Allocation analysts are individuals who determine the amount and type of inventory that their companies should make available to operate most efficiently and achieve financial goals. These types of people must have strong analytical skills and be organized and self-directed. An allocation analyst essentially makes sure that an adequate amount of products are available for sale in different venues, such as retail shops in various cities, and conducts market research to help with the planning process. This type of professional also produces reports on financial data and fixes inventory problems that crop up.
A major duty of an allocation analyst is to ensure that his or her company has an ideal amount of inventory on hand. This type of analyst makes sure that stores, for instance, have a suitable amount of products available to customers while not having too many unnecessary goods, which could decrease the business’ target profits. He or she must be able to create strong product-availability plans for various seasons of the year by engaging in forecasting activities and also determine which types of items will be most in-demand in different market areas.
A person in this career area additionally has to be able to perform research. Market research is important for an allocation analyst in that it allows this type of professional to gather information about consumers and the types of goods that they desire. An analyst can use the data that he or she acquires from studies to identify trends that will help his or her company to make wise product-selling decisions. He or she also shares this information with business leaders and strives to improve the allocation process regularly.
Generating reports constitutes another aspect of this job role. An allocation analyst works with his or her company’s finance team to analyze sales records, documents on purchases, and inventory accounts, and also helps to develop reports that summarize this data. His or her goal is to help the company track its financial status with regard to its daily operational activities so that it can make informed business decisions that enable it to achieve long-term objectives.
The ability to solve problems is important in this career as well. Allocation analysts, for example, must make sure that a business location that ends up having an insufficient number of goods to be sold quickly receives the items that it needs to make sales in a timely fashion. Technical skills also are necessary to fix problems with electronic systems used to transmit product order information at the business. As a result, an allocation analyst needs to be computer-savvy and be able to work well under deadline pressure.