WHAT DOES A JUNIOR PLANNER DO?

Published: Nov 21, 2025 - The Junior Planner oversees the full in-stock function by managing demand planning, procurement cycles, ordering, and capacity in alignment with departmental strategies. This position delivers timely, accurate reporting and business analysis to inform commercial decisions, while also owning key budgeting cycles, including bottom-up forecasts, quarterly plans, and retail sales projections. The planner also drives operational efficiency by improving inventory health, supplier performance, and systematic processes in collaboration with analytics, technical, and product teams.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Junior Planner

1. Junior Planner Duties

  • Demand Planning: Drive the demand planning and management processes for relevant product ranges
  • Product Strategy: Develop and execute product demand plans to meet the organization's profitability objectives
  • Data Analysis: Provide analytical data in support of seasonal product and range development
  • Forecast Development: Develop demand forecasts based on demand patterns and business trends
  • Customer Collaboration: Work with customers, the sales team, and supply chain management to ensure efficient service delivery
  • Cost Management: Maintain the demand plan to ensure cost effectiveness
  • Risk Management: Assist in risk assessment and mitigation activities
  • Process Optimization: Maintain demand planning processes and systems to improve forecasting accuracy
  • Performance Improvement: Identify areas of improvement and recommend action plans
  • Data Tracking: Implement analytical measures and tracking in various processes of the business
  • Performance Reporting: Measure and report monthly, weekly, and daily on key performance indicators

2. Junior Planner Responsibilities

  • Production Planning: Create and maintain the production plan for assigned products
  • Inventory Management: Assist the Inventory Control function with the reconciliation of inventory discrepancies
  • Capacity Monitoring: Monitor the process of planning and scheduling, and its impact on operational capacity
  • Operations Support: Back up to the Operations Team Leader, assist with achieving inventory dollar and turns goals
  • Performance Tracking: Maintain data for shipment and on-time performance
  • Task Management: Assume other activities and responsibilities
  • Order Management: Provide daily updates on overdue order status
  • Stock Control: Assist with managing min-max levels
  • Expedite Management: Manage expedited activity from the call centre
  • Capacity Coordination: Work closely with the Operations Team Leader on issues of capacity to ensure the production plan can be achieved
  • Material Coordination: Work with Purchasing Teams on material issues

3. Junior Planner Accountabilities

  • Delivery Planning: Regular planning of product and packaging deliveries
  • Sales Forecasting: Support in creating sales forecasts based on historical data and market information
  • Inventory Monitoring: Monitor stock levels and availability of forecasted products
  • Data Analysis: Prepare reports and analyze
  • Logistics Planning: Work with tools for planning and analyzing logistics data in terms of supply/demand
  • Data Management: Update and monitor the quality of the provided data
  • Headquarters Support: Plan support for the company's headquarters located in the USA
  • Client Collaboration: Cooperate with one of the most recognizable restaurant chains in the world

4. Junior Planner Functions

  • Project Scheduling: Assist the Project Control Manager in the timely and accurate execution of the Project Schedule and Reporting functions
  • Progress Tracking: Identify and record the impact of work performed
  • Schedule Evaluation: Evaluate actual progress and provide regular schedule updates
  • Production Scheduling: Develop and maintain manufacturing weekly production schedules based on the manufacturing master schedule
  • Material Coordination: Ensure material is picked and staged to support the shop schedules
  • Manpower Planning: Provide input to the manpower planning process based on the current shop load
  • Workflow Monitoring: Monitor workflows to ensure all transactions are processed accurately and in compliance
  • Audit Support: Support the Project Control Manager in the preparation for audits

5. Junior Planner Job Description

  • Supplier Negotiation: Contact suppliers (hotels, activities, etc.) and negotiate rates/contracts
  • Product Research: Research products and information (destinations, activities, villas, etc.)
  • Database Management: Contribute to the updating of the databases of experiences, presentations, villas, etc.
  • Travel Booking: Book travel arrangements (Hotels, activities, car rentals, restaurants…) and make sure they comply with provider payment policies
  • Document Management: Save all confirmations in a shareable folder
  • Payment Assistance: Assist accounting in supplier payments (Fill credit card authorization form, send proofs of payment)
  • Vendor Coordination: Coordination with vendors and the client before, after, and during travel
  • Client Communication: Reach out to clients (Travelers) before the beginning of their trip to introduce them as their point of contact while they are travelling

