Associate Manager, Inventory Management

PowerToFly; Venlo; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

PowerToFly in Venlo, the Netherlands, is seeking an Associate Manager, Inventory Management to drive inventory strategies across Europe. This permanent role is an individual contributor position requiring 1–3 days on-site at the Central Distribution Centre in Venlo, with focus on safety stock, parameters, and balance of service levels with inventory investment.

The role collaborates with Operations, IBP, and cross-functional partners to optimize inventory health, reduce excess, and improve

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of experience in inventory planning or related fields in Europe.
• Experience in multinational medical device environment preferred.
• Fluent English; Dutch language skills are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Gather, analyze, and validate data to support safety stock and inventory parameter reviews.
• Collaborate with Operations, IBP, and finance to balance service levels and inventory investment.
• Drive improvements to reduce excess and improve working capital across Europe.
• Coordinate with CDC and local warehouses to align inventory planning.

Skills

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Project management

ERP experience

English fluency

Education

Degree in Business / Engineering / Supply Chain Management

APICS accredited or professional supply chain accreditation

Lean Six Sigma certification (preferred)

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Associate Manager, Inventory Management

We are hiring an Associate Manager, Inventory Management in a permanent role. This is an individual contributor role working a minimum of 1‑3 days on‑site in the Central Distribution Centre in Venlo.

The Job's Mission

As a member of the Inventory Planning team, this roledrives inventory strategies across Europe with a strong focus on safety stock management, network flows, and inventory parameter setting in close collaboration with Operations and IBP teams. The role has a strong mid- to long‑term planning focus, working closely with divisional suppliers and IBP partners to align inventory strategies with business needs and supply capabilities.

This will be achieved by:

• Driving processes to create, review, optimize, and govern inventory‑setting practices for items in the EMEA CDC, LRDs (local country warehouses&kitrooms), with a strong focus on safety stockmethodologyand inventory parameters.
• Identifying, reviewing, and addressing root causes of inventory imbalance, excess, and obsolescence to improve inventory health and availability across the network, while also considering broader cost drivers across European operations.

The work will involve stakeholder management and alignment across Operations, IBP, European and divisional leadership, EMEA Supply Chain Planning, CDC and local warehouse teams, Finance, and relevant commercial and cross‑functional partners.

Key Activities & Accountabilities

• Gather, analyze, and validatedata to support safety stock decisions, inventory parameter reviews, and accurate inventory level visibility across Europe.
• Play an active role in connecting Commercial and Operations teams to implement a robust inventory planning strategy.
• Be a partner to CDC and LRD operations teams while aligning with commercial, divisional, marketing, and finance functions to balance service levels, inventory investment, and supply risk.
• Drive inventory improvements that enhance service, reduce excess, and improve working capital efficiency.
• Collaborate with global IBP teams to align inventory planning assumptions, safety stock requirements, and mid- to long‑term inventory needs.

Education

• Degree level in Business / Engineering / Supply Chain Management
• APICS accredited or professional supply chain accreditation preferred
• Fluency in English is essential; Dutch is preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma certification is a plus.
• Project management experience is a plus

Experience

The ideal candidate should have 5‑7 years of work experience with a proventrack recordin European operations, inventory planning, supply chain, PMO, or finance in a multinational medical device company, including:

• 3‑5 years of people and/or process management experience
• Strong analytical and business acumen.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills; cross‑functional influencing skills; global teamwork and cultural awareness.
• Strong technical acumen working with enterprise resource planning software.
• Strong influencing skills with the ability to drive alignment and action across functions.
• Demonstrated experience inestablishingprograms or initiatives that resulted in positive change.
• Previousexperience applying Lean Six Sigma tools or equivalent in operations or supply‑chain.

Competencies

• Strong interpersonal skills– the individual requiresexcellent communicationskills (written & verbal) plus theability to relatewell to colleagues from varied divisions, markets& cultures.
• Analytical– Able to assess complex data, identify patterns, synthesize insights and turn them into clear inventory decisions.
• Strategic– A strong strategic thinker who considers both the short‑ and long‑term impact of decisions.
• High achiever– Is creative & seeksto deliver the best in anagreedtimeframe
• Activator– A self‑starter who can multi‑task and motivate others and self to get the job done.
• Team player– Works effectively with others and is willing and able to drive ideas, plans, and responsibilities collaboratively.
• Change agent– Has the courage to challenge the status quo and the ability to manage, deliver, and execute change.
• Result‑oriented– Strong results orientation with a track recordof delivering high‑quality outcomes.

Requirements

• Location– At a minimum, 1‑3 days a week at the EMEA CDC in Venlo
• Flexibility– Able to work across time zones with US‑based suppliers