Senior Director, Inventory Strategy & Transformation

Senior Director, Inventory Strategy & Transformation (Path to IP&R Leadership)

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Inventory Strategy & Transformation is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving critical inventory initiatives and shaping the future of inventory planning and replenishment. This role is designed as a strategic-to-operational leadership path within a reasonable timeframe.

This leader will partner across Merchandising, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Finance, Suppliers and our Independent Owners to solve complex inventory challenges, improve in-stock and fill rate performance and optimize working capital. The role combines strategic problem-solving with hands-on execution and is ideal for a proven inventory leader looking to broaden enterprise impact before assuming full ownership of an operational IP&R role.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Initiatives & Business Impact

• Lead a focused portfolio of high-priority inventory initiatives tied directly to sales, service, and working capital outcomes
• Diagnose root causes of in-stock gaps, excess inventory, and network inefficiencies, and translate insights into actionable solutions
• Drive measurable improvements in key metrics such as in-stock %, fill rate, inventory turns, and excess/obsolete inventory
• Partner cross-functionally to align priorities and execute against enterprise inventory goals
• Address long-tail SKU challenges, intermittent demand patterns, and supplier variability

Supplier & Flow Strategy

• Partner with Merchandising and Supply Chain to improve supplier performance, including fill rate and lead time reliability
• Develop mitigation strategies for supplier constraints, including buffer stock, forward buys, and alternative sourcing approaches
• Align inventory strategies with flow optimization and replenishment cadence

Analytics, Systems & Capability Development

• Leverage advanced analytics to identify opportunities and improve inventory decision-making
• Establish reporting frameworks and diagnostics to monitor inventory health and performance
• Standardize processes and improve data integrity across inventory planning and replenishment

Leadership Path to IP&R Ownership

• Gain deep understanding of current IP&R processes, systems, and team structure with the goal of leading portions of the business in future state

Qualifications

Required

• 12-15+ years of experience in inventory planning, replenishment, or supply chain within a complex retail or distribution environment
• Proven track record of owning inventory KPIs such as in-stock %, fill rate, inventory turns, and working capital
• Experience operating within a high-SKU, multi-echelon environment
• Strong analytical and financial acumen with ability to translate data into business decisions
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders
• Experience managing teams and driving operational execution
• Experience working with advanced planning systems transformations
• MBA or advanced degree highly preferred

Leadership Profile

• Proven inventory operator with strong strategic thinking capability
• Data-driven and action-oriented; able to move from insight to execution quickly
• Comfortable navigating complexity and making trade-off decisions under pressure
• Strong collaborator who can influence Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Operations
• Change leader with the ability to drive transformation while delivering near-term results

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GPC conducts its business without regard to sex, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, military status, status as a veteran, or any other protected characteristic. GPC's policy is to recruit, hire, train, promote, assign, transfer and terminate employees based on their own ability, achievement, experience and conduct and other legitimate business reasons.