDA (basic knowledge)
- Trend Analysis
- PowerPoint & Data Visualization
Additional Information
Participated in UC Berkeley Retail Case Competition 2022 (Team placed 2nd)
Active member of Bay Area Retail Planning Network
Fluent in Spanish
Mid-level Merchandise Planner Resume Example
Monica Patel
Boston, MA • (617) 555-0192 • mpatel89@gmail.com • linkedin.com/in/monicapatel
Merchandise Planner with 5+ years of experience driving profitable inventory management and sales growth. Combines analytical skills with retail intuition to optimize stock levels and forecast demand accurately. Known for cross-functional collaboration with buying and marketing teams to align inventory with company objectives while maintaining 97%+ in-stock rates on key items.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior Merchandise Planner | Nordwell Department Stores | Boston, MA | June 2021 – Present
- Manage $18.7M annual inventory across women’s apparel categories, consistently hitting 8.2x yearly turn rate (11% above company average)
- Developed new pre-season planning process that reduced markdowns by 14% and increased full-price sell-through from 67% to 74%
- Partner with buyers on category strategy for 4 distinct product lines, resulting in 9% sales growth despite industry-wide softness
- Led implementation of new allocation system that cut manual processes by 6 hours weekly while improving store-level inventory precision
- Analyze weekly sell-through, weeks-of-supply, and margin data to make real-time adjustments to open-to-buy plans
Merchandise Planner | Urban Style Group | Providence, RI | August 2019 – May 2021
- Planned and maintained $8.4M in annual inventory for men’s accessories and footwear categories
- Reduced end-of-season excess inventory by 23% through improved forecasting and mid-season adjustments
- Created weekly reports tracking 16 KPIs across 32 stores, highlighting opportunities that boosted Q4 accessory sales by 16%
- Collaborated with marketing to align promotional calendar with inventory aging, resulting in $437K in recovered margin
Assistant Merchandise Planner | Trenton Retail Group | New York, NY | July 2018 – July 2019
- Supported senior planners with weekly reports and analysis for $22M women’s contemporary division
- Monitored SKU-level performance and flagged slow-selling items, helping avoid $120K in potential markdowns
- Managed replenishment for core basics program with 98.3% in-stock rate (highest in department)
- Refined Excel templates that cut weekly reporting time from 6 hours to 2.5 hours
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | Boston University | Boston, MA | 2018
Concentration in Retail Management, Minor in Statistics
Relevant Coursework: Inventory Management, Retail Mathematics, Consumer Behavior, Data Analysis
CERTIFICATIONS
Merchandise Planning Professional (MPP) – Retail Planning Institute, 2021
Advanced Excel for Business Analytics – LinkedIn Learning, 2020
TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Planning Systems: JDA, Oracle Retail, Logility
- Analysis Tools: Excel (advanced), PowerBI, Tableau
- Forecasting Methods: Time series analysis, seasonal trending, regression modeling
- Retail Metrics: GMROI, sell-through, weeks of supply, turn, IMU
ADDITIONAL SKILLS
- Open-to-Buy Management
- Assortment Planning
- Markdown Optimization
- Cross-functional Communication
- Vendor Negotiations
Senior / Experienced Merchandise Planner Resume Example
JESSICA THORNHILL
Oakland, CA | (510) 555-8742 | jthornhill@email.com | linkedin.com/in/jessicathornhill
Strategic Merchandise Planner with 8+ years of experience optimizing inventory and driving sales growth across retail and e-commerce platforms. Proven track record of improving profit margins through data analysis, trend forecasting and cross-functional collaboration. Known for balancing financial objectives with customer demands to create compelling merchandise assortments that exceed targets.
EXPERIENCE
Senior Merchandise Planner | Apex Retail Group | San Francisco, CA | August 2019 – Present
- Lead planning for 3 apparel categories ($87M annual revenue) across 127 stores and e-commerce platform, consistently exceeding profit goals by 8-12% YOY
- Developed and implemented a new seasonal markdown strategy that reduced excess inventory by 23% and increased margins by $1.6M annually
- Partner with buying and marketing teams to analyze customer shopping patterns, resulting in targeted promotions that increased attach rate by 9.4%
- Mentor 4 junior planners while creating streamlined reporting tools that reduced weekly analysis time from 6 hours to just under 2
- Spearheaded transition to new merchandise planning software, creating custom reporting dashboards that increased planning accuracy by 17%
Merchandise Planner | BlueSky Fashion | Portland, OR | March 2017 – July 2019
- Managed $42M annual open-to-buy budget for women’s accessories, consistently meeting or exceeding sales plans while maintaining healthy inventory levels
- Collaborated with buying team to optimize assortment planning, resulting in 14% increase in sell-through and 11% reduction in aged inventory
- Created and maintained weekly sales and inventory reports for executive leadership, identifying opportunities that boosted quarterly margins by 6.5%
- Led cross-functional meetings with marketing, visual merchandising and store operations to align on promotional calendar and product placement
Assistant Merchandise Planner | Nordway Department Stores | Seattle, WA | June 2015 – February 2017
- Supported senior planner for men’s apparel department ($28M annual revenue), developing weekly sales forecasts and inventory projections
- Analyzed historical data to identify seasonal trends and recommend appropriate stock levels, helping reduce markdowns by 8%
- Built and maintained category scorecards to track KPIs including sell-through, weeks of supply and margin performance
- Created an Excel tool for tracking size-level inventory that was adopted by 3 other departments (my boss still uses a version of this spreadsheet!)
