Global Director of Inventory Management

About the Company

Our client is a foremost international manufacturer specializing in thermal management solutions, known for delivering innovative and top-tier products across various industrial and critical mission applications. With a widespread presence globally and a strong reputation for engineering quality, the company is recognized as an industry leader by integrating innovation, operational excellence, and customer-centric values to offer world-class solutions.

The Opportunity

The Global Director of Inventory Management will spearhead the global strategy for inventory and material management, ensuring a resilient, efficient, and cost-effective supply chain that underpins operational excellence and sustainable competitive advantages. This leadership role oversees the creation and enforcement of global standards, manages processes, and leads teams responsible for inventory control, material planning, supplier scheduling, warehouse operations, and freight optimization. The role requires close collaboration with cross-functional departments including Supply Chain, Procurement, Manufacturing, Sales, Engineering, and regional leadership to continually improve inventory performance, material availability, working capital, supplier collaboration, and overall supply chain effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, development, and mentoring to the global Material Management teams, ensuring appropriate capabilities, organisational structure, and adequate resources.
• Implement consistent talent management practices, including performance evaluations, succession planning, and training initiatives.
• Collaborate with regional and site leaders to establish a high-performance global material planning organization.
• Assure the timely availability of materials and services in correct quantities to support operational needs.
• Set and maintain global standards for material planning and supplier scheduling methodologies such as MRP, reorder point planning, and spot purchasing.
• Create processes to balance customer demand, supplier lead times, production schedules, and inventory levels effectively.
• Partner with IT and other stakeholders to enhance planning systems and address limitations in ERP capabilities.
• Manage and maintain planning parameters in ERP systems, including stock levels, reorder points, order quantities, and lead times.
• Ensure accurate maintenance of supplier order books including delivery schedules and quantities.
• Develop and enforce inventory management standards globally, optimizing stock while maintaining service quality.
• Deliver regular inventory performance reports, identify improvement areas, and enforce corrective actions.
• Standardize inventory control, cycle counting, and annual stocktake procedures at corporate level.
• Define best practices for warehouse operations including receiving goods, storage design, inventory transactions, and material handling.
• Oversee supplier delivery performance, providing periodic assessments against agreed benchmarks.
• Identify and escalate risks to material availability that could disrupt customer deliveries or operations.
• Work closely with Procurement to enhance supplier terms covering lead times, order quantities, packaging, delivery schedules, Incoterms, and overall supplier performance.
• Integrate material planning and supplier metrics into supplier evaluation and selection processes.
• Collaborate across Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, Procurement, and Operations to align planning with broader business goals.
• Formulate global freight management standards and champion initiatives aimed at reducing transportation costs and improving service.
• Support freight procurement and develop efficient logistical networks.
• Lead cross-site freight consolidation and logistics network optimization projects.
• Assist manufacturing units in choosing appropriate logistics models and Incoterms.
• Develop, implement, and maintain global procedures, operating standards, work instructions, and reporting frameworks.
• Ensure uniform execution of material management processes throughout all locations.
• Drive continuous improvements to boost planning accuracy, operational efficiency, inventory performance, and supplier engagement.
• Provide insightful management reports to aid strategic decisions and enhance global operations communication.

Candidate Profile

• Extensive leadership experience in global supply chain, material management, or planning within complex manufacturing settings.
• Deep knowledge in material planning, inventory control, supplier scheduling, and ERP planning systems.
• Proven track record managing international teams and standardizing processes across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Experience collaborating with Procurement, Manufacturing, Logistics, Engineering, and Sales functions.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in using KPIs and data analytics to initiate operational enhancements.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and influence capabilities.
• A mindset oriented towards continuous improvement and experience leading transformational changes globally.