An inventory planner is typically used in any warehouse, factory, or even retail store that stocks products in inventory. The job’s main responsibilities include forecasting, tracking, and reconciling the inventory of products or materials kept in stock by the warehouse, manufacturer, or retailer.
Assume the planner is employed by a manufacturing company. Assume the company produces leather sandals. The inventory planner must first forecast the number of leather sandals that will be sold each day, week, month, and year. After the planner has determined this, he must forecast how much material the manufacturer will need to produce in order to keep the sandals in stock. The leather, rubber soles, suede insert, thread, embellishments, sewing machines, and any other materials the manufacturer requires are among these materials.
A person in this position is also in charge of inventory management. Again, the tracking could be for the product’s materials, the product itself, or both. For example, unlike a manufacturer, a retail inventory planner does not need to forecast or track raw materials. A retail store would only be forecasting and tracking how much finished product inventory it has.
The inventory planner keeps track of the materials or products so that when they reach a certain level, they can be reordered. This ensures that the manufacturer, warehouse, or store has enough material and product to sell to its customers at all times.
An inventory planner’s other responsibilities include reconciliation. The inventory level changes as materials are used up and products are moved in and out of the warehouse, manufacturing plant, or retail store. The planner double-checks that the amount the computer says the company has in stock matches what is actually in stock on a regular basis. This usually necessitates the inventory planner manually counting the supplies and products on the inventory shelves and comparing the total to the amount reported by the computer inventory system.
When inventory levels reach a point where more materials or products are needed, some inventory planners place orders for the materials and products to bring inventory levels back up to the bare minimum. Other planners communicate with the company’s buyers to inform them of the materials or products that need to be ordered and inventoried.