Inventory Manager

Location: Four Oaks, NC • Contract Term: 12+ Months • 40 hours/week • 1st Shift

About the Role

The Inventory Manager is a leader who assesses organizational needs and takes action to improve them. This role communicates and collaborates daily with corporate inventory teams and key distribution leadership to implement and enforce inventory control systems and processes. The Inventory Manager also focuses on enhancing employee performance and satisfaction to align with company goals. Strong communication, analytical, collaboration, delegation, and leadership skills are essential for managing projects and driving results.

Responsibilities

• Improve efficiencies, drive inventory reduction, and implement cost avoidance strategies across the supply chain through effective inventory management policies.
• Ensure sites understand and execute the operational inventory strategy to drive profitable growth and deliver exceptional customer service.
• Effectively communicate with and align your team, ensuring accountability across sites and corporate.
• Create and manage internal processes that support excellent customer service outcomes.
• Manage and deliver on inventory control/reduction targets.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and mentor employees within high-functioning teams.
• Turn strategy into executable, operational actions to achieve desired KPI results.
• Apply expert knowledge of distribution operations, including order fulfillment, inventory control, shipping, and receiving.
• Develop and implement inventory analysis tools and metrics to optimize service, cost, and inventory levels.
• Lead and manage the daily operations of the domestic inventory management team.
• Manage and maintain inventory levels in conjunction with business units to balance customer service expectations with total cost-to-serve objectives.
• Lead or participate in cross-functional teams focused on optimizing or reducing key inventory levels while meeting or exceeding customer service expectations.
• Partner with manufacturing plants and other supply chain organizations to facilitate cost reductions and supply chain efficiencies related to inventory management.
• Communicate with management teams to direct and confirm execution of company processes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum of 5 years of Inventory Control, Distribution, or Operations experience.
• 3-5 years of WMS - Manhattan experience.
• Experience leading a team of 30 associates, including 2 exempt associates and Wave Planners.
• Microsoft Office experience (specifically MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook).
• Strong analytical, planning, and organizational skills.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and the ability to facilitate and prioritize multiple projects while meeting deadlines.
• Strong leadership, people management, communication, and influencing skills at a senior level.
• Solid business acumen with knowledge of finance, supply chain distribution, and employee management.
• Diligent, proactive, and results-driven personality.
• Ability to coordinate, plan, manage, delegate, and oversee multiple aspects of the inventory function for optimum productivity.
• Excellent reconciliation, problem resolution, and conflict management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the capability to work across multiple functions.

Scope of Responsibilities

• Key leadership position within the Inventory organization, directly influencing the leadership team to drive strategies that achieve KPIs.
• Influence and execute continuous cost improvement projects to drive favorable financial results.
• Create engagement and a positive work environment for the leadership team and associates.
• Direct influence at distribution center locations to drive continuous improvement for NA Distribution key driver goals encompassing customer, quality, people, and cost.
• Hold inventory leaders at distribution centers accountable for site distribution key driver goals.
• Accountable for achieving budgeted inventory goals at distribution centers.
• Responsible for continuous improvement related to inventory accuracy.
• Ensure accuracy in the reporting of site inventory assets.
• Achieve standardized inventory processes across all distribution centers.

Schedule

1st Shift • 40 hours per week

Travel

Travel to other sites will be required, with an estimated 4 to 8 trips per quarter to various locations.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

• Regularly required to walk, stand, stoop, kneel, balance, crouch, reach, push/pull, grasp, hear, and twist.
• Frequent use of hands to finger, handle, feel, pick, or type, which may include repetitive motion of the wrists, hands, or fingers.
• Occasionally required to climb.
• May require lifting over 50 lbs in some areas, though not all.