Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Merchandise Operations Associate

🎯 Role Definition

The Merchandise Operations Associate supports end-to-end merchandising logistics, inventory accuracy, and execution of merchandising plans across channels. This role owns daily operational tasks including purchase order management, allocation and replenishment execution, inventory reconciliation, and cross-functional communication with buying, planning, distribution, and stores. The ideal candidate combines strong data literacy (Excel/ERP/WMS), hands-on operational grit, and a customer-first merchandising mindset to ensure product availability, margin protection, and timely promotional execution.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Retail Sales Associate or Department Supervisor transitioning into corporate merchandising operations.
Inventory Coordinator, Stock Control Specialist, or Restock Planner with strong Excel/ERP exposure.
Junior Merchandiser, Buying Assistant, or Operations Coordinator from vendor/3PL environments.

Advancement To:

Merchandise Planner / Junior Buyer
Senior Operations Analyst / Inventory Planner
Merchandising Operations Manager or Senior Buyer

Lateral Moves:

Supply Chain Planner
Store Operations Coordinator
Vendor Performance Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage the full lifecycle of purchase orders and confirmations: create, track, amend, expedite, and close POs in the ERP system while ensuring on-time delivery and accurate receipt records to meet merchandising calendars and promotional timelines.
Execute daily allocation and replenishment plans across omni-channel nodes (DCs, stores, e‑commerce), using historical sell-through, forecast signals, and business rules to optimize on‑hand inventory and minimize stockouts.
Perform detailed weekly and monthly inventory reconciliations and cycle count follow-ups, investigate variances between physical counts and system records, and coordinate corrective actions with receiving, inventory control, and loss prevention teams.
Coordinate seasonal product launches and store resets by aligning inventory flow, merchandising standards, planogram compliance, and visual execution timelines with store operations and field merchandising teams.
Maintain and update the item master and SKU attributes (cost, UPC/EAN, dimensions, season, vendor, pricing tiers) to ensure data integrity across ERP, WMS, POS, and ecommerce platforms.
Monitor vendor performance and shipment status, build strong vendor relationships, escalate late shipments and quality issues, and lead root cause analysis to reduce freight delays and inbound exceptions.
Partner closely with buyers and planners to analyze sales trends, sell-through, open-to-buy, and assortment performance; provide data-driven recommendations for reorder cadence, markdowns, and clearance strategies.
Drive promotional preparation and execution: verify promo pricing, allocate promotional inventory, validate promotional tags and planogram changes, and reconcile promotional sell-through and margin impact post-event.
Execute outbound and inbound logistics coordination with 3PLs and carriers, including booking, routing, and exception resolution, while enforcing compliance with routing guides and freight terms.
Own daily KPI reporting and dashboards (inventory turns, in-stock %, days of supply, PO aging, receipt accuracy), delivering actionable insights and weekly readouts to cross-functional teams and leadership.
Conduct SKU lifecycle management including new SKU introductions, replenishment cadence, transfers, consolidations, and discontinuations to optimize assortment health and reduce slow-moving inventory.
Lead markdown strategy implementation by preparing markdown plans, calculating financial impact, updating pricing in systems, and coordinating markdown execution at store and online channels.
Validate and process vendor claims, chargebacks, and short-pays; prepare supporting documentation and coordinate resolution across finance, vendor relations, and receiving teams.
Support reverse logistics and returns management by establishing quarantine processes, disposition decisions (refurbish, return to vendor, destroy), and updating inventory systems to reflect return events and disposition outcomes.
Configure and maintain planogram and shelf-level merchandising directives in collaboration with visual merchandising and category teams; ensure field compliance and provide corrective feedback where necessary.
Manage replenishment thresholds, safety stock settings, and automatic reorder parameters within the inventory system to balance service level goals against working capital constraints.
Participate in forecasting and open-to-buy cycles by supplying historically grounded operational assumptions, lead time validations, and incoming inventory forecasts to improve planner accuracy.
Drive continuous process improvement projects (e.g., PO automation, exception workflows, EDI accuracy) to reduce manual touchpoints, shorten lead times, and improve data quality across merchandising operations.
