Director, Inventory Management

Advance Auto Parts•Raleigh, NC

37d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Inventory Management leads multiple Inventory teams who manage replenishment for over $2B of product inventory for our store and distribution center network. This position is responsible for developing and executing strategic plans to drive sales through in-stocks and cash flow through inventory management. This role will partner cross-functionally with Merchandising, external vendors, Market Availability, Visual Merchandising, Supply Chain, and our Field teams to drive key replenishment initiatives supporting complex and strategic product categories. This role will directly support 4 Merchandising Directors responsible for our sales floor product categories. In addition, this role is responsible for leading a team through major projects/initiatives and ensuring execution across the team is at or above the expectations while supporting the development of talent through training, development plans and on the job business experience. This position is part of a Hybrid work arrangement based in Raleigh, NC requiring four days a week in office.

Requirements

Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to effectively present information and interact effectively across all levels of the organization; proven ability to cultivate relationships with key stakeholders across functions in order to achieve business/brand objectives and drive process improvement; experience in leading complex cross-functional teams.
Ability to prioritize, delegate, and manage multiple projects simultaneously ensuring timely and accurate completion of each; outcome-focused and experienced in project management as a means to plan, track, communicate progress and ensure on time delivery of projects.
Strong analytical skills required; ability to develop and communicate findings and recommendations, creating actionable strategies
Complete understanding of the data processes and information flow within the E3 forecasting and replenishment systems; complete understanding of E3 modules and supporting software; ability to recognize system and process issues, as well as generate sustainable solutions
Comprehensive view of the supply chain; ability to see the organization as an integrated whole and understanding how each component contributes to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives
Demonstrated ability to manage inventory replenishment for the largest impact and degree of difficulty categories within a company business portfolio
Good judgment and decision-making ability- ability to resolve high profile issues
Proficient in the use of MS Office Products Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Project
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Merchandising, Mathematics or similar field of study; and
7-10 years related experience in Inventory Management or Supply Chain
At least 5+ of these years in a leadership role; building, developing and leading teams

Nice To Haves

Certifications in Six Sigma and LEAN preferred
JDA Strategic Replenishment Expert Certification preferred

Responsibilities

Lead the annual inventory budget process ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and transparency
Develop strategy to support and guide team members in forecasting and purchasing plans and activities
Develop fiscal budgets for inventory levels along with managing the weekly open to buy process to ensure the proper flow of merchandise.
Monitor POG purchases, seasonal builds, and forward buys; Engage teams as needed to adjust as needed
Partner with senior and executive level leaders to ensure that the forecasting process is appropriately supporting and enabling the supply chain
Manage the exception process within the business parameters to achieve the business objectives and strategies
Develop and implement strategic plans to drive in-stock/sales and inventory management/cash flow
Proactively problem solve business opportunities, system challenges and implementations
Regularly review business results and trends to identify areas to maximize sales and minimize inventory investments
Partner with merchant team in accurately forecasting sales results and inventory order needs for promotions
Drive increased In-stock % and improved Inventory Turn through forecast accuracy improvements
Effectively manage the seasonal profiling process, ensuring accurate representation of items and demand patterns
Manage inventory portfolio at all locations to achieve plan goals- EBITA, Sales, Inventory targets, management of the Non-Working Inventory level, Service Level/In-Stock, and Distribution Center
Work with the management team to establish correct guidelines for managing the order exceptions within the business parameters to achieve the business objectives; guide team members in the achievement of budgeted goals and metrics
Identify and drive inventory replenishment improvement initiatives that span multiple departments and teams; ensure the outcome process, systems, metric updates improve the overall efficiency of Advance's supply chain
Manage merchandise inventories to achieve plan sales, service level/in-stock, turnover, and financial strategies.
Identify and communicate inventory changes to Supply Chain teams.
Work collaboratively to increase Inventory and DC efficiencies.
Partner with Merchant leadership to continuously improve vendor performance results in key areas: on time delivery, overall cost reduction, and order fill accuracy.
Activate and develop CPFR partnerships with key strategic vendors.
Proactively and effectively seek input and feedback from internal and external partners to resolve issues.
Engage cross-functional partners to help identify and deploy initiative improvements.
Effectively share clear, concise, accurate information that caters to the levels of detail needed by recipients.
Respond to requests for information and changes in approach with the ability to leverage team member skill sets and develop approaches to quickly remediate issues.
In follow up to immediate issue resolution, put in place sustainable systems and process improvements that prevent issue recurrence and improve overall company results.