Merchandise Planner / Buyer 2

Our Vision: Be the best at what we do. Our Mission: Improve lives through technology.

Summary:

As the Merchandise Planner / Buyer II, you will own sourcing, assortment, demand planning, supply planning, and inventory strategy for assigned wireless device and accessory categories across C Spire’s retail, indirect, and business channels. You will actively use and configure AI-based tools to improve the efficiency and accuracy of planning models. You will combine supplier management and commercial judgment with strong analytical planning to determine what products C Spire carries, secure the right supply, and maintain healthy inventory positions across the business. This role requires someone who can work confidently through imperfect data, challenge assumptions, solve problems independently, and continuously improve the tools and processes used to support purchasing and inventory decisions.
As the Merchandise Buyer / Planner II, you will own sourcing, assortment, demand planning, supply planning, and inventory strategy for assigned wireless device and accessory categories across C Spire’s retail, direct, and business channels. You will combine supplier management and commercial judgment with strong analytical planning to determine what products C Spire carries, secure the right supply, and maintain healthy inventory positions across the business. This role requires someone who can work confidently through imperfect data, challenge assumptions, solve problems independently, and continuously improve the tools and processes used to support purchasing and inventory decisions.

Responsibilities:

What You Will Do

In all of your duties, you will have a relentless, obsessive, yet disciplined approach to manage all details to perfection and deliver desired results.

• Own sourcing, assortment, purchasing, and supplier relationships for assigned wireless device and accessory categories, including pricing, terms, availability, and product lifecycle decisions.

• Leverage and configure AI-based tools and agent-builder platforms to detect demand and inventory anomalies and generate purchasing recommendations for review. Extend this automation to reporting, analytical tools, and recurring workflows that support sourcing, forecasting, inventory, and purchasing decisions.

• Use AI-based tools and other automation technologies to streamline data collection, analysis, forecasting, reporting, and recurring planning processes.

• Develop and maintain demand, supply, and inventory plans using historical performance, promotions, launches, pricing changes, lead times, supplier commitments, and other relevant business drivers.

• Translate demand forecasts and inventory positions into purchasing, replenishment, allocation, transfer, and inventory-reduction actions across retail, direct, business, and government channels.

• Monitor supplier performance, shortages, excess inventory, aging, obsolescence, and other supply risks, escalating issues early and recommending corrective actions.

• Support product launches, transitions, and end-of-life activity through coordinated sourcing, inventory planning, allocation, and sell-through strategies.

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Retail Operations, Finance, Procurement, and suppliers to align forecasts, purchasing decisions, and inventory plans with business priorities.

• Analyze sales, inventory, supplier, and purchasing data to identify trends, investigate exceptions, evaluate scenarios, and provide clear, decision-ready recommendations to leadership.

• Maintain key purchasing, product, pricing, promotional, and inventory information within applicable systems and support recurring inventory and planning reviews.

• Continuously improve planning processes, controls, and data quality to reduce manual work, strengthen accuracy, and improve decision-making.

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

This position is an exceptional opportunity to deepen your expertise in strategic sourcing, retail buying, demand and supply planning, and inventory management while supporting one of C Spire’s most operationally critical business functions. As Merchandise Planner / Buyer II you will have a strong springboard into broader opportunities across supply chain, procurement, category management, commercial planning, operations, and business analytics.

Qualifications:

As a C Spire team member you will bring a relentless obsession to be the best in our industry and a winning mentality, determined to outsmart and outdo competitors. You will have a single-minded commitment to unbeatable internal and external customer experiences. To support our Supply Chain Planning team, you will bring strong commercial judgment, analytical rigor, supplier-management skills, attention to detail, and the ownership necessary to turn complex demand and supply information into sound business decisions.

In addition to that, we require:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

• Typically 4 or more years of experience in demand planning, supply planning, purchasing, inventory management, category management, supply chain analytics, or a related discipline.

• Strong AI-tool proficiency (e.g., AI copilots, agent-builder platforms), Excel, and analytical skills, including experience working with complex models, large data sets, and business-critical planning information.

• Strong understanding of demand, supply, inventory, lead times, service levels, purchasing requirements, and product lifecycle considerations.

• Experience working with suppliers on pricing, terms, sourcing, availability, or related commercial matters.

• Strong analytical judgment and problem-solving skills, including the ability to work effectively with incomplete or inconsistent data.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate analysis into clear recommendations.

• Demonstrated ownership, attention to detail, and ability to independently manage multiple priorities and stakeholder relationships.

We will give special consideration to candidates who have:

• Experience in retail buying, category management, telecommunications, wireless, consumer electronics, retail, or distribution.

• Experience across both demand planning and supply or inventory planning.

• Experience supporting S&OP, SIOP, IBP, or another structured cross-functional planning process.

• APICS/ASCM or IBF certification.

• Experience using AI tools, Power Query, Power BI, VBA, SQL, or similar technologies to improve planning, reporting, or automation.

• Experience with multi-location inventory allocations, procurement, supplier management, and/or product lifecycle planning.

What You Will Gain

A great workplace needs more than dental coverage, though we provide that and excellent health insurance. But that’s just the start. We make sure working at C Spire is the best career experience around. And Forbes has named us one of America's Best Midsize Employers multiple times because of it. We also offer:

• Competitive Compensation Package

• Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance

• Tuition Assistance Programs

• Complimentary Wireless Service & Device*

• 401k Match

• Teladoc Telemedicine

• WellBeacon Wellness Program

• Paid Talent Referral Opportunities

• Tailored learning paths for every position

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

This position is based on-site at C Spire’s Ridgeland, Mississippi corporate office. Must be able to sit for extended periods and use a computer keyboard and/or mouse while viewing a computer screen. Must be able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment and maintain schedule flexibility to support retail and supply-chain needs, including occasional evenings or Saturdays. Occasional overnight travel to warehouse, retail, supplier, or other business locations may be required. Extended hours may occasionally be necessary during major product launches, supply disruptions, planning cycles, or other critical business periods.

*Complimentary wireless service and device available to team members in our wireless footprint.