Assistant Merchandise Planner
Legal Right to Work Required
This employer requires applicants to already have the legal right to work in the job location. You must hold valid work authorisation, residence status, or citizenship.
This opportunity may still be relevant if you already have work authorization in the country, are a permanent resident, citizen, or hold a valid work visa.
Role Summary
Join Halfords as an Assistant Merchandise Planner in West Midlands to optimize merchandising and supply chain operations. Apply your analytical skills in a dynamic retail environment.
About the Organisation
At Halfords, our mission is to inspire and support a lifetime of motoring and
cycling. As a specialist retailer, we lead the market through customer-driven
innovation and a distinct product range. We are dedicated to providing our
customers with an integrated, unique, and convenient service experience—from
e-bike and electric vehicle servicing to on-demand solutions. Our commitment is
to foster customer loyalty by offering compelling reasons to keep coming back to
our stores, ensuring a lifetime of motoring and cycling enjoyment.
The teams at our Redditch Support Centre work with every other area of our
business, putting them at the heart of the action and playing a key role in our
success and growth. Everyone brings their individual knowledge and experience to
work every day, working as one team to keep things moving smoothly.
If you’re willing to get stuck in, you’ll love it here too. So put yourself at
the heart of a dynamic, fast-paced working environment where expertise and focus
take people far.
As an Assistant Merchandise Planner at Halfords, you’ll sit at the heart of our
merchandising and supply chain operation, helping ensure the right products are
in the right place at the right time for our customers. This is a hands-on,
analytical role with real ownership, working end to end across forecasting,
stock planning, supplier coordination and distribution centre activity to
maximise availability and sales across key product categories.
You’ll work closely with Buyers, Merchandise Planners, suppliers and DC teams to
forecast demand, plan stock in and out, and keep everything aligned to
open-to-buy and KPI targets. Day to day, you’ll analyse sales performance,
identify under- and over-performing lines, and pull the right levers to drive
availability and reduce risk. From placing orders to tracking throughput and
resolving stock issues, you’ll play a key role in keeping high-volume,
fast-moving products on the shelves.
This role suits someone who enjoys pace, problem-solving and numbers. You’ll be
comfortable working with large data sets in Excel, confident engaging multiple
stakeholders, and motivated by seeing the direct impact of your decisions on
stores and customers. It’s a step up from allocator-style roles, offering full
ownership, exposure to the full supply chain lifecycle, and the opportunity to
build a strong career foundation in a fast-moving retail environment.
planning, or stock management
(pivot tables, lookups, formulas)
actions
drives sales and customer experience
stakeholders
pace
waiting for direction
impact
Reward & benefits
discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave
plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave.
development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your
best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations.
Support Centre 3 days a week with an optional 2 days working from home.
suite of products and services.
offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and
active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords.
Not sure you meet all the criteria? We'd encourage you to take the wheel and
apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace
for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome
applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords
Family.
At Halfords, we operate a hybrid working policy with 3 days per week on-site at
our Support Centre in Redditch Worcestershire.
- Proven retail or supply chain experience, ideally within merchandising,
- Strong numerical and analytical capability, with intermediate Excel skills
- Comfortable working with large data sets and turning insight into clear
- Commercially minded, with a strong understanding of how stock availability
- Confident working cross-functionally and communicating with a wide range of
- Highly organised, detail-focused, and able to manage multiple priorities at
- Proactive, solutions-oriented, and comfortable taking ownership rather than
- Motivated by fast-moving environments where your decisions have visible
- A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, annual
- Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional
- We offer hybrid working in our Support Centre, you will be based at our
- You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords
- Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We
Key Responsibilities
forecasting through to stock delivery into stores and online
actions to maximise availability and sales
controls
to resolve availability or volume issues
sell-through, and stock investment
are aligned and executed effectively
stock is in the right place at the right time
recommendations
and accurate support
fast-paced environment
- Support end-to-end supply chain and merchandising activity, from demand
- Analyse sales and stock performance to identify risks, opportunities, and
- Assist in building and maintaining forecasts, intake plans, and open-to-buy
- Manage stock flow through Distribution Centres, working closely with DC teams
- Monitor and support delivery of key KPIs, including stock availability,
- Collaborate with Buyers, Merchandise Planners, and suppliers to ensure plans
- Support promotional activity, range changes, and seasonal planning, ensuring
- Use Excel and reporting tools to produce regular performance analysis and
- Act as a day-to-day contact for supplier and store queries, providing timely
- Identify and escalate issues early, proposing practical solutions in a
Requirements
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK; sponsorship is not provided.
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