Inventory Planner

As an Inventory Planner, you'll work cross-functionally with Sales, Purchasing, Transportation, Product Development, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Customer Service to manage inventory for assigned customers and distribution locations. You'll use data, forecasting tools, and business insight to make recommendations that directly impact customer service, inventory health, and company performance. The Inventory Planner is responsible for managing inventory and replenishment planning for assigned customers, brands, and distribution centers. This role ensures product availability while minimizing excess inventory through accurate forecasting, replenishment planning, inventory analysis, and collaboration with internal business partners. Success in this role requires strong analytical skills, sound business judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate effectively across multiple departments.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage inventory planning and replenishment for assigned customers, warehouses, and distribution centers.
• Utilize Blue Ridge Demand Planning and Acumatica ERP to analyze inventory positions and generate purchase recommendations.
• Review forecasts, sales trends, seasonality, promotions, new product launches, and historical demand to ensure inventory plans align with business needs.
• Partner with Sales and Account Management to understand customer initiatives, promotional events, and future demand changes.
• Work closely with Purchasing to place and manage purchase orders while balancing lead times, vendor constraints, and inventory investment.
• Coordinate with Transportation and Logistics teams to optimize inventory flow across distribution centers.
• Evaluate inventory health by identifying stockout risks, excess inventory, slow-moving inventory, and obsolete products.
• Develop recommendations to reduce excess inventory through inventory transfers, demand alignment, and inventory optimization strategies.
• Monitor customer service levels and inventory performance to support company service objectives.
• Participate in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) meetings and provide inventory insights and recommendations.
• Analyze large data sets to identify trends, root causes, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Create and maintain dashboards, reports, and performance metrics that support business decision-making.
• Support new product introductions, product transitions, and end-of-life inventory planning.
• Ensure data integrity across planning systems and collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve discrepancies.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve planning processes, reporting, and inventory performance.
• Maintain high product availability while minimizing excess inventory.
• Improve forecast accuracy through proactive planning and collaboration.
• Make timely, data-driven replenishment decisions.
• Communicate inventory risks and recommendations clearly to stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships across Sales, Purchasing, Operations, Transportation, and Finance.
• Identify process improvements that increase planning efficiency and inventory accuracy.
• Take ownership of assigned customers and distribution centers with minimal oversight.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Finance, Analytics, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience in inventory planning, demand planning, supply chain, purchasing, operations, or a related analytical role.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience working with ERP systems.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with demand planning or inventory optimization software (Blue Ridge, SAP IBP, Kinaxis, o9, Logility, Anaplan, or similar).
• Experience supporting major retail customers or omnichannel fulfillment operations.
• Experience with business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Snowflake.
• Understanding of forecasting methodologies, inventory management principles, and replenishment planning.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP) is a plus.