Position Summary

The Inventory Analyst is responsible for using data, reporting, and operational analysis to improve inventory accuracy across internal warehouses, manufacturing sites, contract manufacturers, third-party logistics providers, and other partner locations. This role owns recurring inventory reporting, identifies discrepancies and trends, supports cycle count execution, and partners cross-functionally to close the physical-to-system lag, prevent recurring variances, and reduce inventory loss, write-offs, and operational risk .

The ideal candidate has experience in a complex, fast-paced manufacturing, logistics, or supply chain environment and understands how physical inventory movement, system transactions, and financial controls must stay aligned. This person must be highly analytical, detail-oriented, self-directed, and able to collaborate effectively with partner teams, resolve conflicts professionally, and drive outcomes without direct authority.

Key Responsibilities

• Create, maintain, and improve recurring inventory reports, dashboards, and scorecards that measure inventory accuracy, cycle count completion, variance trends, exception aging, transaction timing, inventory movement posting discipline, and location-level discrepancies.

• Analyze inventory data across multiple sites and partner nodes to identify physical-to-system mismatches, root causes, recurring process gaps, and areas of financial or operational exposure.

• Support cycle count planning and execution, including count schedules, count readiness, discrepancy tracking, recount coordination, variance validation, and closure reporting.

• Monitor cycle count adherence by site and inventory category, ensuring high-priority materials are counted on the required cadence and variances are investigated, documented, and closed timely.

• Partner with Inventory, Logistics, Warehouse, Manufacturing, Finance, Supply Chain, Contract Manufacturers, and 3PL teams to investigate discrepancies and drive corrective actions to completion.

• Collaborate closely and effectively with internal and external partner teams, using clear communication, professional judgment, and structured follow-up to resolve issues, align priorities, and address conflicts in a respectful and productive manner.

• Monitor high-value and high-risk inventory, including A/B class items, serialized material, RMA inventory, MRB, scrap, consigned inventory, in-transit material, and partner-held stock.

• Reconcile inventory balances between ERP, WMS, partner reports, physical counts, transfer records, receiving records, and shipment evidence.

• Track open exceptions such as aged transfer orders, pending receipts, unresolved count variances, unposted movements, duplicate receipts, inventory holds, RMA activity, scrap, unbuild activity, and aging inventory requiring disposition.

• Develop actionable reporting that helps leadership prioritize risk, improve controls, reduce manual reconciliation, and make informed operational decisions.

• Build reporting that separates operational accuracy from financial exposure, allowing leadership to see unit, location, transaction, and aging risks without displaying confidential inventory value.

• Support inventory control best practices, including ABC categorization, risk-based count prioritization, location-level accuracy reporting, reason-code discipline, transaction cutoffs, blind counts, segregation of duties, audit-ready evidence retention, and clear exception ownership.

• Assist with month-end, quarter-end, and year-end inventory readiness by identifying open issues, reporting financial exposure, and ensuring timely follow-up on required actions.

• Maintain audit-ready documentation for custody, receipts, counts, adjustments, approvals, root-cause decisions, and corrective actions to support operational controls and compliance readiness.

• Identify, create, govern, and iterate inventory control processes as business needs, site requirements, reporting maturity, and operational complexity evolve in a fast and quickly changing environment.

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in inventory analysis, inventory control, manufacturing operations, logistics, supply chain operations, warehouse operations, or a related field.

• Strong understanding of inventory practices, including cycle counting, variance analysis, inventory adjustments, inventory reconciliation, receiving, transfers, scrap, MRB, RMA, and physical inventory controls.

• Experience working in a complex, fast-paced environment with multiple sites, warehouses, contract manufacturers, 3PLs, or external partners.

• Advanced Excel or spreadsheet skills, including lookups, pivot tables, formulas, data comparisons, exception reporting, and large-data-set analysis.

• Experience with ERP, WMS, or inventory reporting systems; NetSuite experience is preferred.

• Ability to translate data into practical business insights, corrective actions, and clear recommendations for operational leaders.

• Strong attention to detail, follow-through, ownership, and ability to manage multiple priorities with limited supervision.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive outcomes without direct authority.

• Basic understanding of supply chain practices, including purchasing, receiving, manufacturing flow, inventory movement, logistics, and partner inventory management.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

1. Cycle Count Completion
   Target: 99%+ completion on time, by site, category, and count schedule.
2. Inventory Record Accuracy
   Target: 99%+ accuracy, measured by unit, location, item-level variance, transaction integrity, and count-to-system alignment.
3. High-Value Inventory Coverage
   Target: 100% of high-priority, high-risk, or A/B inventory counted on the required cadence, without disclosing confidential inventory values.
4. Adjustment and Write-Off Reduction
   Target: Minimize inventory loss, write-offs, avoidable adjustments, and recurring variance exposure.
5. Exception Aging
   Target: Reduce aged transfer orders, pending receipts, unresolved variances, inventory holds, reconciliation defects, and open exception queues.
6. Transaction Timeliness
   Target: Support same-day or 24-hour posting discipline for physical inventory movements, where applicable.
7. Root-Cause Closure
   Target: Ensure material variances include a documented root cause, owner, corrective action, and closure date.
8. Reporting Quality
   Target: Deliver accurate, timely, and actionable reports that clearly identify risk, trends, owners, next steps, and escalation paths while protecting confidential inventory valuation data.

Best-Practice Expectations

• Use ABC classification and risk-based prioritization to focus controls on the inventory that carries the highest financial, operational, or customer-impact risk.

• Separate financial accuracy from operational accuracy by reporting both value variance and physical/location variance.

• Maintain clear ownership for every exception, including due dates, root cause, corrective action, and escalation path.

• Use standardized reason codes and supporting evidence for adjustments, scrap, write-offs, inventory holds, and other inventory-impacting transactions.

• Promote clean transaction timing by aligning physical movement, ERP/WMS updates, and supporting documentation.

• Support audit readiness through complete count records, approval evidence, reconciliation support, and clear documentation of variance decisions.

• Collaborate with internal and external partners to improve reporting cadence, reduce manual work, and create repeatable inventory control processes.

Work through ambiguity and competing priorities with partner teams by clarifying ownership, escalating risks appropriately, and maintaining professional, solutions-oriented communication.

Key Competencies

• Data-driven problem solving

• Inventory accuracy and control mindset

• Strong ownership and follow-through

• Ability to self-direct in ambiguous environments

• Cross-functional collaboration and influence without authority

• Manufacturing logistics and supply chain awareness

• Attention to detail and reporting discipline

• Sense of urgency and ability to operate in a fast-paced environment

• Professional conflict resolution and partner-team alignment

• Ability to build, govern, and continuously improve processes in a rapidly changing environment

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The Inventory Analyst is expected to proactively identify gaps, create scalable processes, govern execution standards, and continuously improve reporting and control practices as business needs evolve.

The base salary range for this position is $150,000 to $220,000 annually. Actual compensation may include bonus and equity, and will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications.