Accessory Product Planner

Company: Honda Motors
Location: Torrance
Posted on: November 16, 2023

Job Description:

Accessory Product Planner

Location: Torrance, CA Workstyle: Hybrid (60% Remote)

What Makes a Honda, is Who makes a Honda

Honda has a clear vision for the future, and it's a joyful one. We are looking for individuals with the skills, courage, persistence, and dreams that will help us reach our future-focused goals.

At our core is innovation. Honda is constantly innovating and developing solutions to drive our business with record success. We strive to be a company which serves as a source of "power" that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative and that helps people expand their own potential. To this end, Honda strives to realize "the joy and freedom of mobility" by developing new technologies and an innovative approach to achieve a "zero environmental footprint."

We are looking for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, continuous improvement values, and a strong work ethic to join our team.

If your goals and values align with Honda's, we want you to join our team to Bring the Future!

About this Position:

Accessory Product Planning drives the Honda & Acura accessory product strategy for current and future AHM vehicles with a focus on meeting upcoming customer needs, enhancing the vehicle image, and ensuring accessory competitiveness in the marketplace. Accessory Planners are the sales and market (dealerships & customers) representatives within the accessory development team/process. Accessory Planners are the primary accessory advocates and experts within the vehicle sales launch teams. The department creates accessory business strategy and lifecycle plans for each New/Full Model Change/Major Minor Change vehicle, with responsibility for individual accessory profitability, entire model accessory line up profitability, accurate sales forecasting, accessory & package competitiveness, and customer satisfaction.

The Accessory Product Planner continually performs thorough analysis of the automotive accessory market to represent the needs of the market and customer to determine accessory offerings, specific accessory features, forecasted penetration rates, pricing, and life cycle item/package recommendations. Accessory Product Planners represent the voice of the customer and lead AHM consensus in by model accessory development projects, with the goal of ensuring competitiveness necessary to achieve total accessory sales volume targets and profitability.

Responsibilities include:

--- Product Planning: Conduct customer, market, and competitive research & analysis to provide sales requirements to accessory development teams for accessory line-ups, accessory features, forecasted penetration rates, pricing, and life cycle management accessories/packages. Evaluate and assess marketability of future accessories and propose appropriate application on future models. Work with teams to ensure all accessories maintain marketability and profitability throughout development.

--- Market Analysis: Conduct thorough analysis of all aspects of assigned vehicles' customer, customer needs/wants & accessory offerings, and its competitive accessory market situation to ensure the most competitive accessory line-ups and support department, division, and corporate goals.

--- Sales Launch: Communicate overall vehicle accessory offerings including new items, role of accessories, customer targets, business sales objectives and pricing, to Marketing. Review all marketing materials for 100% accuracy. Work with Vehicle Product Planners and Accessory Marketing throughout SP process to ensure maximum awareness of accessories. Collect post-launch market feedback (from blogs, dealers, and customers) and compile accessory assessment (PDCA). Apply findings to future accessory developments and activities.

--- Profitability: Compile existing costs for similar accessories and propose target FOBs (purchasing costs) for each accessory on assigned models' accessory line-ups. Provide cost targets (along with product requirements) to development team. Track each accessory and entire project's profitability throughout development. Propose changes (product specs, pricing, penetration rates, and drop proposals) as needed to achieve targeted profitability / ROS.

--- Business Proposals: Effectively use gathered market research/analysis, accessory PDCAs, sales history, pricing, competitor findings, market trends, future vehicle & customer directions, and future environment forecasts to create sound vehicle accessory line up proposals. Successfully pitch proposal to Executives for approval.

Who we are seeking:

Required Work Experience:

--- Ideal candidate should have 5-8 years' work experience conducting/compiling primary & secondary market requirements, applying benchmarking strategies, and conducting sound business analysi

--- Experience creating and presenting well-justified business proposals required

--- Work experience in area of product planning, sales, or marketing preferred

Required Education:

--- Bachelor's degree, ideally with a major in business, marketing, or related field.

--- MBA preferred

Desired skills:

--- Strong enthusiasm for, and knowledge of the automotive industry; including brands, products, and accessories, and demonstrate excellent planning, negotiating, analytical and presentation skill

--- Strong communication skills. Confident interacting with all levels of management & executive

--- Able to provide strong leadership within department and project team

--- Excellent multi-tasking and organizational skill

--- Proven ability to work well under pressure and tight timeframe

--- Strong proficiency with MS Office is required, especially PowerPoint and Excel

--- Knowledge of the automotive development process is desired

--- Knowledge of planning & research software tools preferred; can be learned on job

--- Driver's license required and ability to operate a diverse assortment of automobiles. Proficiency with manual transmission preferred but not required

Additional Position Factors:

--- Workstyle: Hybrid (60% Remote)

--- Travel: 25%

At Honda, you will play a key role in our journey to become a company that society wants to exist now, and in the future. Your endless curiosity will drive innovation and your courageous spirit will challenge the status quo. We believe having a workforce made up of diverse thinkers and innovators makes us a better Honda. Respect for each other and respect for diversity each and every day drives our associates to contribute at the highest level and work effectively in a team environment. We make the dream of mobility a reality with our innovative and high-quality products. Together, we Bring the Future to our customers, associates, and communities. We are Honda!

What differentiates Honda and makes us an employer of choice?

Total Rewards:

--- Competitive Base Salary: $79,700 - $119,600

o Pay will be based on several variables that include, but not limited to, geographic location, work experience, education, etc.

--- Annual Bonu

--- Overtime

--- Industry leading Benefit Plans (Medical, Dental, Vision, Rx)

--- Paid time off, including vacation, paid holidays, sick time, personal day

--- 401K Plan with company match + additional contribution

--- Relocation assistance

Career Growth:

--- Advancement opportunitie

--- Career mobility

--- Education reimbursement for continued learning

--- Training and Development program

Additional Offerings:

--- Wellbeing program

--- Community service and engagement program

--- Product program

--- Free drinks onsite

Honda is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.

Keywords: Honda Motors, Torrance , Accessory Product Planner, Other , Torrance, California