Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cargo Inventory Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

The Cargo Inventory Analyst is responsible for ensuring accurate, auditable, and optimized inventory levels across warehouses and freight networks. This role focuses on inventory reconciliation, cycle counts, variance investigation, process improvement and cross-functional coordination with operations, carriers, procurement, and finance. The ideal candidate combines strong logistics domain knowledge with analytical skills (Excel, SQL, BI tools) and hands-on experience with WMS/ERP systems (e.g., Manhattan, Oracle WMS, SAP) to maintain inventory integrity and drive continuous improvement in cargo handling, reporting, and cost control.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Inventory Coordinator or Inventory Control Specialist
Logistics Coordinator or Freight Operations Associate
Warehouse Analyst or Shipping/Receiving Clerk

Advancement To:

Senior Inventory Analyst / Inventory Control Manager
Supply Chain Analyst or Logistics Manager
Inventory Systems Manager or WMS Administrator

Lateral Moves:

Demand Planner
Procurement Analyst
Quality Assurance or Compliance Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end-to-end inventory reconciliation for cargo and freight shipments across multiple warehouses and cross-dock facilities, investigating variances and driving corrective action plans to improve accuracy.
Design, execute and own regular cycle counting programs (daily, weekly, monthly) to ensure SKU-level inventory accuracy and to reduce shrinkage and mispicks in alignment with corporate audit standards.
Analyze inventory movement and transaction data using Excel, SQL and BI tools (Power BI / Tableau) to identify trends, root causes of discrepancies, and opportunities for cost and process improvements.
Maintain and configure inventory master data in ERP/WMS systems (SAP MM, Oracle, Manhattan, Blue Yonder), including SKU attributes, location controls, lot and serial number tracking, and safety stock parameters.
Prepare and deliver clear, actionable inventory performance reports and KPIs (inventory accuracy, days of inventory, shrinkage rate, fill rate, cycle count compliance) to stakeholders including Operations, Finance and Procurement.
Coordinate physical inventory events and annual audits, including pre-count planning, reconciliation, adjustments, documentation and post-audit remediation to satisfy SOX/compliance requirements.
Partner with warehouse operations, carriers and freight forwarders to reconcile inbound/outbound discrepancies, short-ships, overages, and damaged cargo claims and to drive resolution within SLA.
Implement and enforce inventory control policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and best practices such as first-expiry-first-out (FEFO) and first-in-first-out (FIFO) to minimize obsolescence and financial exposure.
Validate and audit system receipts, transfers, putaway and picking transactions to ensure that WMS and ERP records reflect physical inventory on the dock and in storage locations.
Lead root cause analysis (RCA) on recurring inventory issues, document findings, and lead cross-functional improvement projects leveraging Lean / Six Sigma methodologies when applicable.
Reconcile and investigate mismatches between carrier manifests, bills of lading and warehouse receipts for freight shipments, ensuring proper documentation for claims and financial adjustments.
Monitor returns, quarantine and disposition workflows for damaged or non-conforming cargo, coordinating with Quality, Claims and Procurement to minimize inventory inaccuracies.
Drive cycle count strategy optimization by SKU velocity, location, and risk, and tune count frequency to maximize audit coverage while minimizing operational disruption.
Manage system-driven inventory adjustments and manual journal entries in collaboration with Finance, ensuring accurate GL impact and audit trails for month-end close.
Support onboarding and configuration of new SKUs, vendors and business units into WMS/ERP inventory models, including establishing unit of measure, packaging hierarchies and palletization standards.
Create and maintain documentation including inventory control matrices, count procedures, reconciliation templates, and knowledge base articles for training and audit readiness.
Communicate inventory performance and exception trends to leadership and key stakeholders, and translate analytics into prioritized action plans with measurable outcomes.
Collaborate with procurement and demand planning teams to provide supply visibility and recommendations for replenishment, safety stock levels and order cycles for high-risk SKUs.
Lead vendor investigations and supplier audits when cargo discrepancies indicate upstream receiving or documentation issues, and track supplier performance metrics.
Configure and monitor cycle count alerts, negative inventory events, and system overrides in WMS/ERP to proactively detect and prevent inventory integrity issues.
Support claims management by compiling evidence packages (photos, timestamps, manifests, transaction logs) and coordinating with carriers to resolve freight disputes and obtain recoveries.
Execute ad-hoc inventory analysis for mergers, site consolidations, seasonal surges, and new facility activations to ensure accurate starting balances and transition plans.
Train warehouse teams, seasonal staff and third-party logistics (3PL) partners on inventory control standards, cycle count procedures and proper transaction handling in the WMS.
Participate in system upgrades, integrations and testing (UAT) related to inventory modules, validating transactional integrity end-to-end and documenting test cases and results.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist with cross-functional projects including warehouse rationalization, SKU rationalization and transportation optimization.
Provide subject-matter expertise for compliance activities such as customs inventories, hazardous material handling records and regulatory audits.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, Power Query) for deep inventory analysis and ad-hoc reconciliation.
SQL query writing for extracting, joining and aggregating inventory and transaction data from WMS/ERP databases.
Experience with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) such as Manhattan, Blue Yonder (JDA), Oracle WMS, or high-volume bespoke systems.
Proficiency with ERP inventory modules (SAP MM/WM, Oracle Inventory) including transaction flows, adjustments and master data governance.
Familiarity with business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau) to build dashboards, KPI reports and visual analytics for stakeholders.
Strong understanding of inventory accounting concepts (FIFO, LIFO, average cost), GL impacts, and month-end reconciliation processes.
Cycle counting methodology design and hands-on execution across multi-site warehouse networks.
Experience with freight documentation (bills of lading, manifests), carrier reconciliation and claims processing.
Knowledge of logistics operations, warehouse layout, slotting, putaway/pick strategies and SKU velocity analysis.
Data validation, ETL basics and experience collaborating with data engineering teams to automate inventory reporting.
Experience with audit procedures, SOX controls and maintaining compliant inventory records and audit trails.
Familiarity with regulatory requirements around hazardous materials (HAZMAT), perishable goods and customs inventory.
Project management skills for leading inventory improvement initiatives and system implementations.
Experience working with 3PL partners and managing inventory in multi-party logistics environments.

Soft Skills

Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate complex data into actionable recommendations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional stakeholder management (operations, finance, procurement, carriers).
Attention to detail and a methodical approach to investigative work and reconciliations.
Problem-solving and root-cause analysis capability with a continuous improvement mindset.
Ability to prioritize competing tasks in a fast-paced logistics environment and meet tight month-end deadlines.
Collaboration and influencing skills to implement process change across warehouse and carrier partners.
Adaptability to shifting business needs, seasonal peaks and system/process upgrades.
Integrity and ethical decision-making in handling inventory valuation and financial adjustments.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate degree in Logistics, Supply Chain, Business Administration or equivalent experience (high school diploma plus relevant logistics experience accepted).

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business, Industrial Engineering, Finance or related field.
Relevant certifications (APICS CPIM / CSCP, ISM, Lean Six Sigma Yellow/Green Belt) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Logistics and Transportation
Business Administration / Finance
Industrial Engineering
Data Analytics / Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2 - 5 years of inventory control, warehouse operations or logistics analytics experience.

Preferred: 3 - 7 years managing inventory processes within multi-site warehouse networks, 3PL environments or freight forwarding operations, with demonstrated experience using WMS and ERP systems and producing inventory reconciliations and KPI reporting.

Certifications and professional development in inventory management, supply chain analytics and process improvement will be considered advantageous.