Associate Planner PIM

Job Id: R0000443473

About us:
Target is an iconic brand, a Fortune 50 company and one of America’s leading retailers.
As a Fortune 50 company with more than 400,000 team members worldwide, Target is an iconic brand and one of America's leading retailers. At Target, we have a timeless purpose and a proven strategy and that hasn’t happened by accident. Some of the best minds from diverse backgrounds come together at Target to redefine retail in an inclusive learning environment that values people and delivers world-class outcomes. That winning formula is especially apparent in Bengaluru, where Target in India operates as a fully integrated part of Target’s global team and has more than 4,000 team members supporting the company’s global strategy and operations.

Joining Target means promoting a culture of mutual care and respect and striving to make the most meaningful and positive impact. Becoming a Target team member means joining a community that values diverse backgrounds. We believe your unique perspective is important, and you'll build relationships by being authentic and respectful. At Target, inclusion is part of the core value. We aim to create equitable experiences for all, regardless of their dimensions of difference. As an equal opportunity employer, Target provides diverse opportunities for everyone to grow and win.

A role in Planning means being in charge of unit forecasting for one of Target’s businesses. Here, you will conduct demand planning, forecasting and management of assigned business units to maximize sales and drive forecast accuracy. Acting as the hub between Planning and Inventory, you will create a financial link between these two essential groups and have a voice in some of the most important decisions from a financial strategy standpoint.

Key Responsibilities
• Manage day-to-day inventory health for digital and omnichannel assortments, including online-only (digital-first) items and their ordering workflows.
• Maintain replenishment parameters — safety stock, reorder points, and weeks of supply — to sustain target in-stock and fill-rate levels.
• Optimize node-level inventory positioning across DCs and stores to support digital fulfillment models (ship-from-store, TFC-direct, BOPIS).
• Conduct root-cause analysis on stockouts, overstocks, and aged inventory, and drive corrective actions.
• Analyse and develop action plans through inventory dashboards, exception reports, and KPIs for stakeholders.
• Partner cross-functionally with merchandising, supply chain, and digital/site-merch teams to align inventory plans with demand.
• Translate demand signals into allocation and replenishment decisions, accounting for the higher volatility of digital demand.
Required Skills & Qualifications
• Experience: Minimum 2 years in inventory management, replenishment, allocation, demand planning, or e-commerce operations, with at least part of it in a digital/omnichannel retail context.
• Inventory fundamentals: Working command of safety stock, reorder points, weeks of supply, fill rate, and OSA/in-stock metrics.
• Excel: Advanced Excel — pivot tables, lookups, and basic modeling.
• Planning/ERP systems: Hands-on experience with at least one platform such as SAP IBP, Blue Yonder/JDA, o9, Oracle, or Manhattan.
• Digital fulfillment: Understanding of omnichannel models (ship-from-store, DC-direct, dropship/marketplace, BOPIS) and how digital demand differs from store demand.
• Analytics: Familiarity with forecasting basics and accuracy metrics (MAPE/WMAPE, bias) and the ability to perform structured root-cause analysis.
• Communication: Ability to convey inventory health clearly to non-technical stakeholders, with a detail-oriented, process-improvement mindset.
Educational Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business Analytics, Statistics, Economics, or a related quantitative field.
• A master's degree (MBA or Supply Chain) is a plus but not required at this level.
• Certifications such as APICS CPIM or CSCP, or a recognized analytics/SQL credential, are an advantage.
Preferred / Nice to Have
• Experience managing online-only assortments and digital launch/ordering workflows.
• Exposure to availability-versus-conversion trade-offs in e-commerce.
• Experience working with large datasets and partnering with data science teams.