Alliance Inventory Planner

Be part of a growing, successful company in an exciting and challenging field. Border States is 100% employee-owned, which means you’re empowered to make decisions, find solutions and receive rewards for your hard work.

This position will be located in: Fargo, ND

Application Deadline: September 14, 2026

Please note that the position may be filled before or after the listed application deadline. Applications will only be accepted while the posting remains active.

Pay Range:

*Individual compensation is determined based on several factors, including job-related skills and qualifications, education, relevant experience, work location, internal equity considerations, and the overall responsibilities of the position.

Job Summary

The Alliance Inventory Planner is responsible for adherence to the inventory management expectations of a set of key long-term contract “alliance” customers, including inventory turns and on-time delivery. Builds and maintains highly collaborative relationships with key alliance customer contacts and the sales teams that support them. Creates and communicates high-level demand plans for key product families based on analysis of available data and close coordination with customers. Develops a deep understanding of customer operations and plans to provide a tailored customer experience and optimize the balance of inventory service and performance.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Coordinates the development of alliance customer plans for product demand, stocking/replenishment status, and inventory stocking parameters such as reorder point, lead time, and order quantity. 
• Integrates customer demand forecast information into Bthe forecasting process and technical tools.
• Engages alliance customers in joint problem solving for supply chain, demand planning, or material requirements planning challenges.
• Develops and executes inventory management plans to support alliance customer business expansion, capital projects, and new customer implementations.
• Coordinates product needs throughout the life cycle of large customer projects. 
• Collaborates and shares information with other teams that service alliance customer relationships, such as purchasing, pricing, sourcing, project management, and marketing.
• Ensures alliance inventory business and data management processes align with dynamic customer needs and expectations which may include refinement of existing tools and processes or facilitating the design of a new tool and process.
• Monitors alliance contract KPIs, such as on-time delivery and inventory turns to identify trends and ensure that expectations are met or exceeded.
• Presents status and progress on alliance inventory KPIs, capital projects, initiatives to branch leadership, key customer contacts, and executives.
• Facilitates maintenance of alliance customer data, such as consigned inventory, customer part numbers, product standards changes and material transitions.
• Ensures new customer implementations, development of system strategies, and ongoing maintenance and improvement are in accordance with customer contracts and meet stated objectives.

Non-essential Functions

• Assists utility purchasing team in storm response efforts for relevant alliance customer accounts.
• Coordinates and leads frequent inentory meetings with customers, branch leadership, account managers, demand planners, and buyers.
• Participates in vendor and product training.
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervisor or designate.

Qualifications

• 4-year business or technical degree or equivalent in work experience.
• 2+ years of experience in an inventory management, supply chain or demand/supply planning role.
• Experience in wholesale distribution or electrical wholesaling and electrical or natural gas utility products preferred.
• Solid understanding of demand planning and forecasting concepts (trending, seasonality, etc.), inventory management, and stocking parameters such as order points, lead times, and quantities.
• Experience with MS Excel/Access.

Skills and Abilities

• Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication, reading, and analytical skills.
• Ability to effectively lead, plan, organize, and negotiate.
• Excellent customer service skills include being competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged.
  
  
  
   

Physical Requirements

Frequency at which you would carry/lift in a typical day:
Occasionally 0 – 33% Frequently 34 – 66% Continuously: 67 – 100%

• Lift from Waist:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at all
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Not at all
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Lift from Floor:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Frequently
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Frequently
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Ocasionally
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Carried for Distance:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at all
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Not at all
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all

Physical Activity

Frequency at which you would do the following in a typical day:

• Sitting (a continuous period of being seated) - Continuously
• Standing (for sustained periods of time) - Frequently
• Walking (moving about on foot to accomplish tasks) - Frequently
• Bending/stooping (downward and forward) - Occasionally
• Crawling (moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet) - Not at all
• Climbing/Walking Stairs (ascending or descending) - Frequently
• Reaching (extending arms in any direction) - Frequently
• Crouching/squatting (bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine) - Occasionally
• Kneeling (bending legs at knee to come to rest on knee(s)) - Occasionally
• Balancing (maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling) - Occasionally
• Repetitive motion (substantial movement (motions) or the wrists, hands, and/or fingers) - Continuously
• Pivoting (movement in any direction with one foot, keeping the other in contact with the floor) - Occasionally
• Pushing/Pulling (using upper extremities to press against or draw or tug) - Occasionally
• Grasping (Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm) - Continuously
• Fingering (picking, pinching, typing; working with primarily fingers and not whole hand) - Continuously
• Talking (expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word) - Frequently
• Driving (the control and operation of a motor vehicle) - Occasionally
• Desk work (work usually performed at a desk) - Continuously
• Use of a computer - Continuously
• Use of a telephone - Frequently
• Hearing (Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels) - Continuously
• Exposure (to adverse weather & temperature conditions) - Not at all
• Travel (travel needed to perform job duties) - Occasionally

Additional Information

This job description is a summary of the job duties and responsibilities and is not intended to cover all possible job duties and is subject to change at the employer’s discretion. Employees must be able to perform the essential job duties and satisfy job requirements either with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Our History

Border States is a leader in the electrical supply distribution industry with approximately 130 locations in 31 states. Our employee-owners are second to none in delivering top-notch customer service and in demonstrating extra-ordinary people skills. We are one of the largest independent electrical distributors in the United States providing products and services to the construction, industrial and utility industries. Border States has a competitive benefit package and is a 100 percent employee-owned company. Employee-ownership is a significant part of our culture and our success stems from the dedication of our employee-owners. We practice open-book management and our employee-owners are empowered with clearly defined levels of authority to be innovative and decisive, allowing us to respond quickly to the needs of customers. Employee-owners understand their roles in the success of the company and care about customers’ needs, which drives our focus on adding value to everything we do. We recognize that not all customers are the same and each has specific requirements. Our employee-owners understand these diverse needs and have the commitment, resourcefulness and flexibility to outperform all others.

Values
As a Border States employee-owner, you’re responsible for living our mission, service philosophy and service standards.

Our Purpose
We believe unstoppable businesses shouldn't go it alone. We are owners - of relationships, of outcomes, of every moment these unstoppable businesses need to deliver.

Service Philosophy
We earn customer loyalty and confidence by caring about their needs and adding value to everything we do.

Service Standards
Border States employee-owners are competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged .

Your career
Join an experienced team at one of the largest electrical distributors in the United States. What are you waiting for?

Border States has a competitive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

Health, Dental and Vision Benefits
Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity
FSA & HSA
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
Disability Benefits
401(k) Retirement Plan
Life Insurance
Employee Assistance Program
Paid Holidays
Paid Volunteer Time
Personal Leave time and more!
Border States provides bonuses to their employee-owners upon the achievement of branch and company goals.

Equal Opportunity For All

It’s not just the law. It’s something we’ve believed in since our founding. We value the diversity of all of our employee-owners and will always be an equal opportunity employer.

Drug Free/Smoke Free workplace

Employment may be contingent on the offered candidate successfully passing one or more of the following pre-employment screenings:

• Criminal background check (required for all positions)
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) check (required for positions involving driving)
• Drug testing

The MVR check and drug testing vary by role and will be communicated to the offered candidate during the onboarding process and as applicable.