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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Item Consultant

💰 $ - $

RetailMerchandisingProduct ManagementInventory ManagementConsulting

🎯 Role Definition

An Item Consultant is a specialist who partners with merchandising, buying, supply chain, and commercial teams to define, optimize and manage the lifecycle of retail or product SKUs (items). This role focuses on assortment planning, item-level analytics, pricing and margin optimization, inventory and replenishment strategies, and vendor coordination to improve sales, profitability, and in-store / online availability. The Item Consultant translates commercial goals into item-level decisions, providing actionable recommendations based on data, market trends, and supplier constraints.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Merchandising Coordinator / Assistant Buyer
  • Inventory Analyst or Demand Planner
  • Product Specialist or Category Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Item Consultant / Senior Merchandiser
  • Category Manager or Head of Assortment
  • Merchandising Manager / Commercial Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Inventory or Supply Chain Manager
  • Vendor / Supplier Relationship Manager
  • Pricing Analyst or Retail Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead item-level assortment planning and SKU lifecycle management by defining item attributes, categorization, and routing recommendations that align with category strategies, seasonal calendars, and commercial objectives.
  • Conduct deep-dive item profitability and margin analysis to identify low-performing SKUs, cannibalization risks, and opportunities for SKU rationalization that increase overall category margin.
  • Build and maintain demand forecasts at the item-store-channel level using historical sales, promotion schedules, trend signals, and external market inputs to support replenishment and allocation.
  • Design and execute assortment testing plans (A/B tests, pilot assortments, geographic rollouts) and measure lift, conversion, and inventory impacts to scale winning items.
  • Partner with buyers and category managers to develop new item introductions, create business cases, set initial pricing, and estimate inventory commitments and vendor lead-times.
  • Define and optimize pricing and markdown strategies at SKU level using elasticity analysis, competitive benchmarking, and margin goals to maximize gross margin return on investment (GMROI).
  • Lead SKU rationalization programs by developing scorecards, life-stage rules, and de-listing procedures while communicating impacts and timeline to cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Monitor on-shelf availability and fill-rate performance for high-priority items, work with supply chain teams to resolve replenishment issues, and recommend buffer or safety stock adjustments.
  • Manage item master data quality initiatives — ensure accurate product attributes, UPC/SKU mappings, vendor data, dimensions, and category taxonomy to enable reliable reporting and omni-channel consistency.
  • Produce weekly and monthly item performance dashboards and executive summaries using BI tools to highlight trends, exceptions, and recommended actions for buyers and leadership.
  • Coordinate with merchandising, marketing and e-commerce teams to plan promotional assortments and product placement, aligning inventory and markdown plans to expected promotional lift.
  • Negotiate and manage vendor relationships related to item-level commitments, vendor-managed inventory (VMI) agreements, lead times, and return/claim policies to support commercial objectives.
  • Implement and govern item-level business rules within ERP/PIM/PLM systems, ensuring seamless integration between item creation, purchase orders, and replenishment workflows.
  • Conduct competitive assortment and market research to identify white-space opportunities, emerging trends, and product adjacencies that can inform assortment expansion or private label opportunities.
  • Create and maintain item lifecycle playbooks and SOPs — from item creation and testing to phase-out — and train cross-functional teams on governance and best practices.
  • Collaborate with pricing, promotions, and finance to quantify the P&L impact of item strategies and incorporate seasonality and promotional cadence into forecast models.
  • Use advanced analytics (segmentation, clustering, cannibalization analysis) to recommend localized assortments and store stratification, improving conversion and inventory turns regionally.
  • Drive omni-channel item strategies by aligning online product information, availability, and fulfillment methods (BOPIS, ship-from-store, drop-ship) with store assortments.
  • Develop scenario modeling and what-if analysis for assortment changes, new-item introductions, and promotional calendars to anticipate inventory, margin, and sales impacts.
  • Facilitate cross-functional planning sessions for new product launches, seasonal resets, and clearance strategies to ensure operational readiness and minimize stock obsolescence.
  • Champion continuous improvement efforts such as process automation, data pipeline enhancements, and item lifecycle KPIs that reduce manual effort and increase decision velocity.
  • Provide mentorship and guidance to junior merchandising analysts and consultants on item analytics, reporting, and stakeholder engagement best practices.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist in cross-functional project workstreams such as ERP upgrades, PIM implementations, or omni-channel enablement projects that impact item data and flows.
  • Maintain a centralized knowledge base of item-related business logic, exceptions, and historical decisions to support auditability and onboarding.
  • Provide training sessions for buying and store operations teams on new item tools, dashboards, and governance processes.
  • Audit item lifecycle exceptions and perform root cause analyses to remedy recurring issues affecting sales or supply.
  • Support sustainability and compliance initiatives by ensuring item data includes sourcing, material, and labeling attributes required for reporting.
  • Coordinate with creative, content, and taxonomy owners to enhance online product pages for better conversion and SEO performance.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Assortment planning and SKU rationalization methodologies.
  • Inventory forecasting and demand planning (time-series forecasting, safety stock calculations).
  • Strong proficiency with Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas, Power Query) and experience with SQL for item-level data extraction and transformation.
  • Experience with BI and visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Looker or equivalent to build item performance dashboards.
  • Familiarity with ERP, PIM, PLM, or merchandising systems (e.g., Oracle, SAP, Netsuite, Salsify) and item master management.
  • Knowledge of pricing analytics, elasticity modeling, and markdown optimization techniques.
  • Experience with retail analytics tools and e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Magento, or proprietary systems) and omni-channel fulfillment logic.
  • Vendor management and negotiation experience supporting item-level agreements, lead times, and commercial terms.
  • Experience designing and analyzing assortment tests, A/B experiments, or pilot rollouts.
  • Basic scripting or data automation skills (Python, R, or macros) to streamline repetitive item analysis tasks.
  • Understanding of SKU-level KPIs: turns, sell-through, GMROI, SKU productivity, and inventory hysteresis.
  • Familiarity with EDI, drop-ship, VMI and other supplier data/execution models.

Soft Skills

  • Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate analytics into actionable business recommendations.
  • Excellent stakeholder management: ability to influence buyers, supply chain, category managers, and vendors.
  • Clear written and verbal communication — able to prepare executive summaries and present to senior leadership.
  • Detail-oriented with disciplined data governance and process orientation.
  • Problem-solving mindset with an emphasis on root-cause analysis and systemic fixes.
  • Project management skills: prioritize tasks, manage cross-functional timelines, and deliver results under pressure.
  • Adaptability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced retail environment.
  • Collaborative team player who can mentor junior staff and build consensus across functions.
  • Time management and organization skills to handle concurrent launches, promotions, and replenishment cycles.
  • Ethical judgment and accountability when handling commercial data and vendor negotiations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Merchandising, Economics, Data Analytics, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (MBA or MS in Supply Chain/Analytics) or relevant professional certification (CPIM, CSCP, CSM, or Data Analytics certification).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Merchandising, Retail Management
  • Supply Chain / Logistics
  • Business Analytics / Data Science
  • Finance / Economics
  • Marketing

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–6 years of progressive experience in retail merchandising, assortment planning, inventory planning, category management, or product analytics.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years experience working directly with SKU-level assortment and inventory decisions in retail, CPG, or e-commerce; demonstrated success leading item rationalization, launch planning, and cross-functional programs.
  • Experience with large-scale ERP/PIM implementations, advanced analytics projects, or leading vendor negotiation at the SKU level is a plus.
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