Sarah Dinner
Whitby,Canada
Summary
Strong leadership with excellent interpersonal, customer service and communication skills developed through school and past work experience. High-energy, self-motivated, trustworthy and dependable individual who excels in challenging, and fast-paced environments Knowledge of procurement concepts, processes, activities, and trends Works well both on a team as well as individually Ability to problem solve, multitask, meet deadlines Strong computer knowledge: BRIO, SAP, APO, Hyperion, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, RMDS, RIM, MDW, MDO, JESTA, Desktop Intelligence, BI, MAP, E3
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Freelance Consultant
01.2025 - Current
- Deliver independent projects for clients in multiple industries, insurance, construction (windows, doors, frames, and general)
- Manage schedules, calendars, project deadlines, appointments etc
- Manage full book keeping from end to end, accounts payable/receivable
- Track expenses, create invoices, while maintaining compliance with relevant regulations
- Reduced discrepancies, by implementing organized record keeping for clients.
- Use Quickbooks and excel for processing and reporting
- Self-Employed
Demand Planner/Buyer
Umbra Ltd
Scarborough
09.2019 - 10.2024
- Forecast sales for key accounts internationally – Eg. Amazon, Wal-Mart US/Canada, TJX, Loblaws, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, etc. based on POS, current market trends, events, sales history etc
- Manage inventory for 6 different warehouses – China, Buffalo, Toronto, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Brazil
- Responsible for reporting on an international level, inventory levels, sales plans, forecasting, EOL products
- Sources vendors for materials
- Create business plans, procurement control, financial estimating, and prioritize deliverables
Category Specialist/Buyer/Analyst
Staples Canada
Richmond Hill
06.2018 - 09.2019
- Negotiate competitive costs and ensure high quality product from vendors
- Responsible for $10 million in sales annually
- Manage vendor accounts and relationships
- Formulate and analyze, make recommendations based on commercial and market factors
- Collaborate with Category Manager to develop procurement strategy and identify opportunities to deliver
- Forecast sales plans and targets for the year
- Manage a portfolio of over 100,000 skus
- Purchase product from over 100 different vendors
Planner/Merchandise Planner – Handbags and Accessories
Town Shoes Limited
North York
02.2017 - 06.2018
- Planned handbags for 3 different banners: Town Shoes, Shoe Company and DSW
- Markdowns – took markdowns by-weekly when necessary
- Forecast sales monthly
- Sales plans for next 3 seasons
- Create open-to-buy plans, forecast how much buyers need to spend in order to meet our sales plans that I created
- Receipt reconciling
- Managed process for aged inventory – came up with plans and processes to help end of life on aged product with maximum profit
Allocation and Replenishment Analyst
Town Shoes Limited
North York
06.2014 - 06.2018
- Managed all Women’s inventory – controller of warehouse/store inventory
- Liable for where product is sent/what stores it is being sent to and why based on history/location/weather/capacity etc
- Analyze weekly/monthly/annual sales reports
- Identify opportunities and responded to store trends through historical analysis
- Communicated directly with stores to address any issues/wants/needs that stores may have
- Control replenishment needs and handle store transfers where necessary
- Consolidate inventory based on high and low selling stores
- Forecast sales based on trend
Allocation and Replenishment Analyst
Sears Canada
Toronto
05.2012 - 06.2013
- Communicated with Merchandise Planning and Buying team to determine: store volume groups & display quantities based on historical sales, checkout rates, inventory turnaround, and current on-hand quantities
- Estimated purchase order quantities for AR program and promotional events based on established volume groups
- Placed purchase orders and coordinated with vendors to accommodate any changes/updates
- Maintained and monitored inventory levels of automatic replenishment items
- Addressed out-of-stock occurrences at store level by analyzing historical sales & FENs and implementing necessary updates
- Ran sales and inventory reports for Merchandise Planning and vendor
- Participated in monthly markdown process for potential clearance items
Inventory Control/Analyst
IBM Canada Ltd.
