Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Item Manager

🎯 Role Definition

An Item Manager is accountable for the complete lifecycle of products/SKUs within a retail, e‑commerce or distribution environment. This role owns item master data, SKU creation and governance, demand forecasting and replenishment planning, vendor and procurement coordination, pricing and merchandising execution, and ongoing SKU rationalization to improve availability, working capital efficiency and gross margin. The Item Manager partners with merchandising, operations, procurement, finance and marketing to translate assortment strategy into reliable in‑stock positions and accurate financial forecasts.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Inventory Analyst
Junior Merchandiser
Demand Planner

Advancement To:

Senior Item / Category Manager
Merchandise Manager / Head of Assortment
Supply Chain Manager / Head of Inventory

Lateral Moves:

Category Management
Procurement / Vendor Management
Demand Planning / Forecasting

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own the end‑to‑end SKU lifecycle: create and maintain item master records, manage SKU attributes, product taxonomy and mapping to channels and locations to ensure accurate listings across ERP, WMS and e‑commerce platforms.
Develop and maintain robust demand forecasts at SKU / location / channel level using historical sales, seasonality, promotional plans and market intelligence; continuously refine models to reduce stockouts and excess inventory.
Set and execute replenishment strategies and ordering policies (safety stock, lead time buffers, min/max levels, reorder points) to achieve target service levels while minimizing working capital.
Analyze inventory performance (turns, days of supply, sell‑through, obsolescence) and implement SKU rationalization initiatives to retire slow movers and optimize assortment profitability.
Partner with merchant/category teams to translate assortment and promotional plans into replenishment and buy plans; evaluate new product introductions for required support and inventory commitments.
Coordinate with procurement and vendors to manage purchase orders, lead times, MOQ exceptions, expedite requests and supplier performance metrics, including on‑time delivery and fill rates.
Lead cross‑functional launch readiness for new SKUs: establish master data, set initial replenishment parameters, align marketing/promotions and confirm logistics readiness.
Maintain SKU pricing integrity and participate in promotional planning to ensure correct price tags, markdown strategies and margin protection across channels.
Manage inventory health programs including cycle counts, ABC analysis, returns processing, damaged goods reconciliation and disposal/returns to vendor processes.
Configure, maintain and audit item master governance policies and data quality standards; drive corrective actions for duplicate SKUs, incorrect category assignments, missing attributes and other master data issues.
Own reporting and KPI cadence for item performance—deliver weekly and monthly dashboards for inventory turns, fill rate, stockouts, aging inventory and forecast accuracy for senior leadership.
Implement and maintain integrations between ERP/WMS/e‑commerce platforms to ensure real‑time inventory visibility and data consistency for omnichannel operations.
Collaborate with supply planning and logistics to manage inbound receipt planning, warehouse allocation strategies and slotting impacts tied to SKU velocity and size.
Lead root cause analysis for supply issues (stockouts, overstock, returns spikes) and implement corrective actions including process changes, alternative sourcing or promotional adjustments.
Support pricing and margin analysis for items, providing insights that influence buy decisions, markdown cadence and promotional eligibility to protect gross margin.
Execute periodic assortment reviews and seasonal resets—recommend SKU introductions, discontinuations and range changes based on sales, margin, customer insights and space constraints.
Drive continuous process improvement initiatives (SOPs, automation, item onboarding checklists) to accelerate time‑to‑market for product launches and reduce manual errors.
Coordinate with legal, compliance and quality teams on restricted items, labeling requirements and country‑specific regulations affecting item data and distribution.
Manage special projects such as transition to new ERP modules, WMS implementations, master data consolidation or SKU consolidation programs with cross‑functional teams and external vendors.
Oversee promotional and clearance execution to ensure timely markdowns, correct inventory adjustments and accurate financial reconciliation after promotions end.
Train and support junior inventory analysts, merchandising coordinators and operational teams on item management processes, tools and best practices.
Forecast and plan for seasonal peaks and major promotional events (e.g., holiday seasons, campaigns), ensuring appropriate safety stock, vendor lead time management and expedited logistics plans.
Work with analytics and BI teams to design and maintain automated dashboards, alerts and anomaly detection for critical item metrics (e.g., sudden drops in velocity, spikes in returns).

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 the creation and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for item onboarding and deactivation.
Help evaluate and onboard new vendors or service providers that support item master data or inventory systems.
Provide subject matter expertise during audits or external reviews related to product and inventory controls.
Facilitate periodic training sessions and documentation updates to operational teams on item handling and master data requirements.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Power Query) for large SKU datasets and ad‑hoc analysis.
SQL proficiency to query transactional and master data from ERP/WMS databases and build repeatable reports.
Experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics) and item master modules.
Familiarity with WMS and OMS systems (e.g., Manhattan, Blue Yonder, Shopify Plus, Magento) and integration points.
Forecasting and demand planning tools or techniques (statistical forecasting, time series models, APS tools like Kinaxis or JDA).
Inventory optimization tools and concepts (safety stock modeling, service level optimization, EOQ).
Business intelligence and visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to create and automate KPI dashboards.
Data governance and master data management experience (data quality rules, deduplication, attribute standardization).
Basic scripting/automation (Python, R, or VBA) for repeatable ETL and analytical tasks.
Understanding of retail merchandising principles, assortment planning and pricing mechanics.
Experience with SKU rationalization and SKU lifecycle management processes.
Familiarity with supply chain metrics and financial KPIs (turns, DSO, inventory days, GMROI).

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management and cross‑functional collaboration skills—able to influence merchants, planners, procurement and operations.
Analytical thinker with a bias for data‑driven decisions and comfortable with ambiguity.
Excellent verbal and written communication; able to present complex inventory insights to non‑technical audiences.
Detail oriented with a high degree of accuracy when managing master data and transactional inventory.
Problem solver who can rapidly diagnose root causes and implement practical solutions.
Project management skills with ability to drive multiple concurrent initiatives and deliverables.
Customer focus — balancing availability, cost and customer experience in decision making.
Adaptability and a continuous improvement mindset to streamline processes and implement automation.
Leadership and mentorship capability to grow junior staff and build shared best practices.
Time management and prioritization — managing peaks, launches and urgent replenishment needs effectively.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s with concentration in Supply Chain / Operations or MBA / Master’s in a related discipline.
Certifications such as APICS CPIM/CSCP, ISM, or certificates in analytics/SQL are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management / Logistics
Business Administration / Economics
Data Analytics / Information Systems
Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of relevant experience in inventory management, SKU/item management, demand planning, merchandising or supply chain operations.

Preferred:

5+ years managing large assortments (thousands of SKUs) in retail, e‑commerce, consumer goods or distribution.
Demonstrated experience with ERP/WMS implementations, master data governance and cross‑functional project leadership.
Experience in omni‑channel inventory strategies, marketplace integrations and promotional cadence planning.