Inventory Analyst

Job description

The Inventory Analyst will be responsible for managing and optimizing inventory levels, material flow, warehouse organization, and material availability to support uninterrupted production operations and customer requirements. This position will have a key role in developing, implementing, and maintaining the PFEP (Plan For Every Part), supporting warehouse layout optimization, monitoring Ford customer requirements through the Ford SNC Portal, managing Ford Service requirements, and coordinating the purchasing and supply chain activities for overseas raw materials. The position will work closely with Materials, Purchasing, Production Control, Logistics, Quality, Engineering, Customer Service, Finance, suppliers, and Ford to ensure material availability, inventory accuracy, and on-time customer support. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. • Monitor daily inventory levels for raw materials, components, WIP, and finished goods. • Analyze inventory levels against production requirements, customer demand, and MRP recommendations. • Identify and proactively address material shortages, excess inventory, obsolete material, and slow-moving inventory. • Monitor inventory in transit, supplier inventory, and materials held at external locations. • Maintain accurate inventory records and support inventory reconciliation activities. • Participate in cycle counts and physical inventory activities. • Investigate inventory discrepancies and coordinate corrective actions. • Develop and maintain inventory reports and dashboards for management review. • Support initiatives focused on inventory reduction, working capital optimization, and inventory turns improvement. • Develop, implement, and maintain the PFEP database for all plant part numbers. • Maintain accurate information for each part, including supplier, usage, packaging, container quantity, dimensions, weight, lead time, storage requirements, delivery frequency, and point of use. • Analyze material flow from supplier through receiving, warehouse, production, and point of use. • Identify opportunities to optimize container quantities, lot sizes, delivery frequency, and material presentation. • Ensure PFEP information remains aligned with current production requirements, customer demand, engineering changes, and supplier changes. • Develop, maintain, and continuously improve warehouse and material storage layouts. • Use PFEP data to identify inventory risks, warehouse capacity requirements, and opportunities for cost reduction. • Maintain PFEP accuracy following new programs, engineering changes, sourcing changes, or demand fluctuations. • Monitor and manage daily requirements through the Ford SNC Portal. • Review customer releases, demand changes, schedules, and material requirements. • Analyze differences between Ford demand, MRP requirements, inventory, and available supply. Qualifications Required Education & Experience • Associate’s Degree in Supply Chain, Materials Management, or related field preferred (or equivalent experience) • 1–3+ years of experience in materials, warehouse, or logistics in a manufacturing environment • Supervisory or leadership experience strongly preferred • Automotive experience preferred • PLEX experience Competencies • Leadership and Team Development • Problem Solving / Root Cause Analysis • Strong Organizational Skills • Sense of Urgency and Decision Making • Communication Across All Levels • Knowledge of Inventory Control and Material Flow • ERP/MRP Systems (Plex preferred) • Understanding of IATF and customer requirements Work Environment While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands and fingers to handle, feel, or operate objects, tools or controls, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to walk, stand, kneel, crouch, talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and depth perception.