Replenishment Analyst

Status: Regular Full-time

In your role as a Replenishment Analyst, at The North West Company (NWC); You will support efficient inventory management, order fulfilment and obsolescence control to meet customer and business objectives. The role collaborates with distribution, transportation, retail operations and merchandising teams to optimize the purchasing and movement of food and basic general merchandise through internal and external warehouses.

Joining NWC gives you the opportunity for growth and development throughout the company, an attractive and competitive salary and benefits package, and to be part of a dynamic and diverse culture.

NWC is a leading retailer to under-served rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in the following regions: Northern Canada, Western Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific islands, and the Caribbean. Our stores offer a broad range of products and services with an emphasis on food. Our value offer is to be the best local shopping choice for everyday household and local lifestyle needs. Check out northwest.ca for more information.

Your Role:

- Coordinate purchasing and replenishment activities with Category Management, Demand Planning and Distribution teams to achieve service targets and maintain balanced inventory levels across Canadian warehouses and seasonal shipping locations.

- Manage vendor buying activities, monitor open purchase orders and follow up on at-risk shipments, shortages and delayed deliveries to support timely order fulfilment and product availability.

- Make purchasing decisions based on demand forecasts, vendor minimums, lead times, promotional activity, product turnover and seasonal requirements.

- Monitor vendor service levels, investigate supply disruptions and resolve replenishment exceptions, including stockouts, excess inventory, delayed orders and shelf-life risks.

- Optimize food and basic general merchandise inventory by balancing product availability, inventory investment, gross margin, freight costs and obsolescence.

- Identify slow-moving, excess and misallocated inventory and collaborate with Category Management to implement corrective actions and clearance opportunities while protecting margins.

- Review replenishment policies, safety stock, order quantities and vendor minimums to improve inventory turnover, reduce holding costs and support service objectives.

- Maintain accurate forecasts, vendor inventory parameters, replenishment settings, product information and delivery details across purchasing and forecasting systems.

- Allocate inventory to meet demand requirements and support seasonal shipping programs through inventory allocation, shipment reviews and coordination with relevant business partners.

- Prepare and analyze operational reports, conduct inventory and system audits, and identify opportunities to improve service levels, inventory performance, data integrity and replenishment processes.

- Collaborate with Category Managers, vendors, Logistics, Transportation and Warehouse Operations to resolve supply and service issues, communicate risks and develop practical recovery plans.

- Participate in business reviews, recommend purchasing and inventory improvements, and support cross-functional initiatives that strengthen operational efficiency and customer service.

Desired Skills and Experience:

- Post-secondary education in Supply Chain Management, Business, Commerce or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant industry experience. A purchasing, supply chain, inventory management or forecasting designation is an asset.

- Substantial hands-on buying or replenishment experience in grocery, general merchandise retail or a comparable high-volume environment, including responsibility for purchasing decisions across multiple vendors and product categories.

- Strong knowledge of demand forecasting, replenishment planning, safety stock, vendor minimums, lead times, promotional demand, inventory turnover and obsolescence management. Experience with shelf-life-sensitive food products is an asset.

- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookup functions and large-data analysis, along with experience using purchasing, inventory management and demand planning systems.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret demand patterns, investigate inventory and supply exceptions, identify root causes and translate findings into actionable purchasing decisions.

- Demonstrated ability to improve product availability, order fill rates and inventory turnover while reducing stockouts, excess inventory and obsolescence.

- Understanding of inventory investment, gross margin, freight costs and holding costs, with the ability to balance business opportunities against service requirements and inventory risks.

- Proven vendor management and issue-resolution skills, including the ability to secure supply commitments, resolve order discrepancies and develop effective recovery plans.

- Strong organization and time-management skills, with the ability to independently manage a complex buying portfolio, prioritize competing requirements and respond effectively to supply disruptions in a fast-paced environment.

- Excellent communication, relationship-building and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate across departments, present recommendations, explain commercial trade-offs and escalate risks with proposed solutions.

- High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy, sound judgment, accountability and discretion when handling confidential commercial information.

- Experience leading cross-functional improvement initiatives, identifying system or process gaps and implementing solutions that deliver measurable business benefits.

- Experience with long lead times, seasonal replenishment, remote-market supply chains and multiple transportation modes is an asset.

Location: Gibraltar House, 77 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB

Reports to: Supervisor, Replenishment Planning

We create a collaborative and constructive culture by:

Being Enterprising Committing to our Customer Working with Passion Leading and Developing Others Demonstrating Respect and Inclusivity Building Trust

The North West Company is committed to inclusion and diversity and encourages applications from all candidates including but not limited to: all religions and ethnicities, LGBTQ2s+, BIPOC, and persons with disabilities.

A competitive salary is being offered along with opportunities to learn, develop and advance throughout the organization. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

This is an active job opening for a position that is currently available and we are actively seeking to fill.

For Internal Employees Only:
Internal employees are required to apply within 5 working days of the position being posted. Applications received after this period may still be considered. This opportunity adheres to the corporate job posting guidelines.