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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Inventory Consultant

💰 $ - $

InventorySupply ChainConsultingLogistics

🎯 Role Definition

The Inventory Consultant is a subject matter expert responsible for analyzing, optimizing, and transforming inventory policies and processes across warehouses, distribution centers and retail networks. This role combines hands-on data analysis, ERP/WMS configuration, and cross-functional stakeholder leadership to reduce carrying costs, improve service levels, streamline replenishment and ensure inventory accuracy. The Inventory Consultant partners with supply chain, procurement, operations and finance teams to design and implement scalable inventory control programs, drive continuous improvement initiatives and deliver measurable cost and service improvements.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Supply Chain Analyst with strong inventory and demand planning experience
  • Warehouse/Inventory Supervisor transitioning into consulting or process optimization
  • Procurement Analyst or Logistics Coordinator with cross-functional exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Inventory Consultant / Inventory Strategy Lead
  • Demand Planning Manager / Supply Chain Manager
  • Director of Inventory Optimization or Head of Inventory Control

Lateral Moves:

  • S&OP Analyst / Demand Planner
  • WMS/ERP Functional Consultant

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Conduct comprehensive inventory health assessments across multiple sites, analyzing KPIs such as days of inventory (DOI), inventory turnover, fill rate, stockouts, obsolescence and carrying cost to identify root causes and quantify opportunity areas.
  • Design and implement inventory classification strategies (ABC/XYZ, Pareto analysis, lifecycle segmentation) and recommend differentiated replenishment rules, safety stock policies and review frequencies based on SKU criticality and demand variability.
  • Lead SKU rationalization projects by evaluating slow-moving and obsolete inventory, creating removal or repurposing plans, and coordinating with procurement and finance to recover working capital.
  • Develop and optimize forecasting and replenishment models using statistical techniques and demand signals, incorporating promotions, seasonality, lead time variability and multi-echelon dependencies to improve forecast accuracy and reduce stockouts.
  • Configure and test ERP (SAP MM/SD, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics) and WMS settings related to material master records, reorder points, min/max, lot sizing, lead time profiles and replenishment parameters to ensure system-driven control.
  • Plan, execute and manage cycle count programs and full physical inventories, define sampling methodologies, reconcile variances, investigate root causes and implement corrective actions to improve inventory accuracy to target levels (e.g., >98%).
  • Perform inventory reconciliations and investigations for discrepancies including shipping/receiving, returns processing, vendor shipment errors and system posting issues; prepare variance reports and recommend preventive process changes.
  • Lead cross-functional Kaizen/Lean/Six Sigma workshops to reduce inventory waste, optimize pick paths, balance inventory levels across DCs, and improve inbound/outbound processing times.
  • Build and maintain robust inventory dashboards and reports using Excel, SQL, Power BI or Tableau to track trends, monitor compliance to SLAs and support executive decision-making with clear KPIs and actionable insights.
  • Design replenishment and allocation strategies for omni-channel environments, balancing e-commerce, store replenishment and DC inventory to meet service targets while minimizing markdowns and overstock.
  • Collaborate with procurement and suppliers to shorten lead times, implement vendor-managed inventory (VMI), consignment and collaborative planning processes to improve supply continuity and reduce safety stock requirements.
  • Implement and monitor cycle time, fill rate and lead time SLAs with 3PLs and carriers, identify bottlenecks in the distribution network and recommend network design changes or process improvements.
  • Develop and maintain inventory control policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) including receiving, putaway, replenishment, picking, returns and damaged goods handling to ensure audit readiness and regulatory compliance.
  • Execute cost-to-serve and landed cost analyses to identify the true cost impact of inventory policies, support inventory reduction initiatives and provide business cases for distribution footprint optimization.
  • Drive system data quality improvements by cleansing master data, standardizing item attributes (dimensions, weights, GTIN/UPC, product hierarchies) and implementing governance to prevent downstream replenishment errors.
  • Work with IT and implementation teams on ERP/WMS projects, serving as the functional lead for inventory-related requirements, test cases, user acceptance testing (UAT) and post-deployment stabilization.
