Business Analyst

Laura Sprague

214-***-**** adicum@r.postjobfree.com linkedin.com/in/laura-sprague-8677049/

Business Analyst

Strategic Planning Customer Service Data Analysis

Business Analyst specializing in gathering and evaluating large datasets to identify trends and opportunities to improve operational efficiency. Adept at building and enhancing report templates, improving readability and clarity of data for use in organizational decision-making. Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, macros, and functions such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP and SUMIF. Core Competencies:

Team Building

Forecasting

Report Development

Process Improvements

Project Coordination

Inventory Analysis

Data Extraction

Business Intelligence

Testing and Validation

SELECT HIGHLIGHTS

Gathered input from seven divisions and product lines for 125 JCPenney stores, joined the lists with location inventory, and produced and distributed action lists back to each store, which reduced store inventory by an average of over 10%.

Collaborated merchandise teams to develop a tool in Excel that pre-populated existing ownership and additional buys, existing pricing and promotional events over a specified time frame that could be adjusted based on item category, brand group, or initial retails, which impacted thousands of items across 800 JCPenney locations.

Received the JCPenney Associate of the Quarter award for developing a tool in Microsoft Access that extracted daily subdivision data that could be embedded into Excel upon table refreshes, which was subsequently implemented into other divisions and expanded to accommodate eCommerce and retail.

CAREER OVERVIEW

JCPENNEY 2001 – 2020

PLANNING MANAGER/SUPPORT LEAD FOR CORPORATE PLANNING & ALLOCATION OPERATIONS 2016 - 2020

Developed and produced location-based reporting and analysis to communicate results of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) vs. plan/forecast and LY. Analyzed variances to identify sales and inventory opportunities for improvements. Extracted large amounts of data directly from data warehouse tables using Access, SQL and Snowflake. Experience with Oracle and Microstrategy.

§Built Excel based prototype reports to be used as design for Oracle BI reporting; test report functionality and validate output prior to site deployment.

§Implemented processes to ensure input from various cross-functional teams is collected in a timely and efficient manner.

§Provided excellent customer service to store partners and internal associates throughout corporate organization.

§Created monthly team building activities to promote an inclusive and engaged environment.

DIVISIONAL MERCHANDISE PLANNING MANAGER/MERCHANDISE PLANNER 2001 - 2016

Delivered division-specific reporting on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and ad-hoc reporting to leadership, detailing key performance metrics. Improved the functionality and performance of existing store and eCommerce divisional reports.

§Created sales and inventory plans and reforecast daily, weekly and monthly sales that factored in impact of trends, promotional activity and clearance ownership.

§Analyzed vendor performance, SKU productivity and key item performance to drive sales and profitability and proposed actions to address opportunities.

§Analyzed impact of pricing strategies, including setting initial retails, promotional pricing, and timing of final markdowns.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

NATIONAL CHARITY LEAGUE – Allen, TX 2015 – Present

YOUNG MEN’S SERVICE LEAGUE – Allen, TX 2017 – Present

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing & Business Broadcasting, Baylor University

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