An inventory coordinator’s specific job responsibilities will vary depending on the type of company for which he or she works, but in general, this employee will be in charge of managing inventory or file systems at a specific location or across a company. The inventory coordinator must be extremely organized and capable of managing complex systems; computer skills are almost always required for this position, and the job candidate must have a high school diploma to be considered. Basic math skills, as well as basic communication skills, will be required.
Many businesses nowadays prefer to hire an inventory coordinator with some college experience. Some two-year degrees will prepare a job candidate for an inventory coordinator position, with coursework focusing on computer skills, math skills, and organizational techniques. Having such a degree will give a job candidate an advantage over the competition, especially if the candidate also has work experience. Retail jobs, clerical jobs, and any other job that requires coordination, organization, and the ability to work in a professional setting will look great on a resume.
To ensure that all goods are accounted for, many retail establishments or larger distributors who send goods to retail establishments will hire one or more inventory coordinators. The inventory coordinator may work alone or as part of a team to manage inventory and ensure it gets where it needs to go; documentation related to the purchase or sale of goods must be properly filed and easily accessible. The inventory coordinator is often in charge of performing a complete inventory of all goods once or twice a year, which is a difficult and time-consuming task. If the company’s inventory is particularly large, the coordinator is likely to be in charge of a team of inventory workers.
The coordinator may collaborate with management to assess inventory flow and make recommendations to improve the flow of goods throughout the organization. He or she may also inspect documentation prepared in connection with any goods that enter or leave the company’s holdings to ensure that it is complete, accurate, and filled with the information needed to analyze profit and loss or other measures. By analyzing performance gaps throughout the inventory process, the coordinator may be in charge of developing more accurate documentation procedures.