Inventory Planner

Border States•Kansas City, MO

14d•Onsite

About The Position

The Inventory Planner facilitates two-way communication between local branch sales and operations teams and centralized purchasing and demand-planning teams on demand forecasts, inventory availability, slow-moving inventory reduction, and supplier performance. The role provides inventory, demand-planning, and purchasing consultation to branches and serves as a primary contact for the assigned region. The Inventory Planner oversees, analyzes, and coordinates project inventory to maximize availability, turnover, and profitability throughout project duration. The role engages branch sales teams supporting key open-market customers, reviews customer-specific inventory service and performance, and proactively addresses branch or customer concerns related to inventory or purchasing. This position is located in Fargo, North Dakota. The posting is open until filled and may be filled before or after the stated application deadline while the posting remains active. Border States is an employee-owned electrical supply distributor with approximately 130 locations in 31 states. The company describes its culture as employee-owned, customer-focused, and guided by open-book management. Employment may be contingent on passing applicable pre-employment screenings.

Requirements

Four-year business or technical degree, or equivalent work experience.
At least 2 years of experience in inventory management, supply chain, or demand/supply planning.
Solid understanding of demand planning and forecasting concepts, including trending and seasonality; inventory management; stocking parameters such as order points, lead times, and quantities; distribution networks; and hub-and-spoke replenishment.
Strong data analysis and manipulation skills, including MS Excel and Access.
Excellent conflict-resolution and negotiation skills.
Ability to take a collaborative approach to problem-solving.
Excellent customer service skills, including being competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged.
Ability to perform essential job duties and satisfy job requirements with or without reasonable accommodation.

Nice To Haves

Experience in wholesale distribution, electrical manufacturing, or electrical wholesaling.
Familiarity with the electrical wholesaling industry and electrical products.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with branch leadership on aggregate demand forecasts and adjust forecasts based on qualitative or anecdotal feedback.
Identify seasonal product families for each branch and schedule follow-up reviews based on seasonal patterns.
Collaborate with branch support inventory demand planners and purchasing specialists on inventory ramp-up and ramp-down.
Facilitate communication between branches and the Branch Support Center regarding product or vendor conversion projects.
Initiate communication with branch support and branch stakeholders about stocking-parameter setup and purchasing activities for project phases.
Oversee and analyze project inventory availability, sales order date management, and project status.
Ensure stocking parameters and inventory are phased out to avoid overstock when projects terminate.
Review consignment inventory levels and turnover by customer on a regular basis.
Facilitate changes to consigned inventory through applicable account managers.
Review product stocking status with branch operations, counter, and inside sales staff, focusing on removing reorder points for unnecessary slow-moving products, adding reorder points to non-stocking products with sufficient sales history, and maintaining complete offerings for key service-item product families.
Collaborate with branch leadership, sales, and inventory teams to solicit and provide feedback on operational effectiveness, strategy, and updates for effective inventory management.
Communicate scorecard information, key findings, and inventory updates to inventory and purchasing teams and the executive council.
Present inventory and purchasing updates, strategy changes, and other key information at committee meetings.
Coordinate and lead frequent inventory committee meetings with branch leadership, account managers, demand planners, and buyers.
Review regional hub-and-spoke settings.
Participate in vendor and product training.
Attend regional trade shows and sales-planning events.
Complete other duties as assigned by a manager or other designee.