  • Provide subject-matter-expert recommendations for safety stock optimization and dynamic buffer sizing, incorporating service-level targets, supplier performance metrics and demand forecast error into calculation logic.
  • Create and deliver training materials and instructor-led sessions for warehouse, planning and procurement teams on new inventory processes, system features and best practices to ensure adoption and sustainment.
  • Manage inventory-related change initiatives by developing implementation plans, conducting impact analysis, coordinating stakeholders and measuring results against baseline KPIs.
  • Monitor and report on inventory exposures related to product recalls, regulatory changes or channel shifts and support cross-functional mitigation planning to protect service levels and financial impact.
  • Conduct ad-hoc root cause analyses following inventory incidents (significant stockouts, overstock events, physical inventory failures), produce corrective action plans and lead closure tracking to prevent recurrence.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist audit teams (internal and external) during inventory audits, provide supporting evidence, and implement audit recommendations where applicable.
  • Drive supplier performance scorecards and work with vendor partners to resolve delivery, quality and ASN discrepancies that impact inventory.
  • Support pilot programs for new technologies such as RFID, barcode scanning enhancements or automated replenishment tooling and measure ROI.
  • Prepare executive-ready presentations and business cases that quantify inventory improvement savings, working capital reduction and service level gains.
  • Facilitate cross-functional alignment sessions (planning, operations, finance, commercial) to agree on inventory trade-offs, promotions planning and seasonal capacity strategies.
  • Maintain continuous improvement backlog, prioritize inventory optimization projects and track benefits realization through to signed-off results.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Inventory management and optimization: safety stock calculation, reorder point methodologies, min/max planning, MRP run analysis.
  • ERP/WMS experience: hands-on configuration and business process knowledge in SAP MM/WM, Oracle, NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics and warehouse management systems.
  • Forecasting & demand planning: statistical forecasting (moving averages, exponential smoothing), forecast error reduction techniques and promotion/seasonality adjustments.
  • Data analysis and reporting: advanced Excel (pivot tables, Power Query, VBA), SQL querying, and dashboarding with Power BI or Tableau to deliver decision-ready insights.
  • Cycle counting and physical inventory methodologies: ABC sampling, perpetual inventory reconciliation, variance investigation and corrective action frameworks.
  • Supply chain modeling and network optimization basics: multi-echelon inventory concepts, cost-to-serve and inventory carrying cost analysis.
  • Process improvement tools: Lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC), root cause analysis (5 Whys, fishbone) and project management fundamentals.
  • Systems implementation and UAT: writing requirements, developing test scripts, leading user acceptance testing and post-deployment support for inventory modules.
  • Warehouse processes: receiving, putaway, replenishment, picking strategies (batch, zone, wave), returns handling and cross-dock operations.
  • Barcode/RFID and automated identification technologies: selection, pilot execution and integration with WMS/ERP.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving ability with a data-driven mindset.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional communication, able to influence at all organizational levels.
  • Project leadership and change management: able to drive projects from discovery through implementation and benefits realization.
  • Detail-oriented with disciplined documentation and process governance.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
  • Training and coaching skills to upskill operations and planning teams.
  • Results orientation with proven ability to meet KPI targets and deliver measurable business outcomes.
  • Strategic thinking balanced with practical, hands-on execution capability.
  • Time management and prioritization across multiple concurrent projects.
  • Customer-focused mindset with a drive to improve service levels and reduce cost.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (MBA or MS in Supply Chain/Operations) or advanced certifications such as APICS CPIM/CSCP, ISM CPSM, Six Sigma Green/Black Belt.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics and Transportation
  • Industrial or Systems Engineering
  • Business Administration
  • Operations Research

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive experience in inventory management, demand planning, warehouse operations or supply chain consulting.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years with demonstrated experience in ERP/WMS implementations, inventory optimization projects, multi-site/omnichannel environments, and measurable results in inventory reduction or service improvement.
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