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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Allocator

💰 $55,000 - $95,000

OperationsSupply ChainLogisticsInventory ManagementDistribution

🎯 Role Definition

The Allocator is a tactical and analytical operations role responsible for managing inventory allocation and replenishment across channels, optimizing SKU flow to meet demand and customer service goals, and executing allocation policies using ERP/WMS systems. The Allocator ensures the right product is available in the right location at the right time by analyzing sales velocity, inventory positions, promotions, lead times, and business priorities. This role partners closely with supply planning, replenishment, operations, merchandising, and transportation teams to minimize stockouts, overstocks, and obsolescence while maximizing sales and service levels.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Inventory Analyst or Inventory Control Specialist
  • Logistics Coordinator or Warehouse Coordinator
  • Customer Service / Order Management Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Allocator
  • Replenishment or Inventory Manager
  • Supply Chain Manager or Demand Planning Manager
  • Merchandise Planner or Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Demand Planner
  • Replenishment Analyst
  • Transportation Planner
  • S&OP Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop and execute day-to-day inventory allocation strategies across stores, DCs, and e-commerce channels to maximize sell-through and meet key performance indicators (KPIs) such as fill rate, on-shelf availability, and inventory turns.
  • Analyze daily and weekly sales, promotions, returns, and supply receipts to dynamically re-allocate inventory and adjust safety stock levels, ensuring high service levels during promotional and peak seasons.
  • Operate and maintain allocation configurations in enterprise systems (ERP/WMS/OMS) such as SAP, Oracle, Manhattan, or Netsuite; create and update allocation rules, hierarchies, and exceptions.
  • Evaluate inbound supply and lead-time variances and make informed allocation decisions to prioritize high-margin SKUs, key accounts, or strategic channels during constrained supply scenarios.
  • Prepare and deliver timely allocation reports, dashboards, and executive summaries (Power BI, Tableau, Excel) that highlight allocation performance, open to buy status, backlog, and critical stock positions.
  • Partner with merchandising and category management to translate assortment and promotion plans into practical allocation plans, seasonal rollouts, and store receiving schedules.
  • Execute new product launches and initial distribution plans by determining pre-launch replenishment levels, launch allocations by location, and post-launch adjustments based on sell-through.
  • Manage exceptions and escalation processes for allocation conflicts, damaged inventory, returns, and vendor shortages by coordinating with procurement, vendor management, and supply chain operations.
  • Monitor key metrics (stockouts, overstocks, days of supply, inventory accuracy) and run root cause analysis to recommend corrective actions that reduce waste and improve inventory health.
  • Implement and enforce allocation governance, policies, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency across regions and channels.
  • Coordinate with transportation and warehouse teams to align allocation plans with shipping cutoffs, cross-dock schedules, and DC capacity constraints to minimize expedited freight and missed delivery windows.
  • Conduct SKU-level segmentation and ABC/XYZ analysis to prioritize allocation efforts by SKU velocity, margin profile, and strategic importance.
  • Maintain accurate inventory positions by reviewing cycle count results and system adjustments; initiate inventory corrections and disposition decisions in the system with proper audit trails.
  • Run scenario modeling and what-if analyses for contingency planning (supplier delays, demand surges, channel shifts) to recommend reallocation or contingency fulfillment strategies.
  • Support pricing and markdown strategies by allocating inventory for targeted markdowns, clearance events, and promotional markdown protections.
  • Work with e-commerce and customer service teams to support order exceptions, split shipments, and manual allocations that impact customer satisfaction and SLA compliance.
  • Lead allocation-related projects such as system upgrades, process automation, and demand-supply synchronization initiatives to reduce manual work and accelerate decision cycles.
  • Train and advise junior allocators and cross-functional partners on allocation tools, logic, and business rules to scale best practices and preserve institutional knowledge.
  • Maintain compliance with corporate policies, audit requirements, and financial controls when making disposition or inventory adjustment decisions.
  • Continuously optimize allocation cadence, thresholds, and reorder triggers using statistical demand signals and historical trends to reduce safety stock while protecting service levels.
  • Collaborate with vendors and 3PL partners for vendor-managed inventory (VMI) or consignment programs to ensure allocations reflect contractual obligations and replenishment agreements.
  • Drive KPIs by partnering in S&OP and weekly operational reviews, presenting actionable insights and recommended reallocations to meet weekly sales and inventory targets.
  • Reconcile discrepancies between physical and system inventories, lead corrective actions for shrink, returns processing, and damaged goods, and update allocation logic to prevent recurrence.

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 continuous improvement initiatives by documenting workflows, identifying automation opportunities, and piloting new allocation algorithms.
  • Provide cross-training and backup support for order management and replenishment teams during peak periods or staffing gaps.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Inventory Management and Allocation Strategy — expertise in multi-echelon inventory allocation, safety stock, and replenishment logic.
  • ERP / WMS Experience — hands-on with systems like SAP MM/WM, Oracle Inventory, Manhattan, Blue Yonder, or Netsuite for allocation and order fulfillment.
  • Order Management Systems (OMS) — working knowledge of how order routing and fulfillment engines interact with allocation rules.
  • Advanced Excel — pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Power Query, and complex financial modeling for scenario analysis.
  • SQL — ability to extract, transform, and analyze allocation-related datasets from relational databases for troubleshooting and reporting.
  • BI and Visualization — Power BI, Tableau, or Looker experience to build actionable allocation dashboards and executive reports.
  • Demand Signal Analysis — familiarity with point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce sales feeds and their use in allocation decisions.
  • Forecasting & Statistical Tools — basic to intermediate knowledge of forecasting methods and experience using planning tools or modules (e.g., SAP APO, JDA, Blue Yonder).
  • S&OP & Cross-functional Planning — experience participating in Sales & Operations Planning processes and translating outputs into allocation actions.
  • Process Automation & Scripting — experience with automation tools (e.g., Excel VBA, Python, or R) to reduce manual allocation tasks and enable faster decision cycles.
  • SKU Segmentation & ABC Analysis — ability to classify SKUs by velocity, margin, and risk to prioritize allocation activity.
  • KPI Tracking & Performance Metrics — proven ability to define and track allocation KPIs (fill rate, days of supply, inventory turns, stockouts).

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and the ability to translate data into clear operational actions.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; able to present allocation impacts to merchandising, supply chain, and finance teams.
  • Problem-solving orientation with the ability to make tradeoff decisions under pressure and constrained supply.
  • Collaborative team player who can work across functions and influence without direct authority.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to handle competing allocation requests and seasonal volatility.
  • Adaptability and continuous improvement focus to iterate allocation policies quickly as business needs change.
  • Customer-centric mindset to balance internal metrics with end-customer experience and SLA compliance.
  • High level of accountability and ownership for inventory accuracy and financial implications of allocation decisions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; technical certifications in supply chain, inventory management, or related tools are a plus.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Operations Management, Finance, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics and Transportation
  • Business Administration
  • Operations Research
  • Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2 to 5 years of hands-on experience in inventory allocation, replenishment, order fulfillment, or related supply chain operational roles.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of experience using ERP/WMS systems (SAP, Oracle, Manhattan, Blue Yonder) and demonstrated success managing multi-channel allocations and seasonal planning cycles.
  • Experience in retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, or distribution center operations with measurable improvements to service levels, inventory turns, or markdown reductions.
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