Inventory Specialist: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire an inventory specialist?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line. A great inventory specialist hire can help your business:

• Perform cycle count inventory processes for timely execution and accuracy
• Maintain inventory records and establish cycle count inventory categories
• Manage and monitor stock rotation procedures to maintain adequate on-site and warehouse inventory

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance inventory specialist

Inventory control can be a major challenge for companies that sell physical goods as they try to avoid the loss of items or the spoiling of perishables. It’s possible to recruit inventory specialists as freelance consultants to help set up the right policies and procedures to meet this challenge.

Consultants can be valuable for assessing a company’s processes from a fresh perspective, but the ongoing tasks of inventory control will generally require a full-time inventory specialist. Typically, inventory specialists work in stockrooms and warehouses and need to be extensively familiar with the company’s needs, staff and management.

What are the types of inventory specialist?

There are other inventory-focused jobs that work with inventory specialists. These related positions come with different focuses and levels of responsibility.

• Inventory managers: Sometimes called inventory management specialists, inventory managers are responsible for high-level executive decisions about governance policies, security services, records management and other issues relating to inventory. Inventory managers are typically more highly paid and tasked with more responsibility than other kinds of inventory workers.
• Inventory specialists: Inventory specialists, also known as inventory control specialists, are generally in the middle of this hierarchy. The specifics of this position can vary depending on a company’s overall needs and structure. 
• Inventory clerks: Also known as inventory associates, inventory clerks carry out the review and analysis of inventory and put the company’s established procedures into practice. They also come up with ideas for ways to improve those procedures. Clerking can be thought of as an entry-level position. 

Where to find inventory specialists

To find the right inventory specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Keep a candidate database. Even when not currently hiring, it’s useful to keep the resumes of qualified applicants who reach out and to organize their information into a candidate database. This provides a ready list of qualified people who’ve already expressed interest in the company when it comes time to hire.
• Use employee referrals. Inventory and other workers on staff may know inventory specialists who’ve worked at other stores or with other companies. Their recommendations can be invaluable in finding the best hires.
• Leverage the power of networking. Retail conferences are a great place to get leads from colleagues on high-performing workers.
• Post your job online. Try posting your inventory specialist job on Indeed to find and attract quality inventory specialist candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Inventory Specialist

Inventory Specialists are an essential part of a company. It is essential to note which qualifications and skills are vital for hiring a suitable Inventory Specialist.

• High school diploma or GED needed
• Minimum 1+ years’ experience in inventory management or similar field
• Excellent MS office and inventory management software skills
• Strong numeracy and accounting skills
• Good physical stamina to withstand freezing temperatures for small blocks of time
• Good organizational and time-management skills

Writing an inventory specialist job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified inventory specialist candidates. An excellent inventory specialist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your inventory title job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting . These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on inventory specialist jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Inventory
• Logistics
• Cannabis
• Supply chain
• Inventory specialist
• Inventory control
• Inventory control specialist
• Warehouse
• Data entry
• Purchasing

Interviewing inventory specialist candidates

To hire a suitable inventory specialist, take the time to vet candidates and ask detailed interview questions to understand their knowledge and skills. They should be comfortable answering questions regarding: 

• Proficiency in managing warehouse inventory
• Past experience in inventory management, control and daily operation procedures
• How they’ve contributed to the sales and profit goals of a company by actively monitoring and managing inventory 

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of inventory specialist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).