In a typical company with large amounts of inventory, your job as inventory supervisor will consist of planning, organizing and supervising the operation of the program. You will need to keep detailed and accurate records of the inventory, updating it on a daily or weekly basis depending on the nature of the business and the amount of sales it has. This will require working with spreadsheets and data entry, so it is essential to be proficient in using the computer and various types of software for the job. Your records should also detail where specific products can be found in the warehouse to make it easier for workers to find them when there are orders for these products.
The duties of an inventory supervisor also involve planning for the disposal of surplus inventories. If you have large amounts of products that are not moving fast or are no longer in great demand, you need to know how to receive bids for the sale of the product. You may also want to add to your inventory, so you need to have knowledge of how to prepare bids for buying additional products. During this process, you will be involved in the collection or payment of the money and develop a plan for the transportation of the products.
Annual inventory counting is a necessity for the company’s tax returns. As the inventory supervisor for the company, you can take part in this task yourself as well as prepare a schedule for workers to do the inventory. In some companies, inventory counting is carried out on a periodic basis throughout the year. It may be necessary to hire temporary workers to do this task of there are not enough regular employees to take control of counting the inventory in addition to their regular duties.
The job of inventory supervisor is one in which you must have the leadership skills necessary to train and supervise staff. Great interpersonal skills are a necessity for this position in order to develop a good working relationship within the company. In this position, you may often have to deal with customer questions and requests for products, in which case good customer service skills will be beneficial. In all facets of this job, you must be knowledgeable about the various types of inventory the company carries as well as the company policies.
The work environment for this type of job is indoors, but you will need to be able to drive equipment within the setting, such as a forklift, for handling heavy loads. You do need to be physically fit as you will have to lift heavy items. This work environment is often a noisy one. You will need to be aware of and adhere to safety regulations of wearing protective equipment.
