Inventory Planning & Supply Chain Manager

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Inventory Planning & Supply Chain Manager to oversee inventory operations across a growing portfolio of direct-to-consumer health and supplement brands.

This is not a basic inventory tracking position. You will be responsible for ensuring that we have the right amount of inventory, in the right location, at the right time, without unnecessarily tying up company cash.

You will connect sales forecasting, inventory planning, purchase orders, production schedules, supplier communication, logistics, fulfillment, and cash-flow planning into one organized system.

The ideal candidate is highly analytical, extremely organized, commercially minded, and comfortable taking full ownership of inventory operations.

## Primary Outcome

Maintain sufficient inventory to support business growth while minimizing stockouts, overstock, expired inventory, emergency shipping costs, and unnecessary cash tied up in products.

## Responsibilities

### Inventory Forecasting

* Build and maintain inventory forecasts across all products, SKUs, offers, bundles, subscriptions, and sales channels.
* Forecast inventory requirements based on historical sales, current sales velocity, promotional calendars, seasonality, subscription demand, and expected growth.
* Create forecasts for multiple growth scenarios.
* Calculate expected inventory depletion dates for every SKU.
* Establish minimum stock levels, reorder points, safety stock, and recommended purchase quantities.
* Update forecasts weekly as sales performance changes.
* Separate real customer demand from promotional units, free products, replacements, and bundle components.

### Purchasing and Purchase Orders

* Prepare purchase order recommendations based on inventory requirements and cash availability.
* Create, issue, and track purchase orders with manufacturers, packaging suppliers, ingredient suppliers, and other vendors.
* Confirm pricing, quantities, payment terms, production timelines, and expected completion dates.
* Maintain a centralized purchase order tracker.
* Identify production or supplier delays before they create stockouts.
* Ensure purchase orders match invoices, quantities received, and agreed pricing.

### Cash-Flow Planning

* Create a rolling inventory cash-flow forecast showing upcoming deposits, production payments, freight costs, duties, fulfillment expenses, and final supplier payments.
* Coordinate inventory purchasing decisions with company leadership and the finance team.
* Provide visibility into how much cash will be required for inventory over the next 30, 60, 90, and 180 days.
* Recommend purchasing schedules that protect both inventory availability and company cash flow.
* Identify opportunities to negotiate better supplier pricing, payment terms, deposit structures, or volume discounts.

### Supplier and Production Coordination

* Communicate directly with manufacturers, packaging companies, ingredient suppliers, freight providers, and other vendors.
* Obtain regular production updates and confirm that manufacturing timelines are being respected.
* Coordinate product, packaging, label, and component availability.
* Ensure all required components arrive before production is scheduled.
* Escalate delays, shortages, pricing issues, or quality concerns immediately.
* Maintain accurate supplier lead times and performance records.

### Logistics and Fulfillment Coordination

* Coordinate inbound freight from suppliers and manufacturers to fulfillment centers.
* Work directly with 3PL partners to confirm inventory arrivals, receiving timelines, quantities, and discrepancies.
* Monitor inventory across multiple warehouses, countries, and sales channels.
* Investigate inventory discrepancies between the 3PL, ecommerce platforms, and internal records.
* Coordinate inventory transfers between warehouses when necessary.
* Minimize air freight, expedited shipping, storage fees, and other avoidable logistics costs.

### Product and SKU Management

* Maintain a complete product database containing SKUs, units per case, production lead times, supplier details, landed costs, packaging requirements, expiration dates, and reorder points.
* Track raw materials, finished goods, packaging components, free gifts, bundles, and promotional inventory.
* Coordinate inventory requirements for new product launches.
* Create inventory launch plans based on expected sales volume and marketing budgets.
* Identify slow-moving, aging, or excess inventory and recommend actions to reduce it.
* Coordinate product phaseouts or SKU discontinuations when necessary.

