Suzanne Warner

Experience

• 

  Coldwater Creek

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2002

  • Led a five member team responsible for the execution of apparel, home goods, jewelry and accessories for 30+ stores• Initiated volume groups used to measure initial allocations by category and season• Evaluated and quantified unique store group sales performance of merchandise and executed changes to maximize sales and product opportunities• Optimized transfer of merchandise between multiple channels to maximize overall inventory • Launched and oversaw the successful merchandising, planning, and logistics of 15 new store openings• Ensured that delivery and transportation of merchandise to retail stores arrived in concert with catalog drop dates Show less • Projected demand sales, forecasts, fulfillment and overstocks at the style and color level to develop the sales plan and inventory purchases for newly established Natural Elements catalog • Analyzed monthly open to buy and initiated reorders that maximized fulfillment in an effort to drive company sales and gross margin• Monitored weekly grid projections in conjunction with in house reporting to ensure active catalogs were meeting and exceeding planned financial• Negotiated vendor cancellations and RTV's where needed to eliminate inventory liabilities Show less

  • Senior Inventory Planner

    Jan 2001 - Jan 2002

  • Senior Buyer

    Jan 2000 - Jan 2001
• 

  Belk

  Sept 2002 - now

  * Responsible for executing $2.5 billion of associated receipts for initial buys, delayed allocation, reflow and reorder purchase orders for 293 stores and ecommerce * Trained, developed and lead 10 member team of allocation analyst* Identify and react to current and future business needs and strategies to drive sales, turnover and EBITDA by partnering with merchandising and planning stakeholders* Develop distribution strategies while providing allocation action plans to achieve optimal inventory levels by store, Drive analysis to support current sales performance, inventory levels and historical selling patterns* Utilize key performance indicators including but not limited to sales volume, seasonality, customer segmentation, square footage and fixture capacity to create breadth, depth and flow of merchandise assortment plans by store grouping* Analyze, manage and optimize replenishment programs while leveraging style/SKU counts to improve efficiencies and company productivity* Proactive in sharing knowledge and best practices within team and across the organization by promoting an environment of continuous learning and improvement Show less * Led system selection, design and implementation of Oracle Allocation system* Surfaced needed enhancements and collaborated with IT partners to design, test and implement new functionality* Vendor management for allocation system that included close collaboration on design, development and testing* Developed and led classroom, lab and one-on-one associate training sessions for 300+ merchandising associates* Provided user end support post go live that included additional group and one-on-one training and troubleshooting Show less * Allocated, managed and monitored inventory levels for 306 stores to reflect buyer's vision, financial plans and trend in ladies apparel, fashion accessories, hosiery, intimate apparel, sleepwear and handbags* Leveraged predictive analysis by utilizing vendor, department and/or store, style, color and size analysis to identify opportunities to drive sales and manage inventory liabilities* Distributed advertised merchandise and suggested reorders to ensure minimum presentations were maintained and achieved* Participated in department and item specific vendor and department store clusters prior to seasonal allocations* Maintained seasonal Vendor Matrix in partnership with buying team Show less

  • Allocation Manager

    May 2015 - now

  • Project SMART Lead - Allocation (System Implementation)

    Aug 2011 - May 2015

  • Project IMPACT Lead - Allocation (Process and Organizational Implementation

    Apr 2010 - Jul 2011

  • Store Allocator

    Sept 2002 - Mar 2010