What are the responsibilities and job description for the Inventory Manager position at Strategic Employment?
Inventory Manager (3PL Fulfillment) — Contract-to-Hire | Onsite (Santa Ana, CA)
A fast-growing Orange County-based fulfillment / 3PL operation is hiring an Inventory Manager to own inventory accuracy, WMS hygiene, and client stock reconciliation across a busy multi-client warehouse environment.
If you’re the kind of person who can spot an inventory issue before it becomes a customer escalation and you’re comfortable balancing floor execution with system/process improvements, this one’s for you.
Salary range: $70,000 - $80,000
What you’ll own
- Drive real-time inventory accuracy across multiple client accounts (targeting 99.5% )
- Plan and execute cycle counts, quarterly physical inventories, and root-cause analysis on variances
- Tighten receiving/putaway/pick-pack/returns workflows to reduce shrink, misallocation, and “phantom inventory”
- Enforce inventory rotation practices (FIFO / FEFO / LIFO) based on product requirements
- Serve as the main inventory POC for assigned client accounts: reporting, discrepancy resolution, aging/slow-movers
- Maintain strong WMS configuration (SKU setup, location mapping, slotting) operational reporting
- Build dashboards and reporting around turns, fill rate, shrink, aging, count results
- Partner with IT/ops on process improvements and potential EDI / ERP integration enhancements
- Lead and develop a small team (typical range 4–10 associates across inventory control / cycle count / receiving)
What we’re looking for
Must-haves
- 3 years in inventory management within a 3PL, distribution, DC, or fulfillment environment
- Hands-on experience with cycle counting physical inventories (and not just delegating)
- Experience with at least one WMS (examples: Manhattan, NetSuite WMS, Extensiv/3PL Central, Fishbowl, SAP EWM, etc.)
- Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, reporting)
- Solid understanding of inventory methods (FIFO/LIFO/weighted average) and controls mindset
Nice-to-haves (not required)
- APICS (CSCP/CPIM/CLTD) or Lean/6 Sigma exposure
- Familiarity with EDI transactions (850/856/940/945) or integrations with ecommerce platforms
- Bilingual English/Spanish
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents are welcome to apply. Sponsorship is not available at this time.
Salary : $70,000 - $80,000