Merchandise Planner- 12 month fixed-term

Job summary

Develop and maintain SKU-level demand forecasts and manage Open-to-Buy (OTB) execution to align inventory with financial goals. Collaborate with Category Management, Sourcing, and Finance to optimize inventory health and product availability.

Job details

Department: Supply Chain Location: Vancouver Compensation: CA$80,000 - CA$100,000 / year Description Hi there, we’re Article. 👋 Since 2013, we have been redefining the furniture industry one sofa at a time, it’s not easy — it requires solving challenging, meaningful problems. This is where you come in, as a Merchandise Planner, you'll turn data into smart inventory and forecasting decisions that help our categories grow while keeping the right products available for our customers. Why We Need You: In Merchandise Planning, we balance customer demand, inventory, and financial goals to help our product categories perform at their best. We’re looking for a Merchandise Planner to join us in a fixed-term role ending September 10, 2027. You’ll own planning for your assigned categories, building SKU-level forecasts across channels and connecting top-down category financial plans with bottom-up SKU plans. Using retail math, sales performance, and business trends, you’ll manage Open-to-Buy (OTB), identify risks and opportunities, and help us make informed inventory investments. You’ll also work closely with Category Management, Sourcing, Order Management, and Finance to turn assortment strategies into inventory plans that support our customers and business goals. Within your first few months, you’ll build a strong understanding of your categories, establish effective partnerships across teams, and take ownership of forecasting, inventory planning, and OTB. In a year, you’ll be proud to say you’ve helped improve forecast accuracy, inventory health, and category performance through thoughtful, data-driven planning. Why Article? As a Particle (people of Article), you will have a high level of autonomy to solve challenging, meaningful problems the best way you can. That means you’re trusted to explore solutions you believe will work best (you’re the expert, after all). You’ll do all this while growing your skills within a company that is redefining the furniture industry. About the Team: Our Merchandise Planning team works closely with Category Management, Sourcing, Order Management, Finance, and other teams across Article to connect product strategy with demand, inventory, and financial planning. We are a hybrid team - you'll be in the office 3 days per week. What You’ll Do You’ll be part of the Merchandise Planning team, working to make informed forecasting and inventory decisions that support our customers, category strategies, and financial goals. Develop and maintain SKU-level demand forecasts across channels to support category growth and financial goals. Reconcile top-down category financial plans with bottom-up SKU-level plans, identifying gaps, risks, and opportunities. Own Open-to-Buy (OTB) execution, ensuring inventory investments align with merchandising and financial strategies. Manage inventory levels to support product availability while balancing financial targets and minimizing overstock and stockout risks. Analyze historical sales, market trends, and business performance to refine forecasts and adjust plans as conditions change. Track forecast accuracy, sell-through, inventory health, and other key performance indicators to understand category performance. Turn data into clear recommendations that help improve category performance and inform inventory decisions. Partner with Category Management to translate product assortment strategies into SKU-level demand and inventory plans. Collaborate with Sourcing and Order Management to align inventory plans with vendor capacity and production needs. Identify opportunities to improve and automate planning processes, helping the team work more efficiently and adapt as business needs change. Who You Are Qualifications: You have 3+ years of experience in merchandise planning, demand planning, merchandising, or a related area. You have a strong understanding of retail math and can apply it to merchandise, inventory, and financial planning. You have experience with Open-to-Buy (OTB) and pre-season planning. You have a bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, or a related field. Technical Skills: You can build and manage detailed SKU-level forecasts and reconcile them with category-level financial plans. You have advanced Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets skills and are comfortable working with large data sets. You have experience with planning or reporting tools such as SAP IBP, Blue Yonder (JDA), John Galt, Anaplan, or Tableau. How You Work: You turn complex data into clear recommendations and use facts and business context to make informed decisions. You communicate clearly and build strong relationships across teams, including Category Management, Finance, Sourcing, and Order Management. You can influence and build alignment with partners to keep decisions and work moving forward. You’re adaptable and can prioritize competing needs and deadlines while taking ownership of your work. Additional Requirements: Legally able to work in Canada. Able to work for the full fixed term, ending September 10, 2027. Completion of a criminal background check. Perks & Benefits Wealth: The salary range is $80,000 to $100,000 Starting salary is determined by your transferable skills, knowledge, work experience, and the hiring team’s budget, which is based on business needs, market compensation data, and internal equity Life: 15 days of vacation* 1 extra day off (Inclusion and Diversity Day) 6 well-being (sick) days Hybrid work: 3 days a week in the office Work remotely (anywhere in the world) for up to 3 weeks Total Health: Excellent extended health, dental and vision benefits $1000 health/lifestyle spending account* for your total physical and mental well-being TELUS Health App Mental Health Assistance/Counseling Virtual medical appointments Office Space: The Article HQ is a converted warehouse, with an open accessible layout and no offices (even for our founders) Work from your desk, an Article sofa, collaboration spaces, or a private meeting room Standup desks can be requested too Our kitchens are stocked with salty, sweet and healthy snacks, & all the premium coffees and teas to keep you buzzing Onsite fitness equipment with showers and towel service Pickleball, badminton, and table tennis matches happen, from very competitive to very casual A dog-friendly office - well-socialized pups are welcome Getting here: Free street parking (first come, first serve; no reserved spots for senior leaders) Indoor secure bike storage with change rooms and showers 20-minute walk to either Main Street- Science World or VCC Clark Skytrain stations Extra: 45% discount on our entire product range (15% for friends and family) *Prorated Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Hiring: At Article, we value authenticity and transparency in our hiring process. We want to get to know the real you, not an AI-generated version. Here are some guidelines around Artificial Intelligence in Hiring and what we expect from you. From us, you can expect that humans make hiring decisions. Criminal Background Checks: Having a criminal record does not restrict your employment at Article. Criminal background checks are only conducted with your permission and after a conditional employment offer has been accepted. The decision if a criminal record will restrict your employment will be made on a case-by-case basis, where we conduct an "individualized assessment"—a reasoned, evidence-based determination as to whether the applicant's past conviction has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific job duties of the position. Work Authorization: Unless otherwise stated, all open roles require legal authorization to work in the location where the job is based, without requiring VISA sponsorship. For US-based roles, Article participates in E-Verify Be Aware of Scam Jobs/ Recruitment Fraud: Click here for more information on Scam Jobs. If you receive a suspicious message or job offer claiming to be from Article, please do not engage. Forward the message to careers@article.com so we can investigate. Equal Opportunity Statement: At Article, we value and respect individuals for their different talents, skills, abilities, and unique contributions. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs, and not on race, ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, disability, genetic characteristics, personal beliefs, or any other classification protected by federal, state, provincial, and local laws and ordinances. Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are related to a disability or another protected characteristic. Applicants can also request accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process by notifying the hiring team or emailing ta.accommodation@article.com. This email is dedicated to accommodation requests only—non-related messages will not receive a response.

