Manager, Inventory Optimization & Planning

Build Your Career with Ashley Join The #1 Furniture Brand Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. is the largest furniture manufacturer in the world. Established in 1945, Ashley offers one of the industry's broadest product assortments to retail partners in 123 countries.Ready to grow? You've come to the right place. Ashley Furniture has a "Growth Mindset", and once you join our team, you'll learn from the best in the business. Apply today and find your home at Ashley! Manager, Inventory Optimization & Planning Location: Onsite – Tampa, FL What Will You Do? Ashley is hiring a Manager, Inventory Optimization & Planning to own how inventory targets are set, placed, and continuously calibrated across our distribution network, inbound pipeline, and retail footprint. This role runs the recurring workstreams that put those targets into motion—target-setting logic, set-level balancing, end-of-life disposition, and inter-facility transfer processes—and works hands-on with the systems and AI agents that translate targets into ranked, executable recommendations for field teams. The traditional version of this role focuses on tuning settings within a planning system. That is the floor, not the ceiling. Ashley is rebuilding its tooling, operating model, and the way humans and AI share the work—moving from periodic manual recalibration to an agent-supported, recommend-and-execute model where targets self-tune against demand, supply, and service signals. This manager will be a hands-on owner of that system as it is built. Primary Responsibilities Own the Methodology Define the day-to-day decision logic behind inventory target setting, segmentation, service-level policy, and stock placement across the network—including set-level ratios and how a balanced position is definedShape how targets are set, not just what they are Build the Agent-Supported Operating Model Move the organization from periodic, manual recalibration to a near-continuous process supported by AI agents and a ranked recommendation queue, starting with repeatable monthly cycles for transfers and rebalancingStand up and tune AI agents that support the work: write the rules, validate outputs, and determine when an agent recommends versus when a human owns the decision Co-Design the Next Generation of Tools Partner directly with teams building recommendation engines and rebalancing tools; contribute to the logic, validate outputs, and ensure recommendations reflect what should be acted onSupport the evaluation and evolution of the planning stack; serve as a key voice in tooling decisions and help carry the path forwardCo-design next-gen recommendation tools alongside systems and intelligence partners—bringing the inventory and policy perspective while partnering with engineering teams to build durable solutions Validate and Scale Run rigorous validation cadences against new models, agents, and methods—including data tests with operating teams before scalingDefend, revise, or discontinue approaches based on evidence Connect Forecast to Execution Own the forecast-to-target handshake, ensuring forecasting signals route into the right inventory policy decisions and that the feedback loop runs both ways Tell the Story to Leadership Communicate the policy story: why targets are set the way they are, what is drifting, what it is costing, and what actions are being taken Develop the Team Develop analysts into agent operators and tool builders, not report buildersDocument the playbook so it can survive platform changes and team turnover Own Network-Level Supply Chain Performance Maintain accountability for inventory health KPIs across site, regional, or network levels, including inventory turns, service levels, excess/obsolete inventory, and stock positioning effectiveness Who You Are You thrive in the mess. Half-defined processes with conflicting data and legacy tools? That's your happy place. You make problems cleaner, not wait for them to become cleaner. You're AI-native, not AI-curious. You've already built an agent, workflow, or AI-assisted tool used by a real team. You can explain what it does, where it failed, and how you fixed it. You're a builder. You'd rather help design the engine that solves a problem 1,000 times than solve the same problem manually over and over. You're detail-obsessed where it matters. Numbers reconcile. Definitions are tight. Edge cases get caught before they hit the leadership deck. You're bilingual: business AND technical. You can explain a trend to an operator, then spec a tool with the AI team—same day. You operate in the gray. "We haven't decided yet" doesn't stop you. You make defensible calls with incomplete data, document the reasoning, and revise as evidence emerges. What Do You Need? Required Qualifications 5+ years of experience in inventory planning, supply chain analytics, or a closely adjacent quantitative operations roleHands-on experience with inventory target setting and multi-node placement, including improving or rebuilding these approaches (not just operating someone else's settings)Experience building or co-building internal analytical tools, models, or recommendation engines adopted by real usersStrong SQL and Python skills for analysis, with the ability to write code directly when neededPower BI (or equivalent) experience, including building useful semantic models and views—not just consuming existing dashboardsExperience leading projects and working groups across teams; direct people-leadership experience is a plusComfort working across systems of record, including an ERP-class execution system, a planning platform, and exception or action-message tooling Preferred Qualifications Experience shipping an internal agent, AI-assisted workflow, or analytical tool used by a real team in production, with the ability to explain what it does, what it costs, and how ROI is measuredExperience going through a planning-platform migration as a primary contributor or ownerOwnership of a supply chain KPI with site, regional, or network accountabilityBackground in furniture, big-box retail, durable goods, or import-heavy supply chainsExperience building or contributing to a multi-echelon inventory optimization model or network rebalancing engine Benefits We Offer Health, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance ProgramPaid Vacation, Holidays, and Your Birthday OffGenerous Employee Discount on Home FurnishingsProfessional Development OpportunitiesAshley Wellness Centers (location-specific) and Medical TourismTelehealth401(k) and Profit SharingLife Insurance Our Core Values Honesty & IntegrityPassion, Drive, DisciplineContinuous Improvement/Operational ExcellenceDirty FingernailGrowth Focused About Us To learn more about Ashley Furniture, our community engagement programs, environmental stewardship, and our core values, please visit our Corporate Social Responsibility information page: Corporate Social Responsibility Equal Opportunity Employer We are an equal-opportunity employer and provide a drug-free working environment. While Ashley appreciates the interest of all candidates, only those meeting specific position requirements may be contacted. Principals Only. This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.