Data and Logistics Business Analyst

Posted by Kahtoola on 11/30/2021

Job Basics

Industry Sector: Outdoor

Job Categories: Operations

Company Type: HardGoods/Equipment

State: AZ

City: Flagstaff

Country: United States

Required Experience: 3 - 5 years

Contact Name: Amanda Caro

Job Type: Full Time

Salary: $62,000/year

Required to Relocate: Yes

Required to Travel: No

Employee May Telecommute: No

Job Seeker Must Live Within: 10 miles

Job Description & Requirements

About Kahtoola

Kahtoola is an outdoor equipment design and manufacturing company with a history of product innovation and excellence. Headquartered in the beautiful mountain town of Flagstaff, AZ, all our associates work closely as a team to best address the opportunities and challenges of growing our business.

Founded in 1999, Kahtoola is a market leader in winter traction gear and gaiters, and is positioned for strong growth in other outdoor product categories. In addition to making high-quality products, we actively support social and environmental responsibility, foster strong community relationships, and inspire outdoor adventure. As associates, we are a company of quality aficionados who love great gear and getting outside. We work hard to take on business challenges together while enjoying a supportive, fun, and casual work environment.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be passionate about the growth of a premium brand in the outdoor industry.

• Be energized by working for a company dedicated to designing and manufacturing best in class outdoor gear.

• Recognize the importance of building and maintaining strong interpersonal relationships within Kahtoola and with our external partners.

• Be motivated to take environmental and social issues into consideration to operate as a responsible company.

• Enjoy collaborating with and playing a key role in an energetic, motivated, and talented team.

Job Description

In this comprehensive role the candidate will collaborate company-wide to support data driven business decisions including product sourcing, demand planning and inventory forecasting, writing of purchase orders (PO) and follow-up logistics tracking. The role is the primary point of contact to the company in regards to product availability. A key element of this position is evaluating processes, anticipating requirements, uncovering areas of improvement, and not only developing but also implementing solutions.

Inventory and Financial Planning

• Interact with sales, marketing, and product design to collect market and sales data (historical sales trends) with the goal to develop a demand forecast that supports company goals while identifying risks and opportunities.

• Develop comprehensive financial plans related to purchasing, and create schedules to plan, forecast, and purchase inventory positions that maximize inventory levels and inventory turns.

• Act as a liaison with Accounts Payable (A/P) for supplier invoicing and payments.

• Ensure flow of inventory meets in-stock levels to meet sales and inventory goals.

• Manage the accuracy of inventory through cycle or monthly inventory counts and provide root cause analysis of discrepancies.

• Identify risks of discontinued (end-of-life) inventory and communicate with sales to develop strategies for mitigation.

• Lead seasonal costing activities; gather all prices and align to FOB cost targets.

• Maintain margin analysis detail by product, comparing forecast margin to actual margin.

• Identify and establish scope and parameters of requirements analysis on a project-by-project basis to define project impact, outcome criteria, and metrics.

Vendors, Purchasing, and Quality Assurance

• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing vendors and their representatives, as well as seek and develop new supplier contacts as necessary for new company products, cost savings, and/or tariff reductions.

• Conduct meetings with suppliers to obtain quotations and negotiate prices and delivery dates.

• Work closely with design to ensure all product details are executed and aligned with cost and quality goals.

• Manage all purchasing calendars and deadlines, and communicate regularly with relevant associates and vendors to achieve efficient and on-time product launch timelines.

• Participate in the quality assurance of purchased solutions to ensure features and functions have been enabled and optimized.

• Perform daily, weekly, and monthly reviews and analyses of current processes using operational metrics and reports.

• Coordinate and procure sales samples for sales representatives, distributors, and trade shows that align with sales cycles to demonstrate available products and colors.

• Ensure constant and consistent Quality Assurance throughout our entire product line and support the resolution of any quality issues.

• Maintain master item file for company and Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASIN), item descriptions, warehouse channels, pricing, and UPC codes.

Required Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Manufacturing Supply Chain, or a business-related field or equivalent experience.

• Three to five years of related business analysis and/or inventory management and forecasting experience.

• High level of Excel proficiency (advanced formulas, pivot tables, data analysis tools, etc.)

• Self-starter who seeks methods to improve processes with ability to be effective in a metric driven environment.

• Exceptional analytical and conceptual thinking skills.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Proven ability to problem solve complex issues that arise from inventory.

• Excellent communication (verbal and written), organizational, analytical, and administrative skills (role is both external vendor and internal associate-facing).

• Experience working independently with overseas factories.

This is a year-round, full-time position located in Flagstaff, AZ.

Kahtoola is committed to a drug-free workplace. All employment is contingent upon successful completion of drug and background screening. Kahtoola requires all applicants to be eligible to work within the U.S.

About Kahtoola

Since 1999, Kahtoola has been making the outdoors more accessible and rewarding by building exceptional products. Kahtoola makes gear for use with flexible footwear, including MICROspikes®, NANOspikes®, EXOspikes™, hiking crampons, and innovative running ..