Establish, monitor, and maintain target inventory days across all material categories.
Develop replenishment strategies based on reorder points, demand trends, supplier lead times, internal processing lead times, warehouse capacity, and rolling forecasts.
Monitor inventory aging, slow-moving, excess, and obsolete materials, and recommend corrective actions.
Ensure the continuous availability of critical and key materials to support uninterrupted production and customer demand.
Analyze inventory performance and recommend improvements to maintain healthy inventory levels.
Demand and Supply Alignment
Review demand forecasts against actual material consumption to identify variances and planning gaps.
Collaborate with Sales, Production, and Procurement teams to align inventory plans with changing business requirements.
Adjust inventory planning parameters, including safety stock, reorder points, and order quantities, based on market conditions and demand fluctuations.
Support Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) activities by providing inventory analysis and recommendations.
Replenishment Planning Oversight
Oversee Material Requirements Planning (MRP) activities and ensure timely generation of replenishment plans.
Review and validate Purchase Requests prepared by Material Planners for completeness, accuracy, and alignment with inventory policies.
Ensure purchase plans are optimized to balance service levels, inventory costs, and supplier performance.
Monitor supplier lead times and coordinate with Procurement to resolve replenishment issues.
Inventory Optimization
Maintain strict inventory controls for high-value and critical ("A") SKUs.
Identify aging, excess, slow-moving, and at-risk inventory and recommend inventory reduction initiatives.
Monitor inventory shelf life and proactively flag materials approaching expiration.
Recommend inventory optimization strategies that improve inventory turnover while maintaining service levels.
Develop inventory performance reports and dashboards to support management decision-making.
Cross-Functional Coordination
Coordinate closely with Procurement, Warehouse, Production, Quality Assurance, Logistics, and Sales teams to ensure alignment of inventory plans.
Facilitate communication regarding material shortages, excess inventory, forecast changes, and replenishment concerns.
Participate in cross-functional meetings to support operational planning and continuous improvement initiatives.
Resolve inventory-related issues that may impact production schedules or customer deliveries.
Team Leadership
Lead, coach, and mentor Inventory and Material Planners to achieve departmental objectives.
Monitor team performance and provide regular feedback, training, and development opportunities.
Ensure planners comply with inventory planning policies, procedures, and system requirements.
Act promptly on inventory-related concerns affecting target inventory days, material shortages, and planning exceptions.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the planning team.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience in inventory planning, materials planning, supply chain, or production planning, with 2 years in a supervisory or leadership role.
Strong knowledge of Material Requirements Planning (MRP), inventory management principles, forecasting, and replenishment planning.
Experience using ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent).
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and inventory analysis tools.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing or supply chain environment.
