Stocking Strategy & Inventory Optimization Lead

Banner Engineering Corp.; Minneapolis (MN); Hybrid; USD 82,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with match

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

HSA with company contribution

PTO

Sales and Profit Sharing Eligibility

Life Insurance

Pet Insurance

Job summary

Banner Engineering is seeking a Senior Supply Chain Planner to advance inventory planning and stocking strategy in the Brooklyn Park, MN office. The role emphasizes collaboration with Operations, Product Management, and Commercial teams to translate demand signals into actionable inventory plans.

The position focuses on stocking policy optimization, forecast accuracy, and dashboard development to improve in-stock levels while balancing working capital and lifecycle priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Finance, Engineering, Data Analytics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in demand planning, inventory planning, supply planning, operations analytics, commercial operations, or a related manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical capability with experience translating large datasets into business insights, recommendations, and action plans.
• Experience with inventory management concepts including safety stock, min/max, service levels, forecast accuracy, lifecycle planning, SKU segmentation, and excess/obsolete inventory.
• Working knowledge of ERP, MRP, forecasting, planning, or inventory optimization systems; experience with Oracle, GAINS, Qlik, Power BI, Excel, or similar tools preferred.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Product Management, Sales, Finance, Customer Care, and regional teams.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain analytical findings, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to both technical and business audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, structure problems, drive follow-up, and influence decisions without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and execution of Banner’s stocking program strategy, including P/S/N stocking recommendations, min/max logic, demand segmentation, and service-level targets.
• Analyze inventory availability, forecast inputs, demand behavior, backlog, open sales orders, lead times, and distributor requirements to identify gaps in in-stock performance.
• Partner with Product Management and Commercial teams to align stocking decisions with product-family strategy, lifecycle stage, customer promise, distributor expectations, and revenue priorities.
• Work with Operations and Supply Chain teams to translate stocking strategy into executable replenishment, production, and material plans.
• Develop reporting and dashboards to monitor in-stock levels, inventory health, service levels, forecast quality, slow-moving inventory, excess exposure, and stocking-policy effectiveness.
• Identify root causes of stockouts, inventory imbalances, past-due backlog, slow-moving inventory, and unmanaged stocking drift; recommend corrective actions and process improvements.
• Support monthly forecast and inventory reviews, product-family health reviews, and cross-functional stocking governance forums.
• Evaluate demand patterns using segmentation methods such as ABC/XYZ, runners/repeaters/strangers, lifecycle stage, customer concentration, and revenue contribution.
• Recommend stocking policy updates, safety stock assumptions, replenishment parameters, and exception-handling rules based on data, business priorities, and operational feasibility.
• Coordinate with distributor-facing and regional teams to understand channel inventory needs, availability gaps, lead-time expectations, and communication requirements.
• Help build standard work, planning tools, and repeatable processes that improve inventory decision quality and reduce reliance on ad hoc analysis.
• Escalate material stocking risks, service-level tradeoffs, or inventory exposure issues with clear options, financial impact, and recommended next steps.

Skills

Demand planning

Inventory planning

Supply planning

Operations analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

ERP/MRP experience

Power BI/Excel

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Finance, Engineering, Data Analytics, or a related field

Tools

Oracle

GAINS

Qlik

Power BI

Excel

Job description

Banner Engineering is seeking a Senior Supply Chain Planner to advance inventory planning and stocking strategy in the Brooklyn Park, MN office. The role emphasizes collaboration with Operations, Product Management, and Commercial teams to translate demand signals into actionable inventory plans.

The position focuses on stocking policy optimization, forecast accuracy, and dashboard development to improve in-stock levels while balancing working capital and lifecycle priorities.