6. Junior Planner Details and Accountabilities

  • Inventory Management: Oversee the In-stock function, including demand planning, ordering, and capacity management in line with department strategy
  • Data Reporting: Deliver accurate insights and reports on a timely basis, on which department managers can base commercial decisions and deliver on revenue and margin plans
  • System Development: Create sustainable In-stock systems and processes in partnership with central analytics, technical, and product teams
  • Procurement Planning: Plan management to support department procurement cycles, including seasonality, promotion planning, reaction, import purchasing, and continual replenishment
  • Budget Planning: Develop the bottom-up budgeting plan cycle and reviews in line with performance, margin, stock turn, and departmental strategy objectives
  • Financial Forecasting: Own and compile the annual retail sales budget, quarterly plan, working plan, as well as ongoing reforecasting at category and product levels to ensure budgets are achieved
  • Inventory Optimization: Manage end-to-end inventory availability and inventory health, including improved in-stock rates (availability), inventory planning at categorisation, systematic forecasting, markdown and clearance provisions, return to supplier activities, and warehouse space management
  • Process Improvement: Drive process improvement and operational excellence within the supplier base by reducing costs, defects, and lead times, while increasing innovation, automation, and economies of scale
  • Business Analysis: Drive complex business analysis that identifies opportunities to improve cost structure and profitability, focusing on continual contribution margin improvements
  • Customer Support: Support the operations team in delivering a world-class customer experience, monitor and scrutinise department returns, defects, and write-offs, supporting the customer service team on product queries and resolving any customer complaints

7. Junior Planner Tasks

  • Client Management: Provide high-standard and quality service, working closely with clients, understanding their needs and objectives
  • Campaign Planning: Work to deliver business goals, making recommendations about what media channels should be used for specific campaigns
  • Industry Knowledge: Develop a good knowledge of the client's business and industry
  • Supplier Relations: Develop a good relationship with suppliers and a solid understanding of the media offering in the market
  • Audience Analysis: Identify target audience and analyze ongoing results to identify campaign trends and key insights to help meet and exceed client goals
  • Brand Development: Attract and retain customers, increase brand recognition, and maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Media Planning: Create Media Plans by extracting information using internal tools (Demilpa, AMI Digital)
  • Data Management: Manage data provision from tagging to reporting and analysis, liaising with client, publishers, and internal teams (ex, Trafficking, Finance)

8. Junior Planner Additional Details

  • Forecast Management: Contribute to EMEA Forecast/Ordering performance
  • Seasonal Planning: Participate in the preparation of the seasonal planning guidelines and toolkit
  • B2B Support: Become the point of contact for the B2B platform, provide daily support solutions, tool training to the shareholders, and propose B2B tool improvements
  • Sales Forecasting: Coordinate the sales forecasts for all product categories and for all channels across the region
  • Territory Management: Manage the relationship with EMEA territories, ordering, and forecasting
  • Order Validation: Ensure all orders are validated and integrated into the main ERP
  • Delivery Monitoring: Weekly monitoring with production teams to ensure On-time delivery compliance
  • Process Improvement: Propose initiatives to improve the overall process
  • Merchandising Support: Support EMEA Merchandising execution
  • Data Management: Update the EMEA Master Data and assortments for the B2B platform, centralize and arbitrate any assortment modification
  • Tool Development: Help build tools and assortment visualizations
  • Sales Monitoring: Help in the follow-up and monitoring of the sales campaign

