Inventory Control Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary

The Inventory Control Specialist is a part-time retail team member with specialized responsibility for inventory accuracy, purchasing, product performance, and product knowledge.

This position combines hands-on store responsibilities with inventory analysis, cycle counting, ordering, product trend evaluation, new product selection, and team education. The Inventory Control Specialist will also regularly assist customers, operate the register, and perform opening and closing responsibilities.

The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between analytical inventory work and day-to-day retail operations.

This position averages 10–15 hours per week and requires a combination of weekday and weekend availability.

Typical scheduling expectations include:

• 2–3 weekdays (opening or closing shift) per week
• 1–2 weekend days per week
• Availability for opening and closing shifts
• Availability during designated ordering, inventory counting, receiving, or training periods as needed

• Monitor inventory levels, sales velocity, reorder points, safety stock, and other inventory metrics.
• Identify overstocked, understocked, slow-moving, and out-of-stock products.
• Perform regular cycle counts and investigate inventory discrepancies.
• Help maintain accurate inventory quantities within Shopify and other inventory management systems.
• Identify inventory trends and recommend adjustments to ordering levels.
• Monitor products approaching expiration and develop plans to sell through inventory before expiration.
• Identify slow-moving and dead inventory and maintain a consistent markdown and clearance strategy.
• Track inventory shrink, damages, expired products, and other inventory adjustments.
• Recommend changes to shelf capacity, reorder points, case quantities, and stocking levels when appropriate.

• Review inventory needs and create regular vendor orders.
• Consider current inventory, sales trends, seasonality, upcoming promotions, supplier requirements, and case quantities when creating orders.
• Help prevent both unnecessary overstock and avoidable out-of-stocks.
• Review vendor minimums, promotions, discontinued products, and product availability when placing orders.
• Communicate ordering concerns, unusual inventory needs, or significant purchasing recommendations to management.

• Monitor sales trends by product, category, brand, and season.
• Identify products or categories that are growing or declining.
• Research emerging products and trends within the pet industry.
• Evaluate potential new products and make recommendations for additions to the store.
• Identify products that may need to be discontinued or replaced.
• Work with management to maintain a balanced and productive product assortment.
• Help evaluate the performance of newly introduced products.

• Develop strong knowledge of the products and brands carried by the store.
• Understand key product features, benefits, ingredients, use cases, and differences between comparable products.
• Serve as a product resource for customers and other team members.
• Assist with product education during new employee onboarding.
• Help provide ongoing product training for existing team members.
• Share information about new products, discontinued products, product changes, and important vendor updates.
• Help create simple product reference materials or training resources when needed.

• Provide friendly, knowledgeable customer service.
• Help customers select appropriate food, treats, supplements, toys, and other products based on their needs.
• Use product knowledge to make thoughtful recommendations and explain differences between products.
• Operate the point-of-sale system and accurately process purchases, returns, discounts, and other transactions.
• Assist with stocking, merchandising, cleaning, and general store upkeep.
• Help maintain a welcoming, organized, and well-stocked sales floor.
• Support other team members during busy periods and prioritize customer needs when working on inventory-related tasks.

• Complete assigned opening and closing procedures.
• Prepare the store for business at opening and ensure the store is properly secured at closing.
• Complete register and cash-handling procedures as assigned.
• Perform required opening or closing cleaning and recovery tasks.
• Ensure products, displays, and customer areas are organized and ready for the next business day.
• Follow store security, cash-handling, and operational procedures.

• Help ensure inventory is organized, properly rotated, and easy for staff to locate.
• Follow FIFO or other appropriate product rotation practices for dated products.
• Identify merchandising opportunities for slow-moving, seasonal, or promotional inventory.
• Work with management and store staff to implement markdowns, clearance strategies, and product transitions.
• Assist with maintaining organized backstock and storage areas.

A successful Inventory Control Specialist will help the store:

• Maintain accurate inventory.
• Reduce out-of-stocks.
• Reduce unnecessary overstock.
• Reduce expired and unsellable inventory.
• Improve inventory turnover.
• Identify slow or dead inventory earlier.
• Make better purchasing decisions.
• Identify promising new products and trends.
• Maintain a strong and relevant product assortment.
• Improve product knowledge across the team.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Reliably support daily store operations, including opening and closing shifts.

The ideal candidate:

• Is highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Is comfortable working with numbers, spreadsheets, reports, and inventory data.
• Can identify patterns and make thoughtful recommendations based on sales and inventory information.
• Has strong follow-through and can work independently.
• Is comfortable making purchasing and product recommendations.
• Has an interest in pet nutrition, pet products, and the pet industry.
• Enjoys learning about products and sharing that knowledge with customers and coworkers.
• Provides strong customer service and communicates clearly.
• Is comfortable operating a register and handling normal retail transactions.
• Can be trusted with opening, closing, and other store operational responsibilities.
• Can balance analytical work with customer-facing retail responsibilities.
• Is comfortable using Shopify, Google Sheets, or similar business systems.

Previous retail, inventory, purchasing, merchandising, or pet industry experience is helpful but not required for the right candidate.

This position may require:

• Standing and walking for extended portions of a shift.
• Reaching, bending, and working with products on shelving.
• Moving boxes and merchandise.
• Lifting products or cases consistent with normal retail inventory responsibilities.

The Inventory Control Specialist reports to store management and works closely with the management team and other store employees to maintain inventory accuracy, product availability, strong product knowledge, and excellent customer service.

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