Steven Finkelstein

Steven Finkelstein Email and Phone Number

Expertise in Inventory Management, Supply & Demand Planning, System Implementation, Merchandise Financial Planning, Warehousing and Logistics & Team/Cross Functional Leadership @ Accenture
Dublin 2
Steven Finkelstein's Location
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, United States, United States
Steven Finkelstein's Contact Details

Steven Finkelstein personal email

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About Steven Finkelstein

As a versatile and results-oriented inventory management leader with over 15 years of experience, I have achieved significant success in supply chain, manufacturing, production planning, system implementation, assortment optimization, and merchandise financial planning for omni-channel companies. With exceptional business acumen and expertise in leading multiple teams cohesively, I have directed business-critical projects towards successful completion, achieving operational objectives. I am recognized for spearheading supply chain, demand and merchandise planning, deployment, and S&OP initiatives for specialty retail and apparel companies. My stellar record of optimizing resources, implementing best practices, and collaborating cross-functionally has resulted in growth of sales revenue and customer satisfaction. I am well-versed in formulating and delivering sustainable processes to improve sales, margin, inventory turns, cost savings, and customer experience. I have a strong reputation as a leader of change, improvements, processes, and people, complemented by my success in implementing RELEX at Bed Bath and Beyond/The Vitamin Shoppe and JDA Category Management (Intactix) at The Vitamin Shoppe. My in-depth knowledge of various ERP and MRP systems has enabled me to lead successful system implementations and upgrades. I am passionate about supply chain management and am dedicated to driving positive change and creating value for my organization.Please note the following highlights from my career:• Instituted modern safety stock and presentation standards in top stores/items, which enhanced in-stocks by 15% and resulted in store sales comp improvement of ~13% despite 20% reduction in item replenishment base.• Accomplished ~10% in-stock improvement and boosted YOY promotional sales performance by optimizing marketing/promotional budgets to increase ROI on inventory investment and customer satisfaction.• Reorganized inventory team to minimize the time required to complete change management cycle, which led to higher adoption rate of new processes/system, while gathering team’ feedback to drive additional software/process enhancements.Please feel free to contact me at steven.finkelstein4@gmail.com with any thoughts, comments, or questions about my work—I’m always interested in making new professional acquaintances!

