Manager, Inventory Control & Process Improvement

Role Summary The Manager, Inventory Control & Process Improvement is a newly created, highly visible role responsible for the accuracy, control, and health of Blue Nile's inventory. The role owns inventory process improvement and control end to end: inventory counts across all departments, the Fantasy inventory system as Super User, inventory movements for repairs and returns, and the reduction of aged and inactive inventory. The Manager will lead a team of Inventory Coordinators and partner closely with Merchandising, Operations, Planning, Quality Control, Finance, and Technology to ensure inventory decisions are executed with precision and aligned to business strategy. This role owns some of the organization's most complex inventory challenges, particularly where legacy inventory, returns and repairs, quality decisions, financial implications, systems, and operational processes intersect. The Manager is expected not only to resolve existing inventory issues, but to identify root causes and build scalable processes and controls that prevent them from recurring. Direct experience in the jewelry industry is highly valued, including a strong understanding of product lifecycle, manufacturing processes, assortment structures, and the nuances of managing high-value, serialized inventory. Key Responsibilities Inventory Process Improvement & Control Plan, coordinate, and oversee cycle counts and physical inventory counts for all departments; set count schedules and procedures, investigate and reconcile variances, and drive root-cause corrective actions to improve on-hand accuracy. Lead the design, documentation, and continuous improvement of inventory workflows across product intake, processing, movement, and reconciliation, with standardized SOPs and clear ownership at each step. Identify and close inventory-control gaps across the end-to-end product lifecycle, particularly where inventory falls outside standard workflows; design scalable controls, approval rules, and ownership models that prevent recurrence. Serve as the point of contact for other functions on inventory movements (transfers, adjustments, and reclassifications), ensuring every movement is properly authorized, transacted, and reconciled. Maintain audit readiness by ensuring inventory records, adjustments, and supporting documentation meet internal control and financial audit requirements. Fantasy System Ownership (Super User) Serve as the Fantasy Super User and primary business owner for inventory functionality, acting as the first point of escalation for users across the organization. Manage user profiles, roles, and access permissions, maintaining appropriate segregation of duties and periodically reviewing access. Train and onboard new users; build and maintain training materials, SOPs, and job aids so transactions are performed consistently and correctly. Lead the development of new functionality: gather and prioritize business requirements, partner with Technology to translate inventory-control needs into system enhancements and reporting, and own user acceptance testing, rollout, and adoption. Troubleshoot system and transaction issues; triage, resolve, or escalate to Technology, and track recurring issues to permanent fixes. Reverse Logistics, Repairs & Quality Control Coordinate inventory movements for repairs and returns, ensuring every unit is tracked, its status is accurate in the system, and it moves back to sellable stock, to the vendor, or to final disposition without delay. Support Quality Control on inspection outcomes and disposition decisions (restock, repair, rework, return to vendor, or write-off), ensuring each decision is reflected correctly in inventory and financial records. Monitor repair and return cycle times and aging in reverse-logistics locations, and remove bottlenecks in partnership with Customer Service, Operations, and vendors. Aged & Inactive Inventory Reduction Lead the aged and inactive inventory reduction program: identify and qu…

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