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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Inventory Control Supervisor

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

OperationsSupply ChainWarehouse ManagementInventory ControlLogistics

🎯 Role Definition

The Inventory Control Supervisor is responsible for ensuring inventory accuracy, managing stock control processes, leading cycle counts and reconciliations, and coaching a small team of inventory clerks or specialists. This role owns inventory KPIs (accuracy, shrink, days of inventory), drives root-cause investigations for variances, implements corrective actions, and partners with procurement, operations and finance to align inventory levels with demand planning. A strong Inventory Control Supervisor is proficient with ERP/WMS systems, barcode/RFID technologies, and standard inventory methodologies (FIFO/LIFO, ABC, safety stock).

Key SEO/LLM keywords: Inventory Control Supervisor, inventory accuracy, cycle counts, ERP, WMS, stock reconciliation, shrink reduction, warehouse inventory, SKU management, inventory KPIs, supply chain.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Inventory Control Specialist / Inventory Clerk
  • Warehouse Lead / Material Handler
  • Purchasing or Procurement Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Inventory Manager / Stock Control Manager
  • Operations Manager / Warehouse Manager
  • Supply Chain Manager / Demand Planning Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Quality Assurance Supervisor
  • Procurement Analyst / Buyer
  • Logistics Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and manage the daily execution of the cycle count program to achieve and maintain target inventory accuracy across all warehouse locations, SKUs and product conditions, including design and scheduling of cycle counts by ABC or custom stratification.
  • Own month-end and period-end inventory reconciliation processes between physical counts, WMS and ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), ensuring timely resolution of variances and clear audit trails.
  • Supervise, coach and develop a team of inventory control specialists, assigning count zones, reviewing completed counts, approving adjustments, and conducting performance reviews to maintain consistent accuracy and productivity.
  • Perform detailed variance investigations for discrepancies (shrinkage, mispicks, receiving errors, returns) including root-cause analysis and cross-functional corrective actions with operations, receiving, shipping and procurement teams.
  • Implement and enforce inventory control policies and procedures (cycle count policy, adjustment approval matrix, damage/scrap handling, quarantine processes) to reduce risk and support audit readiness.
  • Manage inventory adjustments and write-offs through established approval workflows, ensuring proper documentation, cost validation and accounting coordination to minimize financial impact.
  • Collaborate with procurement/planning to reconcile on-hand inventory and open purchase orders to improve replenishment decisions, safety stock levels and lead-time assumptions.
  • Maintain and continuously improve inventory KPIs (inventory accuracy %, variance $/%, shrink %, days of inventory) and provide weekly and monthly performance reporting to operations and finance leadership.
  • Lead or support audit activities (internal and external) related to inventory, including preparing variance analyses, control narratives, and follow-up remediation plans.
  • Oversee SKU management activities: new SKU setup validation, master data hygiene (units of measure, dimensions, packaging), obsolescence tracking and slow-moving inventory reviews.
  • Coordinate disposition and handling of damaged, expired or quarantined inventory, ensuring compliance with regulatory, safety and company disposal policies.
  • Drive process improvements using Lean, Kaizen and 5S methodologies to reduce touches, miscounts and non-value-added activities in inventory management.
  • Support ERP/WMS data integrity initiatives, including barcode label standards, bin locations, cycle count configurations and integration testing during system upgrades or rollouts.
  • Train cross-functional teams (receiving, shipping, production) on inventory best practices, correct scanning/handling procedures, and the importance of timely documentation to preserve stock accuracy.
  • Schedule and manage physical inventories and full counts during shutdowns or fiscal year-end, including resource planning, counting methodology, reconciliation and post-count analysis.
  • Implement and manage inventory control technology (barcoding, RF scanning, RFID) to automate transactions, reduce manual errors and accelerate count cycles.
  • Monitor inbound and outbound processes to identify systemic causes of inventory loss (inaccurate receipts, mislabeling, pick errors) and implement controls to prevent recurrence.
  • Collaborate with logistics and warehouse operations to optimize warehouse layout, binning strategies and slotting to minimize movement, improve countability and accelerate cycle counts.
