Principal Product Specialist

Skills at this level

Inventory management

— Manages stock levels across the stockroom and store, receiving, storing, and issuing merchandise to fill shelves and orders, and monitoring min/max triggers to keep product available.

Replenishment planning

— Plans and executes replenishment by analyzing demand to adjust reorder points, setting forward capacity, optimizing slotting for fast movers, and generating replenishment tasks.

Cycle counting / inventory accuracy

— Leads cycle counts for top SKUs, conducts regular audits, and documents count variances and exceptions so inventory records match physical stock.

Sales trend analysis

— Analyzes sales trends across SKUs and stores to recommend stock replenishment, reorder-point changes, and markdowns on slow-moving product.

Allocation and flow management

— Coordinates inventory shipments into and out of the Retail DC and manages the flow of merchandise to stores so each location receives the right product, quantity, and timing for launch-week and seasonal readiness.

3PL partnership management

— Manages the day-to-day third-party logistics relationship, holding partners accountable for receiving accuracy, on-time store deliveries, and disciplined fulfillment performance.

Merchandise planning

— Owns sales, margin, inventory, and receipt plans across channels, driving inventory productivity and building the planning calendars and governance that align allocation with financial targets.

Financial acumen

— Ties operational decisions to sales, margin, and inventory productivity, connecting in-stock rates and sell-through to receipt plans and markdown outcomes.

Data analysis and reporting

— Uses BI and reporting tools to model financials, analyze large SKU-level data sets, and deliver clear, data-driven insight on fulfillment and planning performance.

SOP development and process improvement

— Develops, documents, and updates receiving, replenishment, and planning best practices and operational tools, standardizing routines across the store fleet.

Cross-functional collaboration

— Builds working partnerships across Buying, Store Operations, Finance, supply chain, analytics, and store teams to align inventory plans and promotional support.

People leadership

— Mentors associates, provides input on evaluations and hiring, acts as Supervisor on Duty, and at senior levels manages managers and directors across multiple locations.

Stakeholder communication

— Presents planning strategies, business performance, risks, and recommendations clearly to store leadership, cross-functional partners, and executive leadership.

RFID and barcode scanning

— Uses RFID tags, readers, and mobile Android scanners (Zebra, Honeywell) to track inbound merchandise, drive replenishment, and perform stock takes accurately.