What are the responsibilities and job description for the Inventory Manager position at Kendra Scott?
We are a fashion-lifestyle brand of big dreams, colorful confidence, and inspired design. Founded on Family, Fashion and Philanthropy, we believe that our employees and customers are the heart and soul of our brand, and that giving back is the truest form of success. Fashion meets innovation in the design of our two state-of-the-art facilities based in the heart of Austin, Texas, and overflows into the design of our growing retail environment across the country.
Position Overview:
Reporting to our Director of Distribution Operations, the Inventory Control Manager is responsible for overseeing day-to-day inventory operations of the Austin Distribution Center as well as the integrity of company-wide inventory. This position requires a proactive approach to inventory management, focusing on continuous improvement and operational excellence while reducing costs and risk.
Responsibilities:
- Ensure inventory integrity throughout all channels of the organization, maintaining accurate inventory records while improving inventory processes in support of the organization’s goals and objectives
- Facilitates yearly physical inventory process at the Austin Distribution Center and assists Accounting and external auditors to ensure efficient processes and controls are in place throughout fiscal year
- Manage capacity and spatial elements of the Austin Distribution Center, promoting FIFO and lean warehousing strategies and ensuring that risks are raised with enough time to react
- Ensure effective strategies are in place for physical and systematic warehouse processes, such as cycle counts, shipment audits, replenishment, kitting requests, and slotting
- Oversee labor planning and forecasting for the Inventory Control team, maintaining a model to provide consistent optimization
- Conduct talent assessments of the Inventory Control team and develop skills to build a role fulfillment bench
- Monitor seasonal hiring and training, expressing needs based on upcoming peak workload
- Provide solutions to special project workload requests, ensuring the needs of departmental partners are met while managing workload capabilities
- Research complex transaction histories and data to reconcile discrepancies, ensuring the quality of ERP inventory transaction alignment to physical inventory movement
- Seek opportunities to improve physical and systematic processes, self-generating ideas for improvement, and presenting ideas to leadership evaluating impacts on cost, efficiency, and timeliness
- Actively participate in product life cycle management, monitoring aging products and quantities and partnering cross-functionally to determine strategies to mitigate
- Effectively communicate results to leadership including key wins, risks and opportunities, creating and maintaining a reporting cadence, including analysis of key drivers of inventory changes
Knowledge Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to collaborate and influence multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- A demonstrated understanding of key drivers within the end-to-end supply chain and specifically the influence factors affecting inventory performance.
- Collaborative experience working with key partners throughout the organization, specifically logistics, distribution, merchandising, production, product development/sourcing and finance
- Ability to communicate complex issues, risks and opportunities in a concise manner with specific and complete information to all levels of the organization
- Demonstrated experience managing data both in detail and at the strategic level, utilizing various data analytics tools and inventory platforms.
- Ability to work in a team environment to accomplish a shared goal
- Proficiency in relevant computer systems (SAP, Microsoft- Excel, Outlook)
- Process transactional data accurately
- Review data to identify trends and initiate improvement actions
- Proficient written, verbal, and professional communication
- A growth mindset: track record of leveraging past learnings, encouraging new ideas, and smart risk taking in self and others
Our Ideal Candidate Will Have:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
- 5 years’ experience in inventory management and supply chain for a high-growth company
- A proven ability to execute with consistent delivery and ability to reprioritize based on evolving business needs
- Proficient computer skills (MS Office in particular)
- Knowledge of ERP, WMS, and other CRM tools
- Organizational and time management skills
- Strong communication skills with a problem-solving attitude
- A growth mindset: desire to learn, grow and embrace new ideas
- A shared appreciation for our 3 core values of Family, Fashion, and Philanthropy
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company.