Execute SKU-level profitability checks by reconciling landed cost variances, freight allocation, duties, and other cost elements to support pricing decisions and margin protection initiatives.
Support store allocations for new store openings, relocations, or temporary pop-ups by creating full pick-pack manifests, coordinating expedited shipping, and validating store receipts and planogram readiness.
Ensure compliance with corporate policies, retailer requirements, and regulatory standards (e.g., labeling, safety, returns) when onboarding vendors and launching assortments.
Train and mentor junior operations staff, seasonal associates, and cross-functional partners on systems, SOPs, and best practices to improve team capability and operational consistency.
Respond to ad-hoc operational escalations (stock shortages, system outages, vendor disputes) with swift analysis, coordinated remediation, and documented post‑mortems to prevent recurrence.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc reporting requests and exploratory merchandising analytics for buyers and category leads; build extractable datasets and one-off reports to answer tactical questions.
Contribute to cross-functional project teams (ERP upgrades, WMS implementations, EDI enhancements), supplying operational requirements, testing scripts, and user acceptance test (UAT) support.
Collaborate with marketing and eCommerce teams to ensure product information, launch timing, and inventory availability align with campaign targets and channel-specific fulfillment strategies.
Assist the inventory planning team with customer demand signals and point-of-sale data interpretation to refine replenishment algorithms and demand smoothing.
Facilitate cross-border shipments and compliance documentation for international sourcing, working with customs brokers, freight forwarders, and trade compliance teams.
Participate in weekly operational cadence meetings (inventory reviews, PO aging, vendor performance) and document follow-up actions with owners and due dates.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, macros) for inventory analysis and reporting.
Hands-on experience with ERP systems (NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics) for PO creation, item master management, and receipts.
Familiarity with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and 3PL operational flows (receiving, putaway, replenishment, fulfillment).
Experience with demand forecasting and replenishment tools or modules (JDA/Blue Yonder, Relex, ToolsGroup) or equivalent planning logic.
Knowledge of EDI and vendor PO/ASN workflows, including PO 850, ASN 856, invoicing, and chargeback processes.
Proficiency with reporting and visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to create dashboards and KPI trackers.
Basic SQL skills for pulling transactional data and supporting ad-hoc analytics requests.
Understanding of omni-channel fulfillment strategies (ship-from-store, store pickup, direct-to-consumer) and inventory allocation rules.
Experience managing SKU master data, pricing updates, and item lifecycle processes across multiple systems.
Familiarity with retail metrics: sell-through, inventory turns, days of supply, fill rate, GMROI, markup and margin calculations.

Soft Skills

Strong attention to detail and accuracy when reconciling inventory and processing POs.
Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to coordinate cross-functional stakeholders including suppliers, planners, and distribution partners.
Analytical mindset with the ability to translate sales data into operational actions and inventory decisions.
Prioritization and time-management skills to handle competing deadlines, promotions, and seasonality peaks.
Problem-solving and escalation management skills; calm under pressure during supply disruptions or system outages.
Collaborative team player who can build relationships across merchandising, finance, logistics, and stores.
Continuous improvement orientation: proactive in identifying process inefficiencies and proposing practical solutions.
Adaptability and flexibility to work during seasonal peaks, store resets, or vendor shipment surges.
Customer-centric focus: maintain in-stock levels for optimal customer experience while protecting margin.
Project execution skills: able to support ERP/WMS projects, UAT, and change management activities.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High School Diploma or GED required.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Retail Management, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Merchandising / Retail Management
Supply Chain / Logistics
Business Administration / Finance
Data Analytics / Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1 to 4 years of direct experience in retail merchandising operations, inventory control, or supply chain support.

Preferred:

2+ years working with ERP/WMS systems, inventory management, purchase order workflows, and cross-functional merchandising execution in a retail or consumer goods environment.