Global Inventory Strategy and Planning Lead

Summary

This role owns the end-to-end deployment of the global inventory target strategy, including the development and execution of the annual operating plan (AOP), quarterly inventory forecasting, and precise inventory sizing for new business quotes. It requires a strong mathematics mindset and the ability to translate business questions into governed Excel-based models and metrics, validate results, and drive decision-making with clear narrative and visualization. The role partners closely with SCM, Finance, and leadership to align strategic and operational plans to business objectives, deploy targets, and course-correct to deliver outcomes. The incumbent has autonomy and decision rights to deliver on team goals and will influence stakeholders outside the team to achieve results; errors or missed goals could incur significant costs and delays.

Detailed Description

Performs tasks such as, but not limited to, the following:alysis of financial information related to inventory.

• Build and maintain the annual, multi-level target-setting framework, including methodologies, baselines, and assumptions; cascade corporate targets into measurable site, market, and customer targets.
• Lead strategy deployment cycles: translate strategy into plans, track progress vs. plan, perform gap-to-target analysis, and drive corrective actions to sustain momentum toward global objectives.
• Collaborate with SCM, Finance, and site/business leaders to align inventory plans with revenue forecasts, material constraints, and risk posture; interface with senior managers on trade-offs and decision gates.
• Develop and standardize reporting approaches, including executive packages to present plans, forecasts, and results to management for decision-making.
• Lead the sizing of inventory required for new business quotes by analyzing demand patterns, production requirements, and material needs. Develop models to ensure accurate inventory estimates for quoting purposes.
• Clean, model, and visualize data in Excel to support inventory and supply chain decisions.
• Benchmark inventory performance for various sites, assist in the implementation of new measurement processes, and participate in tactical/strategic development sessions.
• Leads special projects or cross-functional teams involving the analysis of financial information related to inventory.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies

• Mathematics mindset: comfort with ratios, indices, and dimensional analysis; aptitude for algebraic thinking, rate/flow calculations, and sensitivity analysis; enjoys puzzle-like data problems and numerical debugging.
• Knowledge of global inventory management, supply chain and inventory forecasting.
• Strong negotiation and problem-resolution skills.
• Strategy development and deployment in a matrixed organization.
• Ability to evaluate, prioritize, and problem-solve a variety of tasks to ensure their timely and accurate completion.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with a wide variety of internal and external customers.

Physical Demands

• Duties of this position are performed in a normal office environment.
• Duties may require extended periods of sitting and sustained visual concentration on a computer monitor or on numbers and other detailed data.
• Repetitive manual movements (e.g., data entry, using a computer mouse, using a calculator, etc.) are frequently required.
• Occasional overnight travel is required.

Typical Experience

• Eight or more years in inventory/supply chain analytics working primarily in Excel with complex data sets; portfolio of Excel models demonstrating numerical rigor and documentation preferred.
• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Typical Education

• Bachelor's degree in related field, or consideration of an equivalent combination of education and experiency.
• Educational requirements may vary by geography.

Notes

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees are held accountable for all duties of the job. Job duties and the % of time identified for any function are subject to change at any time.