Markham
05.2005 - 06.2011
- Managed inventory being expedited out of the warehouse
- Created purchase orders and tracked inventory coming in and out of the warehouse
- Managed and responsible for all internal assets being returned – Determined whether or not IBM would keep or sell the assets that came back
- Responsible for financially getting all of the assets off of the IBM records if sold to third party.
- Trained multiple new employees that came on board and wrote training manuals
- Accountable for team projects: building queries, fixing processes, building websites, etc.
Education
Phase 2
Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)
Honours Arts Degree - Political Science Major
Wilfrid Laurier University
Skills
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Team leadership & development
- Client relationships
- Analytical thinking
- MS office
- Integrity and honesty
- Strategic planning
- Customer relationship management
- Continuous improvement
- Project management
- Business analysis
- Processes and procedures
- Analysis & evaluation
Accomplishments
- Improved forecast accuracy by 20–30% using advanced Excel models (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, trend analysis)
- Built dynamic forecasting spreadsheets to track demand patterns and seasonality across 1,000+ SKUs
- Reduced stockouts by 25% by analyzing historical sales data and adjusting forecasts in Excel
- Developed automated Excel reports, cutting manual reporting time by 15–20%
- Used Excel dashboards to monitor KPIs (inventory levels, turnover, service levels) and support decision-making
- Optimized safety stock levels using Excel-based calculations, reducing excess inventory by $100K
- Improved forecast accuracy by 20–30% using advanced Excel models (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, trend analysis)
- Built dynamic forecasting spreadsheets to track demand patterns and seasonality across 1,000+ SKUs
- Reduced stockouts by 25% by analyzing historical sales data and adjusting forecasts in Excel
- Developed automated Excel reports, cutting manual reporting time by 15–20%
- Used Excel dashboards to monitor KPIs (inventory levels, turnover, service levels) and support decision-making
- Optimized safety stock levels using Excel-based calculations, reducing excess inventory by $XXK
- Cleaned and validated large datasets in Excel, improving data accuracy and planning reliability
- Designed custom Excel tracking systems for clients, improving inventory visibility and control
- Built budgeting and forecasting models in Excel to help clients better manage cash flow
- Reduced purchasing costs by 10–20% through data analysis and vendor comparisons using Excel
- Automated client reporting using Excel formulas and pivot tables, saving hours of manual work
- Created easy-to-use Excel dashboards for small businesses to track inventory, sales, and expenses
- Analyzed procurement and inventory data in Excel to identify inefficiencies and cost-saving opportunities
- Trained clients on Excel tools (pivot tables, formulas), improving internal reporting capabilities
- Microsoft Excel (Advanced: Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, IF statements, Data Analysis, Dashboards)
- ERP Systems (SAP, Oracle, etc.)
- Inventory Management Software
Languages
English
Certification
- West Shore Mixed Slo-Pitch Executive Committee – Treasurer 2017-Current
- Volunteer work: Thirty-Hour Famine, IBM Green Team, Walk-A-Mile In Her Shoes
- CPR Certification
- CAN-FIT-PRO - Personal Training Certification
- Tough Mudder 2011/2012
- CN Tower Stair Climb
- Multiple 5k, 10k marathons
Timeline
Freelance Consultant
01.2025 - Current
Demand Planner/Buyer
Umbra Ltd
09.2019 - 10.2024
Category Specialist/Buyer/Analyst
Staples Canada
06.2018 - 09.2019
Planner/Merchandise Planner – Handbags and Accessories
Town Shoes Limited
02.2017 - 06.2018
Allocation and Replenishment Analyst
Town Shoes Limited
06.2014 - 06.2018
Allocation and Replenishment Analyst
Sears Canada
05.2012 - 06.2013
Inventory Control/Analyst
IBM Canada Ltd.
05.2005 - 06.2011
Honours Arts Degree - Political Science Major
Wilfrid Laurier University
Phase 2
Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)