What are the responsibilities and job description for the Inventory Planner position at Columbia Safety and Supply?
Department: Purchasing
Location: Columbia, Missouri
The Inventory Planner plays a key role in making sure we have the right products in stock at the right time to meet—and exceed—our customers’ expectations. This role requires a sense of urgency and focus, especially when managing slower-turning or less profitable items to keep inventory lean and efficient.
You'll help drive our continued growth by building strong vendor relationships, keeping expenses in check, and supporting healthy profit margins. Day-to-day, you’ll support team members through a mix of routine tasks and impactful projects, all while working toward both personal and departmental goals. Your development and growth within the organization are important to us, and we’re excited to support that journey.
Key Responsibilities
- Help protect company margins while delivering strong performance
- Use data and market trends to forecast item, region, and industry growth
- Spot and remove roadblocks to keep the team moving forward
- Support plans that meet customer and business needs
- Own results—track progress and follow through
- Suggest process improvements when opportunities arise
- Evaluate vendors for fit, performance, and partnership potential
- Offer feedback that helps the team grow
- Build strong vendor and team relationships to support inventory flow
- Comfortable with Word, Excel, and other common software
- Detail-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Clear communicator, both written and verbal
- Reliable, motivated, and able to manage time well
- Great at following up and staying organized
- Committed to supporting customers, coworkers, and vendors
- Experience in purchasing or similar roles is a plus
- Familiarity with CRM or ERP systems is a bonus
We are a tight-knit group, and we understand the needs of our teammates. This personal connection allows us to strategically design competitive benefits packages that enhance the employee experience and support overall well-being.
Some of our benefits:
- Health, Vision & Dental Insurance with company contributions
- Free Employee Assistance Program: 24/7 access
- Generous paid time off (PTO) that increases with tenure
- Volunteer Paid Time Off: Give back to our community & get paid!
- 401k Matching Options with no Vesting Requirements
This job description is not intended to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
The GMES family of companies provides to individuals of all races, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital, and veteran status, equal employment opportunities within our dynamic growth plans.
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