Forecasting Manager, E-Commerce (Ashland)

Forecasting Manager, E-Commerce

Ashland, Oregon | Onsite 4 days a week, one remote

The Mission

E-commerce growth only works when demand, inventory, and economics stay in sync. Too little inventory means missed sales. Too much - or inventory in the wrong place - ties up cash, creates storage pressure, and forces reactive decisions.

We're looking for an Forecasting Manager, E-Commerce to own the planning discipline behind our marketplace business. You'll build and maintain SKU-level forecasts, keep inventory positioned across Amazon, Walmart, Target+, and other channels, and turn forecast, margin, and fulfillment data into clear operating decisions.

This is a hands-on people-management role. You'll work in the models, challenge assumptions, and step into operational exceptions when needed, while also developing the team and improving the planning systems behind the work.

Can you balance availability, margin, and inventory risk without losing sight of the SKU-level details?

If that sounds like your kind of problem, keep reading.

What You'll Do

• Own the Forecast. Build and manage SKU-level demand plans across marketplace channels, including annual, promotional, seasonal, and in-stock forecasting. Track forecast-to-actual performance and adjust assumptions as the business changes.

• Keep Inventory in Position. Run recurring inventory reviews, identify stockout and overstock risk early, and coordinate inventory movement, buffer stock, and shipment plans across fulfillment locations and partners.

• Manage SKU Economics. Maintain visibility into SKU-level net contribution and the factors affecting it. Use margin, inventory, fees, and demand signals to surface tradeoffs and support smarter promotional and inventory decisions.

• Plan the SKU Portfolio. Evaluate pre-launch viability, bulk-buy opportunities, domestic versus import options, and SKU rationalization or exclusivity questions in partnership with Retail, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders.

• Run Marketplace Supply. Oversee the operational flow behind Vendor Central, Seller Central, FBA, dropship/FBM, 3PL, and other marketplace fulfillment processes. Keep shipment requirements, purchase orders, reimbursements, and exceptions visible and moving.

• Make Risk Visible. Maintain useful dashboards and reporting on forecast accuracy, out-of-stocks, planned shipments, launch timing, and operational exceptions. Explain what changed, why it matters, and what action is needed.

• Lead the Team. Set priorities, allocate work, coach performance, run regular check-ins and reviews, keep SOPs current, and help direct reports build stronger planning and operational judgment.

• Improve the System. Find recurring friction in forecasting, inventory, shipping, and marketplace workflows; fix root causes, strengthen SOPs, and evaluate better ways to move product with less cost and fewer surprises.

What You Bring

• Forecasting Judgment. You understand that a forecast is not just a spreadsheet. You know when to trust history, when to challenge it, and how promotions, seasonality, launches, lead times, and channel behavior change the answer.

• Analytical Discipline. You build models people can follow, check assumptions, reconcile forecast versus actual, and notice when the data does not make sense.

• Commercial Instinct. You think in tradeoffs: availability versus working capital, velocity versus margin, stock-up versus aged inventory, and speed versus cost.

• Operational Follow-Through. You stay with shipments, exceptions, and inventory risks until there is a real resolution, not just an update.

• People Leadership. You create clarity, coach judgment, and help team members become more capable rather than making every decision yourself.

• Clear Communication. You can turn a messy forecast or inventory problem into a concise recommendation for Marketing, Finance, Logistics, Merchandising, and leadership.

What It Takes

• Demonstrated experience owning e-commerce demand planning, inventory planning, marketplace supply chain, or closely related work with responsibility for SKU-level forecasting and inventory decisions.

• Hands-on working experience with Amazon Vendor Central and/or Seller Central.

• Advanced Excel capability, including formulas, pivot tables, data analysis, and building or maintaining forecasting and margin models.

• Experience working across marketplace fulfillment models such as FBA, WFS, 3PL, dropship, FBM, or comparable environments.

• Direct people-management or supervisory experience, with evidence of prioritization, coaching, and performance management.

• Strong written and verbal communication and the ability to translate data into clear actions for cross-functional partners and leadership.

What Sets You Apart

Experience with Walmart, Target+, TikTok Shop, or other non-Amazon marketplace channels will help you ramp faster. So will experience with Power BI or other dashboarding tools, EDI requirements, Amazon chargeback or compliance processes, import/domestic sourcing decisions, 3PL operations, or consumer products.

How We'll Measure Success

Forecasts become more accurate and useful, inventory risks are surfaced early, and priority SKUs are better positioned to stay in stock without creating unnecessary excess. SKU-level margin and inventory tradeoffs are visible enough to support timely decisions, and marketplace supply issues are resolved with stronger discipline.

The team knows what matters, recurring planning and shipment processes become more reliable, and cross-functional partners have more confidence in the forecast, inventory picture, and actions coming out of the function.

Is Blue Marble Right for You?

We're intentionally building a culture of people who lead by example, challenge one another respectfully, take ownership of their work, and want to continue learning and improving.

Blue Marble may be exactly the place you're looking for if...

• You take ownership of your words, actions, and work product.

• You value honest, hard conversations and long-term progress over short-term comfort.

• You enjoy solving meaningful problems and seek purposeful work.

• You see feedback as an opportunity to improve and grow.

• You naturally look for ways to make things better and help others succeed.

• You ask questions when something isn't clear.

• You believe character matters as much as competence.

• You proactively bring solutions to problems.

On the other hand, you probably won't enjoy working here if...

• You spend more time making excuses or pointing fingers than solving problems.

• You consistently avoid difficult conversations.

• You believe your responsibility ends with your job description.

• You need someone to constantly tell you what to do.

• You become defensive when receiving constructive feedback.

• You believe being right is more important than finding the best solution.

• You consistently wait for instructions rather than taking appropriate initiative.

• You have difficulty acknowledging mistakes and learning from them.

• You're primarily looking for a paycheck rather than an opportunity to meaningfully contribute.

We're not looking for perfect people.

We're looking for capable people who want to keep getting better and who bring their best to the people and work around them.

If this sounds like you, let's make great things together.

This description is not exhaustive; responsibilities may evolve as Blue Marble grows.

Blue Marble is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law and provide reasonable accommodations throughout the hiring process.