Steven Finkelstein's Current Company Details
Accenture

Accenture

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Expertise in Inventory Management, Supply & Demand Planning, System Implementation, Merchandise Financial Planning, Warehousing and Logistics & Team/Cross Functional Leadership
Dublin 2
Website:
accenture.com
Employees:
10
Company phone:
(187) 788-9900
Steven Finkelstein Work Experience Details
  • Accenture
    Management Consulting Manager
    Accenture Jun 2024 - Present
    Dublin 2, Ie
  • Terrapin Consulting Group
    Inventory Management Consultant
    Terrapin Consulting Group Sep 2023 - Jun 2024
    Contracted by 99 Cent Only Stores to review the company's inventory management processes with a focus on utilization and optimization of RELEX Forecasting and Replenishment to drive improvements to inventory availability, a reduction in working capital, and process sustainability.-Interviewed key stakeholders to identify current utilization, obstacles to full adoption, data constraints or accuracy concerns, and exceptions in their business that require customized processes.- Reviewed RELEX business rule set up and key MRP parameters to suggest adjustments to improve the quality of replenishment recommendations in accordance to the company's overall inventory strategy.- Developed an action plan to mitigate the current obstacles to full system adoption, highlighting key areas of focus including safety stock automation, allocation strategy and process, assortment optimization, end user workflow, and training.- Implemented a new safety stock strategy eliminating the current manual/inconsistent process enabling a reduction of over 25% while improving product availability.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond
    Vice President Of Inventory, Assortment, And Space Planning
    Bed Bath & Beyond Aug 2022 - Aug 2023
    Midvale, Utah, Us
    As a strategist for store/item level assortments, I am responsible for driving the execution of inventory investments and presentation for over 700 locations. I synthesize historical data and customer decision trees to improve in-store customer engagement and satisfaction by ensuring the right quantity and type of product is available in the right place.To ensure seamless and timely launches, I devise end-to-end item and campaign launch strategies. This includes determining purchase quantity, logistics flow plans, and markdown cadence. By doing so, I can provide a superior shopping experience for our customers while also maximizing profitability for our organization.I am also constantly working to improve our forecasting and replenishment software, aiming to maximize forecast quality and strategic safety stock strategies by SKU, category, and stores. By doing so, we can minimize out-of-stock occurrences and ensure that our customers can always find what they are looking for.My ultimate goal is to provide our customers with a shopping experience that exceeds their expectations while also driving sales and revenue for our organization. Through my strategic thinking and data-driven approach, I am confident that we can continue to achieve these goals and provide the best possible service to our customers.A few of my notable accomplishments are:• Empowered and led team of 60+ associates to streamline all activities, ranging from store selection, initial purchase, and replenishment strategy to in-store presentation and customer experience.• Spearheaded assortment rebalancing efforts to drive customer-sought brands into stores, which achieved $250MM reduction (20%) in slow-performing inventory, while improving availability of bestselling SKUs.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond
    Senior Director Of Inventory Management
    Bed Bath & Beyond Nov 2021 - Sep 2022
    Midvale, Utah, Us
    In my role as the overseer of the kitchen and dining inventory team, I was responsible for managing approximately $4B in annual sales. My focus was on enhancing inventory turns and in-stocks through centralized planning processes.To achieve these goals, I reorganized the entire team to effectively utilize new systems while developing a Center of Excellence (COE) team to continuously improve and drive change management processes. This allowed us to streamline our operations and make better use of our resources.In addition, I introduced expedited and de-expedited reports and processes to support the company in effectively managing a dramatic shift to importing products. This allowed us to maintain adequate inventory levels and avoid stockouts or overstocks.I also partnered with the supply chain team to improve DC inventory accuracy and ensure a lower percentage of orders being over-released. This improved inventory visibility enterprise-wide, enabling us to better forecast demand and respond to changes in the market.My commitment to improving inventory management and operations resulted in increased efficiency, reduced costs, and ultimately, improved customer satisfaction. By leveraging technology and data-driven approaches, I am confident that we can continue to drive success for our organization.A few of my notable accomplishments are:• Amplified forecast accuracy (WAPE) by 15% and bias by 17% via implementation and utilization of best practices in latest forecasting and replenishment software.• Organized and chaired weekly supply chain and merchandising collaboration meetings, which improved lead times and cut costs by focusing on leading KPIs vs. lagging indicators and driving change through accountability.
  • The Vitamin Shoppe
    Senior Director Of Merchandise Planning And Inventory
    The Vitamin Shoppe Feb 2020 - Nov 2021
    Secaucus, Nj, Us
    As a leader in inventory management, I spearheaded the implementation of third-party and private brand inventory strategies to maximize cash flow and enhance the customer experience by augmenting product availability. I was responsible for overseeing $170MM in inventory across more than 700 vendors and 13K SKUs.Throughout the COVID pandemic, I successfully led a team of 15+ planners through unprecedented demand changes and supply chain disruptions. I achieved this by organizing vendor collaboration meetings and facilitating stronger partnerships with the vendor community. This allowed us to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and continue providing excellent service to our customers.To provide leadership with visibility into our existing inventory position, future plans, and risks/opportunities to sales forecast, I drafted and enforced category-level open-to-buy reporting and action plans. This ensured that everyone had the information they needed to make informed decisions and take appropriate action when necessary.By leveraging my expertise in inventory management and my ability to lead through challenging times, I was able to drive success for our organization. I remain committed to finding innovative solutions and leveraging data-driven approaches to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our customers and stakeholders.A few of my key accomplishments are mentioned below:• Launched leading-edge forecasting and replenishment system (RELEX) to replace tools for over seven years by fully redesigning planning and allocation processes and business rules.• Improved forecast accuracy, achieving 5% in-stock improvement and 15% reduction in inventory ownership.• Improved forecasting and production planning process with co-manufacturers for private label goods by generating reports and meeting cadence to provide vendor better visibility to current inventory position and in stocks.
  • The Vitamin Shoppe
    Senior Director Of Merchandising Presentation, Analytics And Systems
    The Vitamin Shoppe Dec 2017 - Feb 2020
    Secaucus, Nj, Us
