Customer Supply Chain Analyst

Company Description: Instinct® is a rapidly growing, family-owned marketer and manufacturer of science based 100% natural pet food for dogs and cats. Instinct® is the Raw Brand, with a mission to get more raw nutrition into every bowl of dogs and cats, for proven healthier and happier long lives. Our company mission is to Empower people to transform the lives of pets. We are committed to hiring and developing a team of passionate, performance-oriented professionals who live by our 4 values of championing raw, empowered to make a difference, collaborating as one team, and striving for excellence through continuous learning and improvement. Our home office is located in St. Louis, Missouri with our Center of Excellence Raw Food kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.

Position Summary: We are seeking a pet passionate and detail-oriented and analytically driven Customer Supply Chain Analyst to join our team. In this role, you will be the key link between our customers, retail partners, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers, ensuring optimal inventory levels across brick-and-mortar retail locations and 3PL-managed distribution networks. You will leverage data-driven insights to improve fill rates, reduce out-of-stocks, minimize excess inventory, and strengthen customer satisfaction.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

Customer Inventory Management

• Monitor and analyze inventory levels across customer retail locations and 3PL warehouses to ensure optimal stock availability and minimize out-of-stock and overstock situations.
• Develop and maintain demand forecasts in collaboration with Sales, Marketing, and Customer Planning teams to drive accurate replenishment strategies.
• Track and reconcile inventory discrepancies between internal systems, retailer portals, and 3PL warehouse management systems (WMS).
• Manage safety stock, reorder points, and lead-time parameters for each customer and distribution channel.

Brick & Mortar Store Operations

• Partner with retail customers to manage store-level inventory replenishment, promotional inventory builds, and seasonal planning.
• Analyze point-of-sale (POS) data, sell-through rates, and weeks of supply to recommend order adjustments and assortment optimization.
• Support new store launches and planogram resets by coordinating inventory flow and timing with cross-functional teams.
• Identify trends in store-level performance and proactively address service-level gaps or excess inventory positions.

3PL Coordination & Oversight

• Serve as the primary point of contact for 3PL partners on inventory management, order fulfillment accuracy, and shipment scheduling.
• Monitor 3PL key performance indicators (KPIs) including on-time shipping, order accuracy, inventory accuracy, and dwell time.
• Collaborate with 3PL providers on capacity planning, warehouse slotting optimization, and process improvement initiatives.
• Investigate and resolve fulfillment exceptions, shipping delays, and receiving discrepancies in partnership with 3PL teams.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Build and maintain dashboards and reports tracking inventory health, fill rates, OTIF (On-Time In-Full), and customer scorecard metrics.
• Conduct root-cause analysis on supply chain disruptions, service failures, and inventory variances; recommend corrective actions.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance inventory turns, reduce carrying costs, and improve overall supply chain efficiency.
• Present insights and recommendations to internal stakeholders and customer partners on a regular cadence.

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• 3 years of experience in supply chain analytics, demand planning, inventory management, or customer logistics.
• Hands-on experience working with retail customers and/or 3PL providers in an inventory management capacity.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, or similar).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize large data sets into actionable insights and recommendations.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with both internal teams and external partners.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with BI/visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker.
• Familiarity with WMS platforms (Manhattan Associates, Blue Yonder, Highjump, or similar).
• Knowledge of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) transactions and retail compliance programs (e.g., MABD, chargebacks, ASN requirements).
• APICS CSCP, CPIM, or similar supply chain certification.
• Experience with CPG, retail, or consumer goods industries.

Compensation and Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package includes health and dental insurance, life and AD&D insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, short and long-term disability, paid time off, Purpose Days off for company partner volunteer opportunities, and 401k with company match.

Our Instinct is to CHAMPION Diversity

At Instinct, we are as passionate about our people as we are about the pets we call family. We are committed to inclusion, empowerment, and respect. We believe that just like our pets, what sets us apart unleashes our greatest strengths. We thrive on the ability to not only empower people to transform the lives of pets through raw nutrition, but also to empower each other to inspire a culture that celebrates our differences. Our unique approach to pet food is what makes us who we are as a company, and our individual identities are what makes us a successful, innovative, authentic team.