Director, Inventory Strategy & Optimization

BUILD A BETTER CAREER WITH MSC

Serving customers and our community starts with the best people doing their best work. That is precisely what we have created at MSC Industrial Supply Co. We are a leading North American distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), products and services. We offer more than 2 million products and have over 80 years of experience across dozens of industries.

We aim to execute our Built to Make You Better brand promise for all our stakeholders, including our associates.

Requisition  :21337

Employment Type :Full Time

Job Category :Supply Chain

Work Location :Davidson, NC (CSC)

The Director, Inventory Strategy & Optimization is responsible for developing and executing inventory optimization strategies that improve customer service, inventory productivity, and working capital performance. This leader will serve as the business owner and strategic champion for MSC's inventory optimization capabilities within Blue Yonder, driving continuous improvement of planning parameters, optimization logic, inventory policies, and planning processes. The role will partner closely with Business Unit (BU) Category teams, Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Procurement, and Sales to establish differentiated inventory assortments, stocking strategies, and service-level decisions that align inventory investments with customer demand, growth priorities, and profitability objectives.

This position plays a critical role in advancing MSC’s network optimization strategy by ensuring inventory is positioned in the right locations, at the right quantities, and for the right customers while balancing fill rate performance, service commitments, transportation costs, and working capital productivity.

• Develop and maintain enterprise inventory strategies designed to optimize working capital, inventory turns, fill rate, and service levels.
• Establish inventory policies and segmentation frameworks across Customer Fulfillment Centers (CFCs), Regional Inventory Centers (RICs), subsidiaries, and specialized inventory programs.
• Lead development and refinement of inventory stocking strategies including ABC/XYZ segmentation, service level differentiation, safety stock methodologies, and replenishment policies.
• Evaluate inventory deployment decisions across the network, balancing transportation costs, inventory investment, and customer service objectives.
• Partner with network optimization teams to align inventory placement strategies with future-state network design.

• Serve as the primary business owner for Blue Yonder Inventory Optimization and Allocation & Replenishment capabilities.
• Lead continuous enhancement of Blue Yonder planning parameters, optimization models, planning logic, and business rules.
• Partner with IT, Blue Yonder teams, and external partners to maximize solution capabilities and business value.
• Establish governance processes for system changes, parameter management, and optimization strategy reviews.
• Drive adoption of advanced planning analytics, machine learning capabilities, and optimization tools.
• Develop a long-term roadmap for inventory planning technologies and capabilities.

• Partner with Business Unit leaders and Category Management teams to develop inventory assortment strategies aligned to growth objectives and customer requirements.
• Evaluate inventory investment opportunities supporting strategic product categories, solutions, OEM programs, and emerging growth initiatives.
• Facilitate tradeoff discussions between service levels, inventory investments, margin requirements, and customer experience.
• Support new product introductions, assortment expansions, and inventory rationalization initiatives.
• Develop differentiated inventory strategies based on product characteristics, customer segments, and market opportunities.

• Lead initiatives focused on improving inventory turns, reducing excess and obsolete inventory, and increasing inventory productivity.
• Establish…