9. Junior Planner Essential Functions

  • Project Planning: Implement planning strategies and reviews for projects
  • Policy Compliance: Ensure project planning activities are conducted in accordance with CYP policies and procedures
  • Process Monitoring: Ensure monitoring and reporting of Project Controls processes are successfully set up and implemented on projects
  • Stakeholder Coordination: Interface with project team, partners, clients, stakeholders, consultants, designers, vendors, subcontractors for management of the planning function in accordance with established procedures
  • Risk Management: Proactively lead a planning and controls culture across the project based on best practices and with a focus on risk management, cost control, and SQE
  • Issue Management: Early identification and communication of issues and opportunities to the Projects team
  • Information Coordination: Collaboration, consultation, and cooperation with project staff to coordinate information flow for the performance of the planning and controls functions, including for the performance of subcontractors
  • System Implementation: Undertake the implementation of project monitoring systems, particularly focusing on time, cost, resources, and quality (project controls and earned value)
  • Performance Reporting: Ensure that planning and controls reports generated across projects provide maximum cost and time forecasting certainty for projects
  • Training Development: Identify the need for training in the use of planning and programming systems, project monitoring and controls, and the interpretation of data and information generated

10. Junior Planner Role Purpose

  • Team Collaboration: Work within a fast-paced, multi-functional, and multi-cultural planning team
  • Operational Execution: Execute with excellence the daily operations in one of the departments
  • Supplier Management: In charge of delivering service and inventory for a portfolio of global suppliers
  • Vendor Relations: Develop 
  • Team Development: Work alongside and develop Planning/Scheduling skills from other Planners in the team
  • Order Coordination: Work with the Sales Admin team to provide lead time and ship date confirmation on customer orders
  • Production Scheduling: Generate and maintain an accurate production schedule for the MFG area within SAP
  • Constraint Management: Highlight component constraints to the SCM team and collaboratively mitigate risk to customer commitments
  • Capacity Coordination: Coordinate with the MFG team to minimize the impact of foreseen capacity constraints
  • Issue Escalation: Escalate when the ability to hit customer committed dates is at risk
  • Inventory Accuracy: Work with the Inventory Control Specialist (ICS) team to help ensure the accuracy of inventory transactions and inventory levels
  • Rework Scheduling: Generate and schedule rework and test production orders based on inquiries from various teams
  • Change Coordination: Assist in coordinating the transition of Engineering Change Request (ECR)/End of Life (EOL) products
  • NPI Support: Assist in coordinating New Product Introduction (NPI) related activities
  • Issue Resolution: Assist and troubleshoot issues in Mfg as they arise material delays, missing/lost parts, production order mistakes/questions, label/scanning errors, etc.
  • Inventory Planning: Assist in the cycle counts and annual inventory count planning and preparation
  • Process Improvement: Support continuous improvement initiatives, specifically within production planning and scheduling
  • relationships and agility projects with vendors
  • Manufacturing Planning: In charge of delivering service and inventory for a selection of manufacturing lines, as well as capacity levelling
  • Outsourcing Management: In charge of delivering service and inventory for products outsourced to external manufacturers
  • Risk Management: In charge of risk management (risk of products being out of stock)
  • Market Coordination: Point of contact for the markets
  • Product Delivery: Be responsible for delivering the right product quantity at the right time to the right place
  • Data Analysis: Generate and analyze supply chain data to contribute to business decisions
  • Process Improvement: Identify improvement opportunities in processes and operations
  • Project Participation: Participate in various projects dedicated to products, portfolio, or sourcing changes

11. Junior Planner General Responsibilities

  • Team Development: Work alongside and develop Planning/Scheduling skills from other Planners in the team
  • Order Coordination: Work with the Sales Admin team to provide lead time and ship date confirmation on customer orders
  • Production Scheduling: Generate and maintain an accurate production schedule for the MFG area within SAP
  • Constraint Management: Highlight component constraints to the SCM team and collaboratively mitigate risk to customer commitments
  • Capacity Coordination: Coordinate with the MFG team to minimize the impact of foreseen capacity constraints
  • Issue Escalation: Escalate when the ability to hit customer committed dates is at risk
  • Inventory Accuracy: Work with the Inventory Control Specialist (ICS) team to help ensure the accuracy of inventory transactions and inventory levels
  • Rework Scheduling: Generate and schedule rework and test production orders based on inquiries from various teams
  • Change Coordination: Assist in coordinating the transition of Engineering Change Request (ECR)/End of Life (EOL) products
  • NPI Support: Assist in coordinating New Product Introduction (NPI) related activities
  • Issue Resolution: Assist and troubleshoot issues in Mfg as they arise material delays, missing/lost parts, production order mistakes/questions, label/scanning errors, etc.
  • Inventory Planning: Assist in the cycle counts and annual inventory count planning and preparation
  • Process Improvement: Support continuous improvement initiatives, specifically within production planning and scheduling