    As a leader, I headed three teams that worked collaboratively to manage setup, assortment, presentation, and replenishment for over 13K SKUs in 750 retail locations. I successfully lowered inventory levels while growing sales by leveraging assortment analytics and customer basket data to enhance omni-channel assortment.I facilitated weekly store refresh collaboration meetings between buying, inventory, pricing, and stores to ensure full alignment for future store launches/changes. All decisions were made with a focus on driving improvements in sales performance and inventory productivity.To ensure that every new item and exit decision aligned with the company's goals, I set and enforced key productivity metric expectations by category. This allowed us to make data-driven decisions and optimize our inventory to meet the needs of our customers while maximizing profitability.By leveraging my expertise in assortment analytics, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making, I was able to lead my teams to success. I remain committed to finding innovative solutions and driving continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.A few of my notable accomplishments are:• Engineered and executed end-to-end merchandising process from item approval through in-store delivery.• Devised stage gate process for managing item assortment focused on SKU efficiency and inventory optimization, leading to 20% reduction in SKUs and $34MM in inventory.• Revamped and applied category flow and in-store assortment, using customer data, to 40 remodeled stores and new store model.
  • The Vitamin Shoppe
    Director Of Supply Chain Management
    The Vitamin Shoppe Apr 2017 - Dec 2017
    Secaucus, Nj, Us
    As the leader of the supply chain analytics group, my focus was on increasing operational performance by improving processes, data accuracy, and reporting visibility throughout the entire supply chain. I was responsible for governing all aspects of the group and ensuring that we were driving improvements in every aspect of our operations.One of my key responsibilities was managing the supply chain monthly budgeting process. I provided monthly close and a next 3-month forecast, with a focus on developing actionable plans to minimize total cost while cutting cost per unit shipped. I ensured that we were using data-driven decision-making to optimize our operations and deliver value to our customers.Through my leadership, we were able to drive significant improvements in our supply chain operations, including improved efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced visibility. I remained committed to driving continuous improvement and finding innovative solutions to the challenges we faced.A few of my key accomplishments are mentioned below:• Crafted, streamlined, and automated processes and reports to slash non-value-added work, boosting accuracy, and providing tools to shift the inventory organization from an execution-focused role towards a merchandise planning organization.• Oversaw inventory control managers focused on complying with predefined policies, communications between corporate and DCs, and formulating new cycle count policy to improve accuracy cost-efficiently.• Created and executed project plan to expedite ramp-up of new DC and closure of existing facility, moving the project completion up by four months, resulting in savings in operating costs and inventory, while maintaining omnichannel in-stock.
  • The Vitamin Shoppe
    Director Of Replenishment Systems And S&Op
    The Vitamin Shoppe Oct 2016 - Apr 2017
    Secaucus, Nj, Us
    As a replenishment expert, I was tasked with examining our existing systems, settings, and reporting to determine the best-fit changes needed to align with our current business strategies, trends, and goals. By analyzing our existing systems and identifying areas for improvement, I was able to drive significant improvements in our replenishment operations.One of my key accomplishments was leading the project plan for opening a new West Coast distribution center. I developed and executed a comprehensive plan that included a buy plan, inbound and outbound logistics, and a direct-to-consumer ramp-up plan. By leveraging my expertise in project management and logistics, I was able to ensure that the new distribution center was opened on time and on budget, with minimal disruption to our operations.Throughout this project, I worked closely with cross-functional teams to ensure that all stakeholders were aligned and that all project requirements were met. By leveraging my expertise in supply chain operations, I was able to optimize our logistics and ensure that our new distribution center was fully integrated with our existing operations.Overall, I remain committed to leveraging my expertise in replenishment systems, logistics, and project management to drive continuous improvement and deliver value to our customers.A few of my key accomplishments are mentioned below:• Reviewed and identified optimal settings for key categories to maximize inventory levels on top-performing SKUs, which led to test store sales improvement of up to 4% versus the run rate.• Improved promotional inventory planning, reporting, and postmortem analysis utilizing existing processes and developing new capabilities with replenishment system provider (4R).
  • Sears Holdings Corporation
    Director - Inventory Management For Shop Your Way Brands
    Sears Holdings Corporation Feb 2015 - Sep 2016
    Chicago, Il, Us
    As the leader of the inventory planning and allocation team, I oversaw a wide range of apparel categories and provided service to over 500 stores with $55M in revenue. My team and I were responsible for ensuring the right products were in the right place at the right time, using data-driven insights to optimize inventory levels and maximize sales. We developed and executed allocation strategies to balance inventory across the store network, and collaborated closely with buying and merchandising teams to forecast demand and adjust inventory plans as needed. Through effective communication and strong collaboration, we were able to achieve our goals and contribute to the success of the brand.Among my notable accomplishments are the following:• Met and/or exceeded brands' forecasts by conducting monthly forecasts at item and week levels, • Slashed overall SKUs, augmented 2016 year-to-date sales $4M or 20%, improved gross margin $5M, enhanced velocity, decreased markdowns, and enriched cost from economies of scale by creating category and SKU level merchandise plans, accounting for sales, gross margin, promotional spend, and receipts, with focus on top categories.• Optimized in-stock percentage, maximized inventory turns, and facilitated $5.5M margin improvement in 2015 despite declining sales by developing and executing store-level SKU allocation plans.
  • Avon
    Senior Manager - Global Planning, Business Process Development
    Avon Jan 2014 - Feb 2015
    Northampton, Gb
    Oversaw the design, global implementation, and optimization of planning, MRP, and inventory systems while rolling out best practices across Avon’s global supply chain with $6.2B revenue.Accomplishments:Reduced logistics spend $3.5M annually and maintained customer service levels and lead times by directing major logistics initiative and closing third party logistics (3PL) facility and in-sourcing, including warehousing, receiving / processing capacity, and ocean freight, re-engineering JDA network, and facilitating changes.Saved $1M annually versus proposed regional roll-out by leading global implementation of new safety stock SaaS, including contract negotiations and purchasing.
  • Avon
    Planning Manager - Accessories, Footwear, Gift, Home, Jewelry And Watches
    Avon Jun 2010 - Jan 2014
    Northampton, Gb
    Managed a team of 4 planners and 1 analyst for 2K+ active SKUs with seasonal lifespans.Accomplishments:Reduced redundancies, increased productivity, and supported cross-category engagement by leveraging and executing best practices within JDA and JD Edwards.Balanced inventory levels and customer service which decreased inventory levels $2.9M or 11 days and increased piece fill rate 2% year-over-year in 2011 – 2012 by creating material and finished goods purchasing plans.
  • Avon
    Supply Planner - Gift & Home
    Avon Jan 2009 - Jun 2010
    Northampton, Gb
  • Avon
    Deployment Analyst
    Avon Jun 2008 - Feb 2009
    Northampton, Gb

