Inventory Planning Supervisor

Key Responsibilities

1. Inventory Health Management

• 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.