Inventory Optimization Manager

CVS Health•Island, KY

5d•$66,330 - $145,860•Hybrid

About The Position

We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time. Position Summary The Inventory Optimization Manager is responsible for developing, evaluating, and implementing strategies that improve inventory performance across the enterprise. This role partners closely with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Store Operations, Category Management, Finance, Technology, and external partners to balance product availability, sales growth, margin, inventory investment, and operational efficiency. In this highly visible role, the Manager will lead analytical efforts and cross-functional programs supporting key strategic initiatives including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), On Shelf Availability (OSA), Next Generation Planning Solutions (NGPS), Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP), inventory productivity programs, and other enterprise transformation efforts. The successful candidate will combine strong analytical skills, business acumen, project leadership, and communication capabilities to identify opportunities, build business cases, influence stakeholders, support testing and operational readiness, and drive execution of initiatives that improve inventory performance and customer experience across the CVS Health network.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in Inventory Management, Supply Chain Planning, Demand Planning, Replenishment, SIOP/S&OP, Category Management, Supply Chain Analytics, Strategy, or related fields.
1+ years of hands-on Experience with Power BI, SQL, Python, Alteryx, Access, or other analytical tools.
Experience leading complex cross-functional projects or strategic business initiatives.
Up to 15% travel for meetings at our corporate office in Rhode Island.

Nice To Haves

Strong analytical skills with experience evaluating inventory, service level, forecasting, sales, and operational performance metrics.
Experience building financial analyses, ROI models, and business cases.
Ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable recommendations for business leaders.
Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills.
Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and drive accountability across teams.
Master's Degree in Supply Chain, Operations Research, Engineering, Analytics, Finance, or MBA.
Experience with inventory optimization, replenishment, forecasting, allocation, or retail planning systems.
Experience supporting large-scale transformation programs or technology implementations.
Knowledge of retail supply chain processes including forecasting, replenishment, allocation, assortment planning, inventory management, and store execution.
APICS/ASCM, CSCMP, Lean, Six Sigma, or related certifications.
Experience operating within a SIOP, S&OP, or Integrated Business Planning environment.
Strong understanding of the relationships between inventory planning, finance, merchandising, store operations, suppliers, and supply chain execution.

Responsibilities

Identify and evaluate opportunities to improve inventory productivity while maintaining or improving customer service levels.
Analyze inventory, sales, forecast, service level, supply chain, and process performance metrics to identify risks and value creation opportunities.
Develop recommendations that balance inventory investment, availability, sales, margin, and operational efficiency.
Support enterprise inventory targets, long-range planning efforts, and working capital optimization programs.
Lead and support high-impact initiatives related to PLM, OSA, NGPS, SIOP, replenishment optimization, inventory analytics, and forecasting enhancement.
Coordinate workstreams across business, technology, vendor, and operational teams to ensure successful implementation and value realization.
Support pilot design, testing, readiness, adoption, and post-implementation stabilization for new tools, processes, and capabilities.
Help connect initiative objectives to measurable business outcomes, including availability, inventory productivity, planning accuracy, and operational efficiency.
Develop financial and operational business cases to support investment decisions and prioritization.
Quantify expected benefits, risks, dependencies, implementation costs, and operational impacts for strategic initiatives.
Create executive-level analysis, reporting, and presentations that support decision making and stakeholder alignment.
Monitor initiative performance and track delivery against expected outcomes, milestones, and value commitments.
Partner with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Finance, Store Operations, Digital, Technology, and external partners to align priorities and drive results.
Collaborate with vendors, solution providers, consulting partners, and supplier partners to identify opportunities and support implementation.
Facilitate stakeholder discussions, summarize decisions, communicate progress, and help resolve issues or risks that could affect execution.
Build trust and alignment across diverse teams through clear communication, strong follow-through, and fact-based recommendations.
Evaluate process improvement opportunities across planning, forecasting, replenishment, allocation, inventory, and operational execution.
Support documentation, training, knowledge transfer, and adoption of new processes and tools.
Translate business requirements into practical operating models, reporting needs, and readiness plans.
Drive continuous improvement by surfacing lessons learned and embedding repeatable practices across initiatives.