Steven Finkelstein Skills

Supply Chain Inventory Management Supply Chain Management Logistics Management Manugistics Demand Planning Supply Chain Optimization Project Planning Purchasing Mrp Production Planning Warehousing Supply Chain Operations Jda Forecasting Cross Functional Team Leadership Retail Leadership Materials Management Business Process Improvement Continuous Improvement Negotiation Procurement Microsoft Office Operations Management Material Requirements Planning Fast Moving Consumer Goods Vendor Management

Steven Finkelstein Education Details

  • University Of Maryland
    University Of Maryland
    Finance & Supply Chain Management

Frequently Asked Questions about Steven Finkelstein

What company does Steven Finkelstein work for?

Steven Finkelstein works for Accenture

What is Steven Finkelstein's role at the current company?

Steven Finkelstein's current role is Expertise in Inventory Management, Supply & Demand Planning, System Implementation, Merchandise Financial Planning, Warehousing and Logistics & Team/Cross Functional Leadership.

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What schools did Steven Finkelstein attend?

Steven Finkelstein attended University Of Maryland.

What skills is Steven Finkelstein known for?

Steven Finkelstein has skills like Supply Chain, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Management, Manugistics, Demand Planning, Supply Chain Optimization, Project Planning, Purchasing, Mrp, Production Planning.

Who are Steven Finkelstein's colleagues?

Steven Finkelstein's colleagues are Sandeep Patil, Sahana Mn, Kyle Oneil Albarando, Juee Pawar, Lester Ramos, Nikhil Ravi, Anjali Gore.

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