What you’ll do

Develop and maintain SKU-level demand forecasts and manage Open-to-Buy (OTB) execution to align inventory with financial goals. Collaborate with Category Management, Sourcing, and Finance to optimize inventory health and product availability.

Requirements

Requires 3+ years of experience in merchandise or demand planning and a bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Finance. Proficiency in retail math and advanced Excel/Google Sheets is essential, along with experience in planning tools like SAP IBP or Anaplan.

Benefits

• Extended health benefits • Dental benefits • Vision benefits • Health/lifestyle spending account • TELUS Health App • Mental health assistance/counseling • Virtual medical appointments • 15 days of vacation • Inclusion and diversity day off • 6 well-being days • Onsite fitness equipment • Employee discount

Listed skills

• Tableau · Preferred
• Data analysis · Preferred
• Microsoft Excel · Preferred
• Financial planning · Preferred
• Inventory management · Preferred
• Cross-Functional Collaboration · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Merchandise Planning
• Demand Planning
• Retail Math
• Open-to-Buy (OTB)
• SKU-level Forecasting
• Inventory Management
• Microsoft Excel
• Google Sheets
• Data Analysis
• Financial Planning
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Tableau

Job areas

• Retail
• Logistics
• Data & Analytics
• Finance & Accounting
• Manufacturing