12. Junior Planner Key Accountabilities

  • Production Scheduling: Work with the Planner on mass production schedules for various line items
  • Demand Forecasting: Work with the Planner on demand forecasting for different SKUs
  • Procurement Coordination: Consistently keep purchasing updated on product demand and raw materials needed for production
  • Parts Expediting: Help expedite the movement of parts
  • Project Fulfillment: Fulfill special projects and spare parts programs to channel partners
  • Inventory Management: Partner with Inventory Control and utilize the ERP system, ensuring appropriate inventory levels, schedules, and availability of selected items, either manufactured or purchased, are available to meet production schedules
  • Order Review: Receive and review sales orders against current requirements and work in process using the material requirement planning report
  • Work Scheduling: Review MRP reports to schedule work within the department to meet customer expectations (both internal and external), including vendor management
  • Performance Monitoring: Monitor and proactively address issues that impact performance to meet ship dates, lead time, response time, and inventory goals using the Kanban system
  • Work Order Management: Generate, proof, and distribute work orders and production reports
  • Error Communication: Communicate errors or modifications with the Procurement and Engineering departments
  • Operational Coordination: Consult with production, procurement, and receiving departments to expedite operations and alter schedules to meet special conditions, backlogs, and other potential schedule interruptions
  • Interdepartmental Liaison: Serve as liaison with other departments on matters about schedules, production, materials, and maintenance to resolve any day-to-day issues
  • Quality Contribution: Contribute to the quality control team
  • Meeting Participation: Prepare for and participate in all Planning meetings

13. Junior Planner Roles and Details

  • Inventory Balancing: Calculate, balance, and distribute the inventory by work area
  • Inventory Planning: Coordinate and plan short- and long-term needs to ensure operations run effectively at the inventory level
  • Receiving Preparation: Prepare the distribution center to receive the products
  • Documentation Updates: Create, modify, and update the cheat sheet according to operational needs
  • Trailer Planning: Plan the requirements for storage trailers to maximize their use.
  • Operations Strategy: Establish an operational strategy for the reception and dispatch volumes.
  • Reporting Analysis: Prepare, generate, maintain, and analyze various reports, and provide verbal and written information
  • Daily Communication: Communicate daily information to colleagues after the short- and long-term analysis
  • Request Management: Manage calls and requests from various departments
  • Operator Support: Actively listen and respond to the needs of reception, shipping, and forklift operators
  • Process Improvement: Initiate improvements in the files and in the planning structure
  • Improvement Projects: Participate in the distribution center’s improvement projects
  • Presentation Design: Create presentations using PowerPoint software

14. Junior Planner Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Sales Monitoring: Monitor sales and external market activity to maximize sales opportunities and minimize potential risks
  • Range Planning: Review and monitor range plans regularly with the Buyer and Planner
  • Performance Improvement: Generate ideas to improve sales and profit performance
  • Budget Management: Work with the Planner to manage the in-season open to buy at department/category/season level using the WSSI and ensure that the budgeted or re-plan stock levels are being met
  • Trend Analysis: Monitor and review product trend balances and proactively question future orders placed where sales patterns vary from the original framework to maximize sales and profit
  • Margin Control: Assist with margin management through the effective control of markdowns and promotional activity in line with departmental budgets
  • Stock Management: Manage terminal stock targets, driving educated trading decisions to effectively achieve maximum sell-through and minimize profit loss
  • Strategy Contribution: Contribute to planning strategies by assisting the Planner to propose category budgets
  • Sales Analysis: Manage margin management, intake through to sales
  • Trend Collaboration: Work with the Assistant Buyer to regularly assess the impact on the planning framework based on the current market and key fashion trend direction
  • Postseason Review: End of the month/postseason, work with the Assistant Buyer to identify opportunities, based on lessons learned, to optimize the departmental strategy and provide analytics to support correct planning direction
  • Range Construction: Assist in the construction of a well-balanced range framework that offers the right mix of products, e.g., casual/formal, print/plain, color, and fabric to match the customer's fashion requirements, based on history and current performance

