Senior Manager of Inventory Management

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking a Senior Manager, Inventory Management, Logistics & Procurement to lead and scale the operational capabilities that ensure materials and components are available where and when they are needed.

This role owns three interconnected functions: inventory and warehouse operations, logistics and transportation, and procurement and supplier management. The primary objective is to materially improve inventory accuracy and material availability while building disciplined, scalable processes that support a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on operational leader who can move fluidly between strategy and execution. They will establish robust inventory controls, improve warehouse and material flow, strengthen supplier execution, optimize inbound and outbound logistics, and develop the systems, metrics, and team required to support continued growth.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Inventory Management & Warehouse Operations

• Own end-to-end inventory management and warehouse operations, with accountability for inventory accuracy, availability, integrity, and material flow.
• Establish and maintain inventory control processes, including cycle counting, physical inventories, reconciliation, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Drive measurable improvements in inventory accuracy and eliminate systemic causes of inventory discrepancies.
• Ensure materials are properly received, identified, stored, transacted, picked, staged, and delivered to the point of use.
• Develop appropriate controls for raw materials, components, work-in-process, finished goods, tooling, and other inventory classes.
• Design and implement barcode/scanning workflows across receiving, inventory transactions,
• kitting, and shipping to eliminate manual data entry and improve inventory accuracy.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Planning, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to ensure inventory availability supports production requirements.
• Identify and resolve shortages, excess and obsolete inventory, transaction errors, material-flow constraints, and other systemic inventory issues.
• Design warehouse layouts, material-handling processes, and replenishment strategies that improve safety, efficiency, traceability, and scalability.
• Establish standard work, operating procedures, and clear ownership across warehouse and inventory processes.
• Ensure ERP/MRP and warehouse transactions accurately reflect physical inventory movements.

Logistics & Transportation

• Own inbound, outbound, and inter-site logistics, including domestic and international transportation where applicable.
• Develop a reliable and cost-effective logistics strategy aligned with production schedules, supplier requirements, and customer commitments.
• Manage freight carriers, third-party logistics providers, customs brokers, and other logistics partners.
• Improve transportation performance across on-time delivery, cost, lead time, shipment visibility, and exception management.
• Establish processes for expedited shipments and proactively reduce dependence on premium freight through improved planning and supplier execution.
• Ensure appropriate shipping documentation, packaging, labeling, trade compliance, and transportation controls.
• Develop metrics and reporting to identify logistics risks, cost drivers, and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Procurement & Supplier Management

• Lead procurement activities supporting production and operational requirements, ensuring materials are purchased at the required quantity, quality, cost, and delivery performance.
• Build disciplined purchasing processes from requisition and purchase-order placement through supplier confirmation, delivery, receipt, and issue resolution.
• Establish clear supplier performance expectations and drive accountability for delivery, lead time, responsiveness, quality, and commercial commitments.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Finance to identify and mitigate supplier and material-availability risks.
• Lead supplier escalations and recovery efforts when shortages or delivery performance threaten production.
• Develop supplier scorecards, operating reviews, and corrective-action mechanisms.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing leverage, reduce lead times, optimize order quantities, and lower total landed cost.
• Support supplier selection, negotiations, contracting, and development as required.
• Develop strategies for critical components, long-lead materials, constrained supply, and single-source dependencies.

Operational Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Develop an integrated operating model across inventory, warehousing, logistics, and procurement rather than managing each function as an independent silo.
• Establish KPIs, dashboards, and management routines that provide clear visibility into operational performance.
• Lead structured root-cause analysis and corrective-action efforts for recurring shortages, inventory discrepancies, late deliveries, and process failures.
• Use data to identify systemic issues and prioritize improvement initiatives based on business impact.
• Drive process standardization, automation, and systems improvements to increase scalability and reduce manual intervention.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to improve ERP/MRP processes, master data, inventory controls, reporting, and transaction discipline.
• Establish appropriate internal controls and ensure processes support financial reporting and audit requirements.
• Build a culture of ownership, urgency, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.

Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, and scale teams across inventory/warehouse operations, logistics, and procurement.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability mechanisms.
• Coach and develop managers and individual contributors while building organizational capability for future growth.
• Determine appropriate staffing, organizational structure, and operating cadence as business requirements evolve.
• Foster strong cross-functional relationships with Manufacturing, Supply Chain Planning, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and other stakeholders.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrated success improving inventory accuracy and material availability in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong working knowledge of inventory control, warehouse operations, procurement, supplier management, transportation, and material flow.
• Experience working with ERP/MRP systems and a strong understanding of inventory transactions, bills of material, purchase orders, planning signals, and master data.
• Demonstrated ability to identify root causes of systemic operational problems and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate operational data into priorities and decisions.
• Experience developing and managing KPIs, dashboards, and operating reviews.
• Strong supplier-management and negotiation capabilities.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in a high-growth environment where processes, systems, and organizational structures are evolving.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in robotics, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, electronics, or another complex hardware/manufacturing environment.
• Experience scaling supply chain and materials operations from prototype or low-volume production into higher-volume manufacturing.
• Experience with complex bills of material, engineering changes, configuration management, and new product introduction.
• Experience implementing or significantly improving ERP, MRP, WMS, or inventory-management systems.
• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other structured continuous-improvement methodologies.
• Experience with international logistics, import/export processes, and trade compliance.
• APICS/ASCM, CPSM, Lean Six Sigma, or related professional certification.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience will also be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in supply chain, materials management, inventory management, procurement, logistics, or manufacturing operations.
• 5+ years of people-management experience, including experience leading managers and/or multidisciplinary operational teams.Proven leadership skills in building and managing large teams with a history of industry success.Excellent analytical and negotiation skills are required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 25-45 pounds at times
• Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen
• Hearing and speech to communicate