Aaron Krause Email & Phone Number

Portland, Oregon, US

• Own the global long range demand plan for Columbia Footwear and SOREL as an input into the product creation process and sourcing strategy
• Initiate and develop the Global Demand Planning functions for the SOREL brand through cross-functional partnership, creation of SOPs and RACIs, and identify key waypoints to streamline the demand plan from E2E
• Lead and drive Global Demand Planning process improvement activities and best practices
• Responsible for partnering with Global Finance and Merchandising Leadership on the seasonal financial targets
• Provide input into the Columbia Brand S&OP process by providing key performance indicators and measure progress against seasonal strategies
• Collaborate with Global and Regional Merchandising to reconcile a global, omni-channel forecast

Portland, Oregon, US

• Lead and drive global demand planning process improvement activities and best practices
• Engage with key business partners to measure and improve forecast accuracy metrics season-over-season/year-over-year
• Responsible for partnering with Global Finance on the seasonal financial targeting process and collaborate with Global Merchandising to reconcile a global, omni-channel forecast
• Conduct operational reviews with Global Merchandising, Global Finance, and key business leaders and/or executive leadership
• Facilitate and drive analysis for the long-range forecasting process for improved supply chain and manufacturing planning
• Provide and present analysis related to seasonal hind-sighting, product line architecture strategy, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), and assortment optimization informing decisions related to product and supply.

Portland, Oregon, US

• Develop a forecast to drive timely purchases of inventory quantities in order to satisfy demand, minimize transportation costs, deliver products on time and in full, and minimize excess inventory.
• Conception of forecasts for our seasonal product lines approximately 18 months prior to products availability with Global Merchant collaboration.
• Estimate the volumes of each season’s products that will ultimately be purchased from our global suppliers.
• Forecasts are derived from utilizing our wholesale customers’ order history, cancellations, reorders, and replenishment orders, as well as our demand from our Direct-To-Consumer businesses which includes.
• Analyze market trends, historical data, customer and sales feedback, and other factors to influence future line architecture.
• Invest in information systems and processes to support our ongoing demand planning efforts such as Forecast Accuracy, Enterprise Data, and creation of visualization dashboards.

Portland, Oregon, US

• Build seasonal and monthly demand forecasts at style-color level based on strategic category revenue goals.
• Collaborate with Sales and Merchandising to create initial seasonal style forecasts to support line development.
• Support line planning, SKU management, and long-range material planning.
• Developed SiG Tool (Size Generator); a Global sizing tool used to cover off orders and generate a size curve for the Global Buyers.
• Partnered in the development of a new Forecast Accuracy Report and identified KPIs.
• Conduct Demand Plan Reviews, Post Bookings Reviews, and Forecast Accuracy Recaps with Sales and Merchandising.

Portland, Oregon, US

• Manage and own replenishment forecast for key accounts from pre-sales meeting through in-season shipping.
• Create style/color/size replenishment forecast by month for key accounts and strategic categories to align with revenue goals.
• Developed “The Size Genie”; a tool used to determine individual size curves by style/color/dim/size by aggregating each account’s true demand/sell through units to a unique size profile.
• Created the “Inventory Reduction Sheet” to give visibility of increased demand by style/color and Account.
• Enhance supporting documents such as the Post Shipping Review by determining new measurable metrics and automating the process.
• Key player in the development and creation of the Planning & Account Operations career website homepage.

London, GB

• Analyzed business trends and sales to maximize store profitability.
• Monitored product cost and inventory to help reduce margin.
• Implemented merchandising plans and floor moves to maximize sales and manage sell-through.
• Attended Market trips to assist with trend analysis, buying, and strengthen vendor relations.
• Planned and executed special events, promotions, and in-store activities on a set budget.
• Streamlined communication amongst team members by creating a “Leader of the Day” program.

Plano, Texas, US

• Managed multi-million departments and consistently outperformed benchmarks.
• Utilized different report metrics to track and record individual and group sales, product sell-through, compare top selling merchandise, and identify underperforming merchandise.
• Used inventory control metrics to identify areas of improvement to reduce loss in margin.
• Forecasted short and long-term sales goals for three departments.
• Created planograms to merchandise product based on consumer flow and earned dollars per square foot.
• Planned individual employee sales goals and analyzed employee productivity reports.

• Business venture in retail solutions.
• Conduct in-store branding, marketing, merchandising and training from Seattle to San Francisco.
• Composed business proposals and expense charts for accounts.

New York, NY, US

• Functioned with 22 shoe vendors in the Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Idaho.
• Developed and analyzed query reports to determine product’s age, sell through, and stock level as well as identify top performing styles.
• Tracked and reported sales metrics on individual products, categories, and departments.
• Built and sent monthly reports on each category summarizing product sales, stock levels, market demand and threats, and areas of opportunity to Merchants and Vendor Representatives.
• Instructed over 300 employees at the Northwest Regional training seminar.
• Reported daily agendas, observations, and outcomes to Store and District Management.