Inventory Manager

Inventory Manager - Hyderabad

Industry: Defense Manufacturing

Location: Hyderabad

Department: Stores / Supply Chain

Position Summary
The Inventory Manager will be responsible for managing the complete stores and warehouse function for a defense manufacturing organization, ensuring the safe, secure, accurate, and timely receipt, storage, preservation, and issue of materials, components, tools, and finished goods.
The role requires strong experience in inventory control, warehouse operations, ERP systems, documentation, audit compliance, and coordination with Procurement, Production, Quality, Finance, and Supply Chain teams. Experience in a defence, aerospace, engineering, or other highly regulated manufacturing environment will be preferred.
Key Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day operations of the stores, warehouse, receiving, material handling, and dispatch functions.
• Ensure proper receipt and verification of incoming materials against purchase orders, delivery documents, specifications, and inspection requirements.
• Maintain accurate inventory records for raw materials, bought-out components, consumables, tools, spares, WIP, and finished goods.
• Ensure proper identification, tagging, traceability, segregation, storage, preservation, and issue of materials.
• Establish and maintain appropriate controls for critical, sensitive, high-value, and controlled materials.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance/Quality Control for incoming inspection, acceptance, rejection, quarantine, and release of materials.
• Ensure materials are issued to production strictly against authorized documents/requisitions and according to defined FIFO/FEFO or other applicable controls.
• Monitor stock levels, minimum/maximum levels, safety stock, slow-moving and non-moving inventory.
• Conduct periodic cycle counts and physical stock verification and investigate discrepancies.
• Maintain proper records for material movements, stock adjustments, shortages, excesses, damages, and obsolete materials.
• Ensure compliance with company procedures, customer requirements, statutory requirements, security procedures, and applicable defense-sector regulations.
• Maintain complete documentation and traceability for materials throughout their lifecycle.
• Coordinate with Procurement and Planning teams to ensure timely availability of materials for production schedules.
• Coordinate with Finance for inventory reconciliation, valuation, GRN-related issues, and audit requirements.
• Ensure proper storage conditions, housekeeping, 5S, fire safety, pest control, and material preservation.
• Supervise stores personnel, allocate work, establish SOPs, train employees, and monitor performance.
• Manage inward and outward logistics, packing, documentation, and dispatch activities.
• Support internal, customer, quality, and statutory audits and ensure timely closure of audit observations.
• Develop and monitor KPIs such as inventory accuracy, stock variance, material availability, GRN turnaround time, picking/issue accuracy, ageing inventory, and warehouse productivity.
• Identify opportunities for inventory reduction, process improvement, digitization, and cost optimization.

Defense-Manufacturing Specific Responsibilities

• Maintain strict material traceability and documentation for defense-related components and assemblies.
• Ensure controlled access to stores and adherence to physical security requirements.
• Maintain segregation of accepted, rejected, under-inspection, returned, and customer-supplied materials.
• Ensure appropriate handling and documentation of confidential, sensitive, proprietary, or customer-controlled items, where applicable.
• Maintain records required for customer inspections, regulatory requirements, quality systems, and contractual obligations.
• Ensure preservation and traceability of components where batch/lot/serial-number control is required.
• Coordinate with Security, Quality, Production, and authorized personnel for movement of controlled materials.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree/Diploma in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Materials Management, Mechanical/Production Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Typically 8 - 12 years of relevant experience, including 35 years in a managerial/supervisory stores or warehouse role.
• Experience in defense, aerospace, automotive, precision engineering, electronics, or other regulated manufacturing industries preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent.

Required Skills

• Inventory and warehouse management
• Material planning and control
• ERP/WMS operations
• GRN, material issue, stock transfer, and inventory reconciliation
• Batch/lot/serial-number traceability
• Cycle counting and physical inventory
• Documentation and audit management
• Team leadership and manpower planning
• 5S and warehouse process improvement
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Good knowledge of MS Excel and reporting
• Strong communication and cross-functional coordination

Reporting
Reports to: Head - Supply Chain