Inventory Planner

Incora•West Chester, PA

About The Position

The Inventory Planner manages chemical inventory to dollar targets and contractual guidelines for designated customer accounts. The role’s decisions affect purchasing quantities, open-to-buy budgets, customer service, and company financial targets. With guidance from SIOP Management and senior-level Inventory Planners, the planner analyzes inventory and demand, develops stocking and replenishment plans, and manages performance against KPIs such as Min/Max in-stock percentage, inventory turns, and slow-moving inventory. The role also supports customer relationships through management of contractual inventory requirements and action on customer forecasts, metrics, and demand trends. The planner reviews stock at Incora warehouses and customer onsite warehouse locations, identifies usage and forecast trends, evaluates regional availability and the costs and benefits of stocking versus transferring goods, and manages shortages, inventory-dollar variances, cost-of-goods-sold-to-receipt variances, delivery planning, and excess or scrap exposure. The role may participate in Lean improvement events with the Continuous Improvement department to improve planning tools and processes. The position requires customer focus, analytical ability, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to adjust to changing priorities. Incora describes its offering as including salary and benefits, incentive-program eligibility, paid holidays and floating holidays, vacation and separate sick time for eligible employees, paid parental leave, employee discounts, employer-paid group life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, and a 401(k) plan with company match. The job description states that duties and requirements may change according to business needs and that the description is not an employment contract.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, supply chain, inventory management, or equivalent experience is preferred.
2–5 years of experience in inventory management, including demand planning, MRP, forecasting, and sourcing.
Demonstrated excellence in data and mathematical analysis.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to interact directly with internal and external customers.
Strong follow-through and perseverance while handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
Ability to adjust to changing priorities, multiple demands, and crises.
Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, including the ability to conduct in-depth research.
Expert competency with integrated data systems and Microsoft Office; intermediate to advanced Word and Excel skills, including spreadsheets, formulas, and importing and exporting files.
Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and advanced formulas.
Strong mathematical, problem-solving, and reasoning skills.
Time-management skills and ability to multitask and prioritize.
Customer-focused, independent, driven, and action-oriented approach.
Ability to work effectively across functions and as part of a team.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Experience using Copilot or other AI tools to enhance productivity.
Ability to engage in process improvement from plan development through implementation.
Proven experience and working knowledge of just-in-time supply processes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, supply chain, or inventory management, or equivalent experience.
APICS certification.
Knowledge of Oracle data systems, such as JDE or SAP.

Responsibilities

Develop, with guidance from SIOP Management and senior-level Inventory Planners, just-in-time stocking and replenishment plans for customer contractual requirements to meet service-level goals, including Min/Max in-stock percentage.
Work with customers and Program Management to understand production changes and forecasts and adjust customer inventory plans accordingly.
Manage inventory turns by maintaining appropriate Min/Max inventory levels and optimizing carrying costs.
Conduct economic reorder quantity analysis as part of Min/Max level reviews.
Identify back-ordered materials and inventory shortages that affect customer production schedules, and develop mitigation solutions.
Identify sites that vary from inventory-dollar goals and develop recovery plans.
Reduce surplus and stagnant inventory by reviewing slow-moving and expiring-material reports.
Work with Supply Chain teams, including Purchasing, Procurement, and Material Support, to streamline supply processes, reduce cycle time, and identify supply-chain opportunities and constraints.
Learn to develop and manage ad hoc inventory-management projects with guidance from SIOP Management and senior-level Inventory Planners.
Attend customer- or company-sponsored meetings and training as required.
Develop and maintain knowledge of Incora products, services, quality requirements, customer plans, and specifications.
Represent Incora’s vision, values, and objectives in job-related activities and build and maintain customer relationships.
Manage chemical inventory levels at Incora warehouses and customer onsite warehouses, evaluating stock against customer demand and identifying usage and forecast trends.
Determine regional product availability and assess the cost-benefit of stocking versus transferring goods.
Manage inventory shortages and exposure, inventory-dollar variances to goals, cost-of-goods-sold-to-receipt variances, purchase-order delivery planning, and excess or scrap exposure.
Participate in Lean improvement events with the Continuous Improvement department when needed to improve planning-tool efficiency.

Benefits

Incentive-program eligibility for every employee.
Eight paid holidays and two additional floating holidays for full-time employees.
Up to 80 hours of vacation per year for full-time non-exempt employees, increasing with length of service.
Separate sick-time allowance for full-time non-exempt employees.
Two weeks of paid parental leave.
Employee discount portal through Perkspot.
Employer-paid group life insurance at one times salary.
Short-term disability coverage.
Long-term disability coverage.
401(k) plan with company match.
Salary and benefits package.