Planner, Direct Business EMEA
Netherlands, Amsterdam
Sales – National Account Sales /
On-site
Who We Are:
At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.
Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.
Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:
• Runner First - We act in the best interest of the runner
• Word is Bond - We do what we say we’ll do
• Champion Heart - We give our all in everything we do
• There is no “I” in Run - We stay generous with our humanity
• Keep Moving - We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!
We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.
Your Job:
As Direct Business Planner EMEA you will be responsible for managing daily sales operations for EMEA PPP (Premium Platform Partner) accounts, aligning seasonal plans with sales, merchandising and operations teams. In this role you will efficiently manage stock levels to meet customer demand in each of our PPP accounts, conducting accurate forecasts for inventory planning, continuously analyze sales data, sell through, and assortments. You will monitor market- and consumer trends in the relevant markets and will work closely with the Manager, Direct Business - EMEA & EMEA Demand Planning to support the development of Direct Business channel. You will play a key role in building our future success by developing our business with PPP accounts in EMEA as well as helping drive the strategic direction of our EMEA Direct Business. You will support the Manager, Direct Business - EMEA in planning the revenue and margin goals set for these channels and customers. In addition, you will help the Manager, Direct Business - EMEA build strong commercial relationships with the relevant stakeholders in our PPP accounts.
Your Responsibilities:
- Own seasonal and rolling SKU-level forecast and demand planning communication for PPP accounts. Create dashboards to share weekly, monthly and quarterly forecast consumption, accuracy and other trends from the channel/product category level down to customer and SKU.
- Support monthly demand planning processes through forecast input aggregation, data validation, and summarization.
- Provide valuable data driven input and support the Manager, Direct Business - EMEA to plan the evolution of the EMEA direct business; specifically on the structure of the retail landscape and the various operating models that would be most efficient at driving sustainable, profitable growth.
- Analyze & report on necessary sell-through results, to identify business trends and insights and develop recommendations based on analysis.
- Responsible for ranging & maintaining product assortment per PPP account to deliver financial and range efficiency targets (i.e. budget, sell-through, net margin).
- Monitor and manage marketplace inventory levels for each account.
- Monitor/analyze sales data for trends, performance against forecast, future inventory projections.
- Analyze brand performance, brand competitiveness, and product trends in the marketplace and develop strategies based on research and analysis.
- Analyze and submit timely future seasonal forecasts based on historical data and insight on current and future market trends.
- Work closely with EMEA Business Planning to pursue timely submission of pre-orders and subsequent replenishment of product based on market and account analysis.
- Manage optimal balance of active and inactive products by executing strong end of season plan in close coordination with the EMEA sales team.
- Onboarding and servicing customer accounts by preparing and analyzing data to inform business decisions.
- Reconcile inventory discrepancies between Brooks and the PPP accounts.
- Attend commercial meetings with account stakeholders in support of the Manager, Direct Business - EMEA.
- Help define benchmarks and KPIs for PPP accounts and build tools to display them.
Your Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field/equivalent combination of education and/or experience
- 3 + years’ experience in sales analysis/business planning or similar field.
- 2+ years’ experience in Footwear and Apparel and or Retail sales experience preferred.
- Demonstrates highly analytical mindset with strong, proven skill set in problem solving and data driven decision making.
- Strong understanding of (running) customer and market dynamics and requirements.
- Strong business orientation and analytical skills in managing SKU efficiency, product mix, and profitability.
- Advanced Excel Skills; strong data analysis skills (BAM, Cube Power BI).
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, especially PowerPoint .
- Proven motivated and inspirational professional with energy, open mind and team spirit, and the ability to work under pressure in a dynamic environment.
- Excellent interpersonal skills that inspire and build trust resulting in effective working relationships across the company.
- Demonstration of innovation and initiative – always looking at improving our processes while also displaying a willingness to dive into the details and help wherever necessary.
- Strong ability to work professionally and efficiently within the team and across departments and to connect to different functions.
- Ability to connect the dots and provide the right conclusions.
- Ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our customers, our partners, our products, or other departments’ operations and/or morale; “connecting the dots”.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, demonstrating effective listening through concise, clear verbal and written communication.
- Fluency in business English.
- Ability to travel up to 30% (domestically and internationally).
- Unwavering demonstration of Brooks’ corporate values.
- A passion for running and practicing an active lifestyle preferred.
