Inventory Control Specialist

Description

ROLE MISSION

Protect inventory integrity across the warehouse while serving as a flexible, hands on operations resource. This person ensures physical inventory can be trusted, serialized devices and locations accurately match the WMS or ERP, discrepancies are investigated and corrected quickly, and warehouse teams receive additional support in Receiving, Putaway, Fulfillment, Shipping, Returns, and other functions when needed.

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is not a desk based inventory analyst role. The Inventory Control & Warehouse Operations Specialist is a hands on floor leader who combines strong inventory control discipline with day to day operational supervision. The right person sees what is happening in the warehouse, sets priorities, removes bottlenecks, coaches employees, solves problems at the source, and drives measurable improvement in accuracy, productivity, turnaround time, and customer service.

TOP 3 PRIORITIES

1. Maintain Exceptional Inventory Accuracy

• Own inventory accuracy across SKU, serial number, location, status, and customer owned inventory.

• Establish disciplined cycle counts, physical inventories, discrepancy investigations, adjustment controls, and root cause tracking.

• Ensure damaged, quarantined, held, obsolete, restricted, and customer specific inventory is controlled and accurately reflected in the WMS or ERP.

• Identify why errors occur and implement corrective actions that prevent recurrence.

2. Find and Eliminate Inventory Discrepancies

• Perform cycle counts and targeted inventory audits based on risk, value, movement, customer requirements, and discrepancy history.

• Investigate shortages, overages, missing inventory, incorrect locations, receiving errors, shipping errors, and unexplained adjustments.

• Trace discrepancies back to their source, document findings, and work with Operations Leadership to implement corrective actions.

• Correct inventory records and physical locations using established controls so system inventory remains trustworthy.

• Escalate recurring inventory issues and process breakdowns that require broader operational correction.

3. Provide Flexible Warehouse Support

• Serve as a hands on floater across Receiving, Putaway, Picking, Packing, Shipping, Returns, and other warehouse functions as workload requires.

• Support inbound and outbound volume without losing focus on inventory accuracy and proper system transactions.

• Follow established SOPs and scanning procedures and identify process gaps that contribute to inventory errors or rework.

• Be willing to shift quickly between inventory control and hands on warehouse execution based on daily priorities.

Requirements

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Inventory Control & Accuracy• Own overall warehouse inventory accuracy and integrity.• Establish and manage cycle count and physical inventory programs.• Investigate shortages, overages, mispicks, missing inventory, receiving errors, shipping errors, and unexplained adjustments.• Require documented root cause and corrective action for recurring discrepancies.• Monitor inventory by SKU, serial number, customer, location, status, and product category as applicable.• Ensure inventory adjustments are properly documented, approved, and traceable.• Support internal, financial, and customer inventory audits and reconciliations.Warehouse Operations Support• Coordinate inventory priorities and exceptions with Operations Leadership.• Conduct regular floor walks to identify misplaced inventory, location issues, unprocessed product, labeling problems, and other inventory risks.• Provide hands on support to Receiving, Putaway, Picking, Packing, Shipping, and Returns when additional capacity is needed.• Follow receiving, putaway, picking, packing, shipping, returns, and inventory processes accurately and help identify exceptions before they create downstream errors.• Assist teammates with inventory questions and proper transaction or scanning procedures when needed.• Escalate inventory, system, customer, or process risks to Operations Leadership when they require broader action.• Help maintain a clean, organized, safe, and execution focused warehouse environment.Team Support & Cross Functional Execution• Serve as a reliable hands on resource who can move between inventory control and other warehouse functions.• Share inventory control knowledge and help teammates follow established inventory procedures.• Follow through on assigned counts, investigations, corrections, and warehouse support tasks through completion.• Document recurring inventory or process issues and provide clear findings to Operations Leadership.• Support cross training by learning multiple warehouse functions and being available where the operation needs additional help.• Demonstrate urgency, accuracy, ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement in daily execution.Reporting & Continuous Improvement• Track inventory focused KPIs including inventory accuracy, cycle count accuracy, receiving accuracy, location accuracy, adjustments, shrink, aging inventory, and open discrepancy investigations.• Review exceptions and recurring defects to determine root cause.• Recommend improvements based on inventory impact, customer impact, frequency, financial impact, and operational risk.• Help improve SOPs, work instructions, visual controls, scanning practices, and inventory procedures based on issues found on the floor.• Partner with Operations, Customer Service, Account Management, Finance, IT, and other teams to resolve issues and improve handoffs.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required• 4+ years of experience in warehouse operations, inventory control, distribution, fulfillment, logistics, or a related environment.• Strong hands on experience with inventory control, cycle counting, reconciliation, warehouse transactions, and discrepancy investigation.• Strong working knowledge of receiving, putaway, picking, packing, shipping, returns, and inventory control.• Experience conducting cycle counts and physical inventories and resolving inventory discrepancies.• Experience with a WMS, ERP, or inventory management system.• Strong Excel or spreadsheet skills and comfort using operational data to make decisions.• Strong problem solving, organization, communication, and follow through.• Ability to work on the warehouse floor and shift quickly between inventory control, problem solving, receiving, shipping, and other hands on warehouse responsibilities.Preferred• Experience with serialized electronics, mobile devices, technology products, or customer owned inventory.• Experience in a high mix, high urgency fulfillment environment.• WMS implementation, optimization, scanning, or systems improvement experience.• Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, or continuous improvement experience.• Experience supporting customer or financial audits.• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations, Business, or a related field.

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Inventory accuracy improves and remains consistently measurable.• Cycle counts and discrepancy investigations are completed on schedule.• Receiving, fulfillment, and shipping errors decline.• Inventory variances, location errors, and open investigations are visible and actively resolved.• Inventory transactions, movements, and adjustments consistently follow documented processes.• Inventory issues are surfaced and escalated before they become customer or fulfillment problems.• The specialist provides useful flexible support to warehouse functions without sacrificing inventory control responsibilities.• Recurring problems result in root cause correction rather than repeated firefighting.