Business Analyst - Retail Planning

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and analytical Business Analyst – Retail Planning to join our dynamic team. In this pivotal role, you will serve as the backbone of our retail analytics and reporting infrastructure, driving data-driven insights to optimize planning processes and enhance commercial decision-making. Reporting directly to the Planning Director, you will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and enhancing retail planning reports, automating recurring tasks, and ensuring the seamless delivery of critical management information systems (MIS). Your expertise in data visualization, analysis, and quality management will play a key role in standardizing reporting across brands and markets while supporting strategic demand planning initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be tasked with the following core responsibilities:

• Report Development and Maintenance: Design, develop, and maintain comprehensive retail planning reports to support business operations, ensuring accuracy and relevance.
• Automation and Efficiency: Automate recurring reports to streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and improve operational efficiency across the retail planning function.
• MIS Delivery: Ensure the timely and accurate delivery of daily, weekly, and monthly management information systems (MIS) to stakeholders, facilitating informed decision-making.
• Standardization and Documentation: Establish and maintain standardized reporting frameworks across all brands and markets, while documenting processes and creating user guides to ensure consistency and clarity.
• Interactive Dashboard Development: Build and maintain interactive dashboards using advanced tools such as Power BI, Excel, Power Query, and SQL to provide actionable insights and enhance data visualization capabilities.
• Sales and Forecast Analysis: Conduct in-depth historical sales analysis, prepare forecast datasets, and identify seasonality trends to support demand planning and merchandise optimization.
• Data Quality Management: Ensure the integrity and accuracy of critical data sets, including product master data, store master data, inventory consistency, promotional validation, and data reconciliation to support reliable reporting and analysis.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

To measure success in this role, the following KPIs will be evaluated:

• Reporting Excellence: Timely and accurate delivery of retail planning reports and MIS.
• Business Support: Providing actionable insights and recommendations to drive commercial outcomes.
• Data Management: Ensuring high standards of data quality, integrity, and consistency across all systems.
• Automation Rate: Increasing the efficiency of reporting processes through automation and process improvements.
• Executive Report Timeliness: Delivering executive-level reports within specified deadlines to support strategic decision-making.

Core Competencies

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies to excel in this role:

• Commercial Acumen: A strong understanding of retail operations, market dynamics, and business strategies.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to dissect complex data sets, identify trends, and derive meaningful insights to inform planning and decision-making.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to convey insights effectively to stakeholders at all levels.
• Decision Making: Capacity to make data-driven recommendations and support strategic choices with confidence.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous approach to data accuracy, report quality, and process adherence.
• Data Visualization: Proficiency in creating compelling and intuitive visualizations to present data insights clearly.
• ERP Systems Expertise: Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar platforms.

Qualifications and Experience

To qualify for this role, candidates must meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Data Analytics, or a related field.
• Proven retail planning experience relevant to the role’s level of responsibility.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex formulas, pivot tables, and data modeling.
• Experience with Power BI and ERP systems is highly preferred.
• Familiarity with retail planning and merchandise planning processes is a strong advantage.