  • Facilitate cross-functional post-mortems on significant variances or stock incidents and document standard operating procedures to prevent future occurrences.
  • Maintain compliance with safety, environmental and regulatory requirements related to inventory handling, hazardous materials, lot/serial tracking and product recalls.
  • Prepare and present inventory reports and trend analysis to operations, finance and executive stakeholders with recommended corrective actions and financial impact assessments.
  • Drive continuous monitoring of slow-moving, obsolete and excess inventory and coordinate clearance or return-to-vendor programs to free working capital.
  • Serve as key point of contact for merchandise returns (RTV), warranty returns and customer returns reconciliation to ensure proper restock, credit or disposal.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc inventory data requests and exploratory analysis to help planning, procurement and finance improve forecasting and working capital.
  • Contribute to inventory strategy discussions and roadmap, providing practical input on count frequency, KPI thresholds, and technology investments.
  • Collaborate with IT and WMS/ERP teams during system enhancements, patches or go-lives to validate inventory transactions and migration accuracy.
  • Participate in continuous improvement projects and daily management routines to drive process standardization and reduce inventory-related cycle time.
  • Assist procurement and planning teams with root-cause analysis when stockouts or overstocks occur and recommend inventory policy changes.
  • Provide training materials, SOPs and quick reference guides for inventory processes and scanning procedures.
  • Act as subject matter expert for inventory control during cross-functional projects such as new site openings, SKU launches or product line changes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Inventory management and stock control methodologies: cycle counting, full physical inventory, ABC analysis, FIFO/LIFO.
  • Hands-on experience with WMS and ERP systems (examples: SAP MM/WM, Oracle, NetSuite, Manhattan, JD Edwards) for inventory transactions and reconciliation.
  • Proficiency with RF/barcode scanning, label standards (GS1), and basic RFID concepts to support automated data capture.
  • Strong Excel skills (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, conditional formatting) and experience with inventory reporting or BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) for KPI dashboards.
  • Knowledge of warehouse operations: receiving, putaway, slotting, picking, returns and shipping processes.
  • Experience with inventory reconciliation, variance analysis, adjustment controls and audit support.
  • Understanding of lot/serial traceability, expiry date management, and regulatory handling for controlled or perishable inventory.
  • Familiarity with lean/continuous improvement tools (Kaizen, 5S, root-cause analysis) to reduce shrink and improve accuracy.
  • Basic financial literacy to quantify inventory valuation impacts, write-offs and balance sheet reconciliation.
  • Ability to configure and maintain cycle count schedules and inventory accuracy parameters within WMS/ERP.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management: coaching, developing, scheduling and performance management of small teams.
  • Analytical mindset with attention to detail and the ability to synthesize data into clear root causes and action plans.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills to influence procurement, operations and finance.
  • Problem-solving orientation and comfort driving corrective actions across functional teams.
  • Organized, process-oriented and able to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced warehouse environment.
  • Adaptability and resilience during peak seasons or system changes.
  • Customer-focused approach to internal partners and external auditors.
  • Collaborative team player and effective facilitator in cross-functional meetings.
  • Integrity and commitment to maintaining accurate and auditable inventory records.
  • Time management and project coordination skills for executing physical inventories and process changes.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent required.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate or Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Operations Management or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management
  • Logistics & Operations
  • Business Administration
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Finance / Accounting (for inventory valuation understanding)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3 to 7 years of progressive inventory, warehouse or stock control experience, including 1–3 years in a supervisory or team lead capacity.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of experience in inventory control within distribution center or manufacturing environments; demonstrated experience with ERP/WMS systems, cycle count programs and inventory KPIs. Experience in high-volume retail, e-commerce, or regulated industries is a plus.
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