Temporary Merchant Planning Information Analyst

**Who are we?**

UK Greetings are the UK’s biggest publisher of Greeting cards. Our talented team design and produce original greeting cards, gift wrap and ancillary product to be sold direct to retail. We are proud that our strong customer base includes some of the biggestand most recognisable retailers in the UK including ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Clintons, and John Lewis, as well as many independent retailers.

**Why UK Greetings?**

We put our people first and we create product that spreads happiness, laughter and love

We offer a hybrid working pattern and a warm and friendly culture that values diversity and inclusion.We love welcoming new talent, but we are proud that many of our employees have stayed with our business for 20+ years Visit our website for real employeeexperiences about life as a UKG colleague.

We offer fantastic career development with many opportunities available to gain qualifications while you work through various apprenticeship and higher education programmes.

Our Benefits:

- 25 Days holiday plus 8 bank holidays.
- Long service additional holiday entitlement
- Holiday Purchase Scheme
- Employee Benefits Platform (retail, restaurant discounts etc)
- Free onsite parking at Head Office sites
- Staff shop
- Employer Contributory Pension Scheme
- Access to an Online Doctor and Employee AssistanceProgramme
- Employee Recognition scheme
- Employee Referral Scheme

**The Role**

We have a fantastic opportunity for a **Merchant Planner **to join the Tesco SAM Team to cover a period of maternity leave for 12 months.

Working with the customer, Retail Merchandising Manager and Category Management, the primary role of the Merchant Planner is to drive profitable sales for both UKG and the customer through accurate demand planning.

Utilizing self-serve analytical software, you will be responsible for making recommendations for Everyday and Seasonal buy detail as well as store allocations. The primary goal is to ensure we are maximizing sales opportunities whilst minimizing waste.

**Key duties**:

- Deliver core KPI’s in respect of sales, stock intake phasing, margin, ROS, and waste.
- Prepare & review seasonal buying plans through thorough analysis of historical data and understanding of future trends/activities.
- Reviewing and making recommendations for Seasonal condensing strategies based on sales trends.
- Establish allocation requirements for seasonal phasing, reviewing seasonal sell through as season trades at item level to influence more targeted stock push.
- Establish initial stock intake plans and stock covers.
- Forecast anticipated sales uplifts by program to ensure forecast meets sales potential.

- Make recommendations on store space allocations and space splits to deliver results for the retailer.

- Maximize opportunities & minimize risks of the performance of the area by monitoring actual performance versus plan and taking remedial action as necessary.

- Continuous review of the benefit of change, strategies and tactics executed and building upon them for future seasons and programs.
- Presenting recommendations to retailer Merchandising /Buyers on a regular basis.
- Influencing decisions for the good of both UKG and the customer.
- Maintain comprehensive data records for immediate and future analysis.
- Identify and drive strategies to deliver continuous process improvement.

**The Person**
- Strong numerical and analytical ability analyzing data to enable effective recommendations.
- Commercial awareness and market intelligence.
- Self-motivated with the ability to manage multiple tasks whilst retaining high level of accuracy.
- Able to find and extract data and develop a full understanding and awareness of business syste