Erik Usher

About Erik Usher

Planning & Inventory Management/Merchandising/Supply Chain Operations/Category Management/Consulting/Training experience of over 20 years as well as Retail B&M experience of over 10 years. Have driven my career from analyst to planner to manager to senior manager/director levels over multiple categories and businesses. Held various roles doing internal & external consulting providing system and process development and support along with change management and training requirements.Skills/Acknowledgements- Highly skilled in demand and assortment planning methodologies and systems- Highly skilled in overall product lifecycle management- Highly knowledgeable in category management/product lifecycle processes and methodologies- Highly skilled in replenishment methodologies and systems- Highly skilled in allocation methodologies and systems- Highly skilled in financial planning acumen and systems- Skilled in procurement process and material planning- Highly skilled in seasonal analysis and profiling- Skilled in vendor management and negotiation- Highly skilled in presentation and reporting across all levels of company hierarchy- Great written and verbal communication skills- Good understanding of management techniques including Six Sigma and Lean- Understanding of software development standards- Understanding of testing methods and applications within test and production environments- Understanding of security and policy development and maintenance- Skilled in item governance and maintenance, including attributing and hierarchical process- Understanding of project management standards- Familiar with big data in regard to analytics, management and organization complexities - Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite including Project and Visio with high skills in Excel- Familiar with object-based programming structure and understand software languages – Visual Basic, C++- Good statistical and mathematical knowledge- Good overall computer and network knowledge- Good understanding of supply chain and retail operations- Knowledgeable on import operations- Recognized as model associate by both peers and superiors throughout career

Experience

1. Manager, Merchandise Operations

   Claire's

   Sep 2025 — Present

Education

• University of Michigan-Dearborn

  Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Management Information Systems, Minor in Computer Information Systems

  1997 — 2002

Skills

• Forecasting
• Vendor Management
• Inventory Control
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Management
• Supply Chain
• Leadership
• Strategy
• Inventory Management
• Apparel
• Product Management
• Process Improvement
• Logistics
• Training
• Cpfr
• Time Management
• Retail
• Sales
• Category Management
• Financial Planning
• Channel Strategy
• Product Assortment Planning
• Assortment Optimization
• Assortment Development
• Localization
• Retail Replenishment
• Allocations
• Demand Planning
• Demand Fulfillment