Inventory Planning Manager, Perishables

Job :  |  Services LLC

Join us in transforming Meat & Seafood inventory operations as we build new capabilities for sustainable growth and operational excellence. This role owns daily inventory planning and replenishment execution for the Meat and Seafood categories, with primary accountability for one or both depending on team structure. You will manage inventory across our multi-tiered distribution network, spanning 3PL partnerships, distribution centers, retail locations, and omnichannel operations.

You will balance fresh product availability against spoilage risk through precise demand forecasting, supply planning, and cross‑functional coordination. This is a build-from-the-ground-up position: you will develop new processes and capabilities while maintaining and ensuring daily operational excellence as we transform our perishables supply chain.

Location:

Store Support Office, Austin, TX (5-10% travel required)

Inventory Management & Planning

• Execute inventory replenishment decisions for the Meat & Seafood category, managing demand forecast, reorder points, safety stock levels, and allocation across distribution nodes
• Monitor, control, and optimize inventory levels to meet In-Stock service levels, store order fill-rate, inventory turnover, shrink rates, and days-of-coverage targets
• Manage inventory planning for promotional events, seasonal peaks, new product launches, exclusive brands, and store openings, coordinating quantities, timing, and distribution
• Build and maintain demand forecasting models; refine accuracy over time as data quality and historical baselines improve
• Perform regular and ad‑hoc root‑cause analyses when KPIs miss targets (In-Stock percentage, order fill-rate, on-time delivery, inventory turnover, days of coverage)
• Track and report on inventory performance metrics; own the accuracy and timeliness of reporting outputs

Stakeholder & Partner Management

• Work with category merchants, procurement, distribution/supply chain, field operations, e‑commerce, In‑Stock, to resolve supply/demand mismatches and align on priorities
• Manage day‑to‑day communication with Procurement and Distribution and Store partners: flag performance gaps, elevate issues, and follow‑through on resolution
• Provide data analysis and inventory insights to leadership; translate findings into clear recommendations

Process Improvement & Transformation

• Identify and fix gaps in service quality, efficiency, and order management systems
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to optimize supply and demand planning processes
• Document and standardize inventory planning processes where SOPs do not yet exist
• Improve existing planning workflows for efficiency and accuracy; propose and implement automation where manual processes create risk
• Support implementation of tracking and reporting systems; define requirements based on operational needs

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in supply chain management, engineering, business management or other relevant field
• 4+ years of progressive experience in retail inventory planning, category management, supply chain operations, or logistics
• Advanced Excel proficiency including complex data manipulation, and automation
• Proficiency with business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau, or similar) to build actionable dashboards and reports
• Experience working across teams to resolve operational issues in fast‑moving environments
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, early‑stage environments where processes are incomplete and priorities shift frequently

• Experience with perishables, fresh food, or time‑sensitive inventory management (shelf‑life optimization, spoilage/waste reduction)
• Knowledge of statistical modeling,…