Director of Inventory Management & Logistics

Job description

The Role The Director of Inventory Management & Logistics will own VeeFriends’ inventory management, warehousing, logistics, kitting, fulfillment, and supporting operational systems across a complex, multi-channel consumer business. This leader will own the physical product journey once goods are produced, partnering closely with the Director of Sourcing on inbound inventory and ultimately owning inventory through storage, allocation, kitting, fulfillment, and delivery. Today, VeeFriends operates across a specialized vault provider for high-value collectibles, a traditional 3PL supporting eCommerce and wholesale, and a New York-based LiveCommerce operation. The opportunity is not simply to manage this existing network. This person will evaluate the cost, complexity, service levels, scalability, technology, and consumer experience of our current model and develop the long-term operating strategy as VeeFriends scales. A critical part of the role will also be building the digital infrastructure behind our physical inventory. The Director will work closely with Technology to develop an integrated IMS/WMS environment capable of supporting VeeFriends’ unique collectibles business at scale. The right candidate will be equally comfortable building a network strategy, negotiating with a 3PL, solving an inventory discrepancy, working with engineers on operational systems, designing a premium kitting process, and walking a warehouse floor to understand why an order isn’t getting out the door. Key Responsibilities Inventory, Warehousing & Logistics Own inventory management across VeeFriends’ growing portfolio of consumer products and collectibles. Establish a reliable view of inventory across warehouses, vaults, LiveCommerce operations, in-transit inventory, and sales channels. Build rigorous processes for receiving, storage, transfers, allocation, cycle counting, reconciliation, fulfillment, and inventory accuracy. Own inventory discrepancy, shrinkage, damage, and variance management. Establish appropriate controls for rare, serialized, graded, limited-edition, and high-value collectibles. Own VeeFriends’ warehousing and fulfillment network strategy, including 3PL, vault, LiveCommerce, and potential in-house operating models. Manage logistics partners, contracts, SLAs, performance, and economics. Lead 3PL evaluations, RFPs, negotiations, implementations, and network transitions as needed. Continuously identify opportunities to improve service, scalability, and cost per order. Fulfillment, Kitting & Consumer Experience Own operational performance from inventory availability through successful customer delivery across DTC, wholesale, LiveCommerce, events, and other channels. Establish service standards that recognize the different requirements of traditional merchandise versus high-value collectibles. Build scalable processes for premium kitting, complex product assembly, and high-end unboxing experiences. Coordinate components from multiple suppliers and partners and ensure complete kits are assembled accurately and efficiently. Ensure packaging, handling, and fulfillment processes protect collectible condition and preserve the intended consumer experience. Build a scalable operating model for VeeFriends’ LiveCommerce business, including inventory staging, tracking, reconciliation, and fulfillment. Systems, Technology & Data Serve as the business owner for VeeFriends’ Inventory Management System (IMS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS) strategy. Partner closely with Technology to define operational requirements, evaluate third-party platforms, and determine where proprietary tools are required. Build systems capable of providing reliable, real-time inventory visibility across locations and channels. Ensure systems can support serialized and individually identifiable products, high-value collectibles, product variants, kits, bundles, and chain-of-custody requirements. Reduce reliance on spreadsheets, manual reconciliation, and disconnected inventory data. Establish dashboards and KPIs covering inventory accuracy, availability, aging, turns, fulfillment performance, warehouse capacity, logistics costs, and operational exceptions. Partner with Finance and Technology on the roadmap for broader ERP and financial-system integration. Team Leadership Lead and develop VeeFriends’ existing team of three inventory and fulfillment professionals. Establish clear ownership, KPIs, operating rhythms, and accountability across the team. Build the organizational structure and capabilities required to support VeeFriends’ next stage of growth. Maintain a culture of operational rigor while preserving the speed and flexibility of an entrepreneurial business. Scope: Sourcing vs. Inventory & Logistics VeeFriends is intentionally separating responsibilities that have historically sat within a broader supply-chain function. The Director of Sourcing owns the upstream product journey: supplier selection, manufacturing, costing, production timelines, and manufacturing quality. The Director of Inventory Management & Logistics owns the downstream product journey: inbound finished goods, inventory control, warehousing, vault operations, kitting, allocation, logistics, fulfillment, and the supporting inventory and warehouse systems. The two leaders will work closely together around production handoffs, component aggregation, quality, and complex product launches. Qualifications 8+ years of progressive experience across inventory management, logistics, warehousing, fulfillment, distribution, or supply-chain operations, ideally within consumer products, retail, eCommerce, or collectibles. Significant experience managing 3PLs and external logistics partners. Strong understanding of inventory control, warehouse operations, reconciliation, inventory accuracy, and WMS/OMS environments. Experience supporting a multi-channel business spanning DTC/eCommerce and wholesale; LiveCommerce experience is highly valuable. Experience designing or evaluating warehouse and fulfillment networks, including outsourced versus in-house operating models. Experience with complex kitting, premium packaging, collectibles, luxury products, or other high-touch fulfillment environments is highly valuable. Experience handling high-value, serialized, authenticated, graded, or otherwise unique inventory is a major plus. Experience owning or leading IMS/WMS implementations, transformations, integrations, or proprietary inventory tools strongly preferred. Strong analytical and financial capabilities with the ability to evaluate operational costs and investments. Comfortable partnering directly with Technology and Engineering teams. Proven people-management experience. Comfortable balancing strategic planning with hands-on operational problem solving. Experience in a high-growth, entrepreneurial, or founder-led consumer business strongly preferred. Must be based in the New York metropolitan area and able to work regularly from VeeFriends’ New York operations and partner facilities. What Success Looks Like Success means VeeFriends knows exactly what inventory we have, exactly where it is, and can get it where it needs to go reliably, efficiently, and with the appropriate level of care. You will have: Built a scalable long-term strategy for VeeFriends’ warehousing, fulfillment, and logistics network. Improved inventory accuracy, visibility, partner performance, and operating economics. Established the systems and processes required to manage increasingly complex products, channels, and high-value collectibles. Built a reliable IMS/WMS foundation that provides a source of truth for inventory and reduces manual processes. Created scalable LiveCommerce, kitting, and premium fulfillment capabilities. Built a strong team and operating model capable of supporting VeeFriends’ next stage of growth. Ultimately, you will build the physical and digital operating infrastructure that allows VeeFriends to scale its consumer products business without losing the attention to detail that makes collecting special. About VeeFriends VeeFriends is an intellectual property company built around characters, storytelling, community, and collecting. We bring our IP to life across content, experiences, and a growing portfolio of physical consumer products — including trading cards, comics, collectible coins, stickers, apparel, and other emerging categories. Our commerce business operates across DTC eCommerce, LiveCommerce, wholesale, events, and other channels, creating an inventory and fulfillment environment that looks very different from a traditional consumer brand. As we scale, we are looking for a Director of Inventory Management & Logistics to build the operational infrastructure required to get the right products to the right place, at the right time — while delivering the level of quality and care expected from a premium collectibles brand.