Regional Inventory Specialist

Life Unlimited. At Smith+Nephew, we craft and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.  

The Regional Inventory Specialist supports the effective management of field inventory, consignment stock, loaner surgical sets and capital assets across Australia and New Zealand. The role drives inventory accuracy, asset utilisation and timely issue resolution through cycle count coordination, reconciliation, variance investigation, stakeholder partnering and performance reporting. Working closely with Sales, Customer Care, Operations, Finance, Quality and regional Supply Chain teams, the role helps optimise inventory investment, protect revenue recognition and maintain compliant, accurate inventory and surgical set records.

What will you be doing?

• Coordinate hospital consignment stock cycle count management across the assigned region, including planning, scheduling, execution, reconciliation and closure of annual cycle counts with Sales organisation stakeholders, hospitals and third-party providers.
• Ensure field assets and inventory are physically verified at the required frequency; reconcile stock counts to item and batch level, update records appropriately and follow Smith+Nephew tracking and escalation protocols for missing stock.
• Investigate inventory variances in coordination with Sales and Customer Care, resolving transactional, location, batch and ownership discrepancies promptly to support accurate and timely revenue recognition.
• Monitor and drive resolution of open billing, due-back inventory, overdue loans, missing items and consignment returns, escalating material risks, ageing items and barriers to closure.
• Conduct regular inventory and asset audits, analyse utilisation and inventory performance, and recommend actions to improve Days of Sales Inventory (DSI), surgical set turns and the effectiveness of placed inventory and assets.
• Work with cross-functional teams to support bill of materials accuracy and surgical set configuration integrity across ERP and case-booking systems, including investigation and correction of component, batch, instrument and configuration discrepancies.
• Maintain accurate issue, location and status records for capital equipment, consignment inventory and loaner sets provided to Sales representatives, territories, healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations.
• Coordinate stock movement and deployment activities, including RFI requests, consignment changes, loaner set creation, stock transfers, batch swaps, broken or missing instrument replacement and return of excess inventory to the trade warehouse.
• Monitor short-dated and expired inventory, partner with stakeholders to mitigate expiry risk, and coordinate returns, redeployment or write-off in accordance with approved processes.
• Prepare inventory reports, KPI dashboards and management insights; communicate material risks, opportunities, count status, inventory exposure and corrective-action progress to relevant stakeholders.
• Collaborate with regional Supply Chain leads and process owners to identify and implement inventory, asset-management and workflow improvements, including use of sales automation and standardised procedures.
• Maintain compliance with quality, HSE and inventory-control requirements, keep procedures and records current, and support Quality assurance programs across ANZ.
• Build effective relationships with Business Unit leaders, Sales teams, Customer Care, Warehouse, Finance, Quality, hospitals, customers and third-party providers; support colleagues through information sharing, problem-solving and change implementation.

What will you need to be successful?

Success in the role will requires a combination of technical knowledge, soft skills, and a deep understanding of both the business and service-providing sides of an organization.

Successful candidates would need the following:

• Relevant tertiary qualification in supply chain, logistics, business, finance, data analytics or a related discipline is desirable.

• Demonstrated logistics or inventory-control experience, strong SAP and Microsoft

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability; attention to detail; inventory reconciliation; stakeholder coordination; clear written and verbal communication

You. Unlimited.

We believe in creating the greatest good for society. Our strongest investments are in our people and the patients we serve.

• Inclusion + Belonging: Committed to Welcoming, Celebrating and Thriving. Learn more about our Employee Inclusion Groups on our website https://www.smith-nephew.com

• Your Future: Generous annual bonus and pension Schemes, Save As You Earn share options.

• Work/Life Balance: Flexible Vacation and Time Off, Paid Holidays and Paid Volunteering Hours, so we can give back to our communities!

• Your Wellbeing: Private Health and Dental plans, Healthcare Cash Plans, Income Protection, Life Assurance and much more.

• Flexibility: Hybrid Working Model (For most professional roles).

• Training: Hands-On, Team-Customised, Mentorship.