Inventory Analysis & Optimization
• Analyze inventory levels, turns, aging, and demand patterns across products, locations, and suppliers.
• Identify surplus, low-velocity, and at-risk inventory and quantify financial impact to working capital and margin.
• Develop and maintain inventory KPIs and dashboards (e.g., turns, days of supply, fill rate, aging, forecast accuracy).
• Perform root-cause analysis on inventory imbalances, including forecast error, lead time assumptions, MOQ constraints, and demand variability.
Forecasting & Replenishment Enablement
• Review inventory levels and replenishment signals using cloud-based planning tools, translating insights into data-driven recommendations that inform purchasing decisions.
• Partner with Product Management, Sales, Demand Planning, and Purchasing to improve demand forecasts and replenishment strategies.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and bias; recommend improvements to planning assumptions and parameters.
• Coordinate returns with suppliers for slow moving SKUs to reduce excess inventory levels and improve turns.
• Support new product introductions and product lifecycle planning to minimize inventory risk.
Working Capital & Financial Impact
• Translate inventory performance into clear financial outcomes (cash usage, carrying cost, write-down risk)
• Support Finance with inventory valuation analysis, reserves, and period-end reporting.
• Build scenarios and business cases to support inventory reduction and service-level improvement initiatives.
• Track and report progress against inventory, service, and working capital targets.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Act as a data-driven partner to Product Management, Sales, Operations, Purchasing, and Finance.
• Challenge demand and stocking assumptions using facts and analysis.
• Support S&OP / IBP processes with inventory insights and recommendations.
• Influence decision-making without direct authority.
• Work with warehouse operations teams to root cause inventory discrepancies across the distribution network.
• Coordinate promotional initiatives with Marketing to expedite the depletion of discontinued and slow-moving SKUs.
• Works cross functionally with Product Managers and Vendor Compliance to strategize and resolve supplier issues relating to on-time shipping, responsiveness, and quality.
Continuous Improvement
• Identify gaps and inefficiencies in inventory planning processes, data quality, and execution.
• Support ERP, planning tool, or BI enhancements related to inventory management
• Document best practices and standard operating procedures.
• Develop process improvement plans across the operations teams to enhance the inventory management, planning tools, and reporting capabilities.