15. Junior Planner Duties and Roles

  • Financial Preparation: Assist in the preparation of high-level financials and range framework for order sign-off
  • Margin Management: Participate in the concept and sign-off process and management of the open-to-buy and margin
  • Price Architecture: Work with the planner to monitor and ensure there is a clear and sensible price architecture that drives maximum sales and profit for the business
  • Sales Monitoring: Review and monitor rates of sales to ensure depth and width are applied to the range build process
  • Performance Analysis: Monitor and analyze current size performance and understand category/product type history to maximize product sell-through
  • Trend Innovation: Ensure the category delivers innovation, speed to market, and calculated risks in new trends
  • Climate Alignment: Ensure the range reflects the climatic needs of all states and countries according to the agreed business timing
  • Store Planning: Drive store optimization, allocation, and replenishment by proposing to the Buyer and Planner the suggested product release plan
  • Stock Allocation: Optimize store performance by working with the Allocation Analyst to ensure stock is allocated to stores based on the philosophy of right store, right stock, right time
  • Store Development: Manage the stock build of new stores in a manner that maximizes store potential with the Allocation Analyst
  • Feedback Collection: Obtain feedback from store teams with respect to product and store performance
  • Logistics Coordination: Consistently liaise with Shipping and Production to ensure the timely delivery of stock to the warehouse and stores

16. Junior Planner Job Summary

  • Intake Management: Monitor commitment and intake based on realistic forward projections at the required level for the department
  • Production Coordination: Work with buying to assign a release week when a product has started production
  • Stock Allocation: Work with the Allocation Analyst to ensure all stock is picked and allocated to the store in line with the critical path and release schedules
  • Stock Flow Management: Manage the stock-flow to the warehouse and stores, pre-empting peak sales trends, i.e., Spring Racing, Christmas, and school holidays
  • Inventory Optimization: Work with the Allocation Analyst to ensure optimum stock levels by state/store to match the needs of the customer demographic, enabling maximum profits and product sell-through
  • Performance Review: Conduct regular in-season reviews of profit return versus space invested, and make recommendations and action plans
  • Delivery Management: Ensure deliveries and deadlines are met for window launches, promotions, and editorial
  • Store Visits: Complete regular store visits, affecting any actions, store/state, or product-wide
  • Safety Awareness: Take reasonable care for personal safety and that of other individuals within the workplace
  • Hazard Reporting: Report any hazardous conditions, near misses, incidents, and injuries promptly and in accordance with relevant procedures
  • Safety Participation: Participate in meetings, training, and other workplace health and safety activities
  • WHS Compliance: Cooperate with the Company in relation to activities taken to comply with WHS legislation and WHS standards

17. Junior Planner Accountabilities

  • MRP Monitoring: Observe day-to-day MRP cycles while monitoring the appropriate materials to support the schedules promptly to ensure due dates and production priorities are met
  • Inventory Coordination: Work closely with Production Schedulers and internal teams to ensure that raw material/finished goods inventory is available to meet customer demand
  • Material Transfers: Review immediate needs and perform transfers of raw materials/product produced
  • Purchasing Coordination: Work closely with Purchasing to ensure raw material availability and coordinate to expedite or defer material from suppliers
  • Inventory Monitoring: Collaborate with production schedulers to monitor inventory of raw materials against present and anticipated sales orders
  • Cross-Functional Communication: Develop and maintain effective communication and partnership between all departments regarding the expectations and requirements of the production schedule
  • Production Advisory: Advise appropriate team members of the status of work in progress, material availability, and potential production problems to ensure that personnel, equipment, materials, and services are provided
  • Schedule Generation: Generate a production schedule to fulfil customer orders and lead time based on the best result and production requirements
  • Status Review: Be responsible for daily production status review and update to ensure resources are utilized effectively and efficiently

