Sr. Inventory Analyst

At Caribou Coffee we create day‑making experiences that spark a chain reaction of GOOD
! This is our purpose. Our team brings this to life by focusing on what’s really important around here –
TEAM, GUEST, BUSINESS
! It’s that simple. If you’re ready to work somewhere you can be yourself while making an impact on your community, creating life‑long relationships, and serving the best coffee around, join our herd! Apply today and be part of the ‘Bou Crew.

Senior Inventory Analyst – A lead contributor responsible for end‑to‑end inventory health across a multi‑temperature inbound warehouse network (dry, refrigerated, frozen) supporting a food service/coffeehouse operation. This role goes beyond execution and is expected to anticipate inventory needs, design and refine planning approaches, and drive continuous improvement across inventory planning, replenishment, and load building. As a senior individual contributor, this role partners deeply with Sourcing, Demand Planning, Transportation, Operations, Quality, and Finance to ensure the right product, in the right quantity, at the right time while balancing freshness, service, cost, and capacity.

• Own inventory strategy and parameter design for assigned categories across dry, refrigerated, and frozen networks, including safety stock, min/max, reorder points, and cycle stock.
• Manage shelf‑life constraints, freshness targets, and elapsed lead‑time thresholds.
• Lead development and refinement of inventory models that balance service levels, in‑stock performance, freshness, waste mitigation, inventory turns, and warehouse capacity.
• Proactively anticipate future inventory needs and risks by analyzing demand variability, forecast error, and lead‑time instability.
• Conduct scenario planning for seasonality, promotions, LTOs, and transitions.
• Perform deep root‑cause analysis on inventory health issues (stockouts, excess, short‑dated inventory) and drive corrective action.
• Review and optimize inventory positions weekly, identifying recovery actions before service or freshness is impacted.
• Provide clear, actionable inventory insights to leadership, translating complex data into recommended trade‑offs and decisions.
• Serve as a subject‑matter expert on inventory strategy, segmentation, and optimization techniques.

• Lead replenishment strategy for assigned categories and warehouses, ensuring consistent inbound flow while protecting freshness and capacity.
• Design, refine, and govern replenishment parameters and logic, including lead times, safety stock, reorder points, MOQs, and pack rounding.
• Independently manage and override system‑generated order proposals based on forecast confidence, supplier production cadence, and temperature‑zone capacity.
• Drive continuous improvement through performance reviews, root‑cause analysis, parameter optimization, and process standardization.
• Track inbound shipments, reconcile discrepancies, and proactively resolve risks related to late, early, or incomplete deliveries.
• Partner with Demand Planning to align replenishment with promotional windows, seasonal shifts, and new/discontinued items.
• Mentor analysts on replenishment best practices and exception management.

• Own load‑building strategy across dry, refrigerated, and frozen inbound freight.
• Design and optimize load plans to maximize cube and weight utilization, minimize transportation cost, and maintain product integrity and temperature compliance.
• Lead consolidation strategies to meet full truck‑load targets while balancing freshness and inventory risk.
• Translate complex constraints into executable plans, considering temperature segregation, palletization, stack‑ability, and dock capacity.
• Identify systemic load‑building inefficiencies and drive cross‑functional improvements in tools, processes, or order cadence.
• Collaborate with Transportation and Operations to align inventory availability with shipping schedules.
• Monitor carrier and load performance, adjusting strategies based on transit times and reliability.

• Represent inventory trade‑offs across Sourcing, Demand Planning, Operations,…