### Reporting and Communication

* Provide a weekly inventory report showing:

* Current inventory by SKU and warehouse
* Average daily sales
* Weeks of inventory remaining
* Expected stockout dates
* Open purchase orders
* Production status
* Incoming shipments
* Inventory risks
* Required decisions
* Upcoming cash requirements

* Maintain an inventory dashboard that leadership can review at any time.

* Communicate risks clearly and early.

* Present recommendations rather than simply reporting problems.

* Coordinate with marketing, finance, operations, fulfillment, and leadership teams.

## Key Performance Indicators

Performance will be measured based on:

* Stockout rate
* Inventory forecast accuracy
* Weeks of inventory available
* Inventory turnover
* Percentage of excess or slow-moving inventory
* Purchase order accuracy
* Supplier on-time delivery rate
* Emergency freight costs
* Inventory discrepancies
* Cash tied up in inventory
* Expired or obsolete inventory
* Accuracy of inventory cash-flow forecasts
* Number of preventable inventory emergencies

## Required Experience

* At least 3 years of experience in inventory planning, supply chain, purchasing, demand planning, or ecommerce operations.
* Experience managing inventory for a direct-to-consumer brand.
* Experience working with physical products, preferably supplements, food, health products, cosmetics, or consumer packaged goods.
* Strong understanding of demand forecasting, reorder points, safety stock, lead times, and inventory turnover.
* Experience managing manufacturers, suppliers, purchase orders, freight, and 3PL relationships.
* Strong financial understanding and the ability to connect inventory purchasing to cash-flow planning.
* Advanced proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets.
* Ability to build forecasting models and dashboards.
* Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
* Excellent written and verbal communication.
* Ability to manage multiple brands, products, suppliers, and production timelines simultaneously.

## Preferred Experience

* Experience with Shopify, CheckoutChamp, Amazon, or other ecommerce platforms.
* Experience with inventory planning or ERP software.
* Experience managing international suppliers and freight.
* Experience with subscription-based ecommerce businesses.
* Experience forecasting inventory during rapid growth.
* Experience managing product bundles, free gifts, BOGO offers, and multi-unit promotions.
* Experience with lot numbers, expiration dates, quality documents, or supplement manufacturing.
* Familiarity with landed-cost calculations, duties, freight, and warehousing costs.

## What Success Looks Like

Within the first 30 days, you will:

* Audit our existing inventory systems and available data.
* Create a centralized inventory and purchase order tracker.
* Identify immediate stockout, overstock, supplier, and cash-flow risks.
* Document supplier lead times, payment terms, and production timelines.
* Establish a weekly inventory reporting process.

Within the first 60 days, you will:

* Build a complete demand and inventory forecasting model.
* Establish reorder points and safety-stock requirements for every major SKU.
* Create a rolling inventory cash-flow forecast.
* Improve visibility across suppliers, warehouses, and open purchase orders.
* Implement a structured supplier follow-up process.

Within the first 90 days, you will:

* Fully own inventory planning and purchasing recommendations.
* Provide reliable 30-, 60-, 90-, and 180-day inventory projections.
* Reduce preventable stockouts and emergency purchases.
* Ensure leadership has clear visibility into inventory risks and upcoming cash requirements.
* Create a scalable inventory operating system that can support continued growth and new product launches.

## Working Arrangement

* Remote position
* Full-time preferred
* Initial 60-day probationary period
* Must be available for regular communication during North American business hours
* Compensation based on experience

## How to Apply

Please submit the following:

1. A brief summary of your inventory planning and supply chain experience.
2. Examples of the brands, products, or SKU counts you have managed.
3. A description of an inventory forecasting model or system you have built.
4. An example of how you prevented a stockout or reduced excess inventory.
5. The inventory, ERP, ecommerce, and reporting tools you have used.
6. Your expected monthly compensation.
7. Your availability and preferred working schedule.

Applications that do not include specific examples of past inventory responsibilities and measurable results will not be considered.