18. Junior Planner Functions

  • Performance Management: Monitor and steer the performance of the defined area and brands within the unit, focusing on customer satisfaction, sales, and profit
  • KPI Planning: Be responsible for defining the KPI forecast for the unit and determining the actions to achieve target KPIs (price management, re-orders, and analytical insights) together with the team
  • Brand Strategy: Define the strategy for the development of the brands
  • Growth Enablement: Work closely with brands to ensure strong growth targets are achieved and support them in solving operations problems and contributing to joint strategies
  • Seasonal Planning: Be responsible for creating future season plans together with the unit lead, creating and using seasonal forecasts, as well as steering in-season management in preparing the weekly trade, monthly OTB, and conducting ad-hoc analysis
  • Pricing Coordination: Liaise with the pricing team to ensure an attractive and competitive, yet profitable offer by providing input on markdowns and promotional offers like the end-of-season sale
  • Schedule Planning: Create a simple schedule and understand relationships between activities
  • Schedule Management: Collect multi-disciplinary input to update the schedule
  • Delay Mitigation: Identify delays in the schedule and prepare a mitigation plan
  • Risk Management: Highlight critical paths, risks, and project opportunities to senior members of the Project/Programme Team
  • Project Coordination: Coordinate progress and interfaces between the various project disciplines
  • Data Reporting: Process technical, financial, and staffing information, make connections, and present the data in the form of transparent reports and diagrams

19. Junior Planner Details and Accountabilities

  • Cross-Functional Coordination: Reference for BI CK with Marketing and Architecture team for all regions on all tactical opportunities to respond to unforeseen competitor moves or industry trends to ensure regional business objectives are met and resource effectiveness is maximized
  • Project Tracking: Collect, track, and prioritize Drop-in Tactical Projects to update and manage the Global Log tool and Drop-in Management System globally
  • Planning Support: Support the planning team in coordinating planning cycle activities for BI Cooking, ensuring data input at P0 for market opportunities, PALS, and PLSC, and coordinating the Scoping process data output and tracking
  • System Management: Manage, update, and analyze PPM System data for BI Cooking (IO support, project data loading)
  • Scorecard Management: Ensure PLSC (Product Leadership Scorecard) data collection, continuous updates, and global alignment
  • Strategy Data Management: Ensure PALS (Product Attribute Leadership Strategy) global data collection and updates
  • Stakeholder Collaboration: Closely collaborate with different stakeholders to avoid escalations
  • Root Cause Analysis: Conduct root cause analysis for missed KPIs and take action to fix issues to ensure KPIs are met
  • Back Order Management: Ensure that Back Order planning-related processes are executed as per agreed terms and conditions
  • Process Improvement: Continuously work on improving the Back-Order Closure days and reducing the number of Back Orders

20. Junior Planner Roles

  • Trend Research: Find, write, and present research into competitor and consumer trends, sourced from desk research and primary research
  • Data Analysis: Look into quantitative data (e.g., sales data or survey data) to find stories and support arguments
  • Creative Translation: Translate the research into creative briefs
  • Presentation Development: Help to develop compelling presentations
  • Creative Participation: Participate in creative thinking workshops
  • Industry Awareness: Read and share the latest industry thinking
  • Team Liaison: Liaise with planners, Win Work, and proposals teams
  • Project Planning: Provide planning services to projects and proposals
  • Progress Reporting: Collate and validate, with support, project progress and report to Project Managers and Directors
  • Back Order Planning: Be responsible for EMEA Back Order Planning
  • Back Order Resolution: Be responsible for backorder resolution
Relevant Information
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