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration – Emphasis in Retail Management
University of Washington, Seattle, WA | Graduated 2015
Professional Certifications:
- APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) – 2020
- Merchandise Planning Mastery Certification – JDA Software – 2018
- Advanced Excel for Business Analytics – LinkedIn Learning – 2016
SKILLS
- Merchandise Planning & Allocation
- Open-to-Buy Management
- Inventory Optimization
- Assortment Planning
- Sales Forecasting
- Markdown Strategy
- Financial Analysis
- JDA/Blue Yonder Software
- SAP Retail
- Advanced Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables, macros)
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
How to Write a Merchandise Planner Resume
Introduction
Landing a job as a Merchandise Planner takes more than just experience—it requires a resume that speaks the language of retail and inventory management. I've helped dozens of planners secure roles at companies from Target to Nordstrom, and I've noticed that most applicants make the same mistake: they focus too much on responsibilities and not enough on their impact on sales, margins, and inventory efficiency. Your resume needs to show not just what you did, but how well you did it.
Resume Structure and Format
Keep your resume clean and scannable—merchandise planning managers typically spend just 27 seconds on initial resume review. They're looking for organization, just like you organize inventory plans!
- Stick to 1-2 pages (1 page for junior planners, 2 pages for those with 5+ years of experience)
- Use a clean, professional font (Arial, Calibri, or Georgia work well)
- Include clear section headers (Experience, Skills, Education)
- Incorporate white space—cramped layouts suggest disorganization
- Save as a PDF (unless specifically asked for another format)
Profile/Summary Section
Your summary should be 3-4 lines that highlight your planning expertise, industry experience, and quantifiable achievements. This section acts as your professional trailer—give them just enough to want to see the full feature.
Don't just say you're "detail-oriented" or "analytical"—everyone claims that. Instead, mention something specific like "Reduced aged inventory by 18% while maintaining 97% in-stock rates on core items."
Professional Experience
This is where the magic happens. For each role, include:
- Company name, location, and dates (month/year)
- Your title and a brief description of the department/category you managed
- 4-6 bullet points showcasing achievements (not just duties)
- Metrics wherever possible—sell-through rates, margin improvements, forecast accuracy
Example bullet: "Rebuilt assortment plan for women's accessories ($4.3M category) resulting in 11% sell-through improvement and $287K margin increase YOY."
Education and Certifications
List your degree(s), school name, graduation year, and relevant coursework. For merchandise planners, highlight any courses in:
- Retail math
- Inventory management
- Data analysis or statistics
- Supply chain management
- Business forecasting
Include relevant certifications like CPIM, retail planning software certifications (JDA, Oracle Retail, etc.), or advanced Excel certifications.
Keywords and ATS Tips
Most retail companies use Applicant Tracking Systems to filter resumes before human eyes see them. Make sure yours includes these terms (where applicable):
- Open-to-buy (OTB) management
- WSSI (Weekly Sales, Stock & Intake) planning
- Allocation optimization
- Markdown management
- Inventory turn analysis
- Replenishment planning
- SKU rationalization
Industry-specific Skills to Highlight
Merchandise planning requires a mix of analytical and communication skills:
- Technical skills: Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables), JDA, SAP, Power BI
- Planning skills: Forecasting, OTB management, margin analysis
- Soft skills: Cross-functional collaboration, vendor negotiations
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on tasks rather than achievements
- Omitting key metrics that demonstrate planning effectiveness
- Neglecting to mention experience with specific planning systems
- Using generic retail terms instead of planning-specific vocabulary
- Failing to show progression of responsibilities (for experienced planners)
Before/After Example
Before: "Responsible for inventory management and reporting for women's apparel."
After: "Managed $8.2M inventory position across 147 SKUs in women's contemporary, delivering 3.6x inventory turn while maintaining 92.4% in-stock position on key items during holiday peak."
The difference? The second version shows not just what you did but how well you did it. Numbers tell the story that vague descriptions can't.
Your resume is your inventory plan for your career—make sure every line item earns its place on the page! Tailor it for each application, focusing on the planning skills most relevant to that particular retailer or brand's business model.
Related Resume Examples
Soft skills for your Merchandise Planner resume
- Cross-functional communication – ability to translate complex inventory data into actionable insights for buyers, marketing teams, and store operations
- Decisive problem-solving under pressure, particularly during seasonal transitions or unexpected sales fluctuations
- Relationship management with vendors and internal stakeholders (I’ve maintained 92% vendor satisfaction scores through challenging allocation decisions)
- Adaptability to shifting consumer trends and market disruptions – quick to pivot when forecasts need adjustment
- Team mentorship – known for developing junior associates through informal coaching and structured feedback
- Time management across competing priorities – balancing long-range planning with urgent day-to-day inventory decisions
Hard skills for your Merchandise Planner resume
- Open-to-Buy (OTB) Management using FlexOTB software
- Advanced Excel modeling (VLOOKUP, pivot tables, macros)
- Allocation analysis in JDA/Blue Yonder
- SKU rationalization and product lifecycle management
- Markdown optimization using Price TrakR
- Retail Math (GMROI, sell-through, weeks-of-supply)
- Tableau dashboard creation for weekly merchant reports
- SAP Retail implementation experience
- Category demand forecasting (6-month accuracy rate of 84%)