What Does an Inventory Control Analyst Do, And How Can You Become One?

Organizations rely on inventory management to ensure they have enough goods and services. With proper inventory management, they can avoid costly overstock or lacking adequate supply to meet demand. Many organizations have teams responsible for analyzing inventory needs and adjusting orders and production to ensure they meet their goals. Among these teams is the inventory control analyst, who plays an instrumental role in ensuring an organization orders and uses inventory efficiently. 

Learn more about the inventory control analyst role, salary, and qualifications, and determine if this is a position you’d enjoy. 

What is an inventory control analyst? 

Inventory control analysts help an organization manage inventory purchasing, resource allocation, and sales forecasting to maximize production. You’ll also manage inventory items, control daily operations, and implement your organization’s inventory control protocol. You’ll also likely take part in maintaining and improving the company’s inventory using statistical analysis, assessing which products sell, placing inventory orders, tracking shipments, and directing all arriving inventory to the appropriate departments. 

Inventory control analysts work across a broad range of industries, including retail, wholesale, distribution, and manufacturing. You may also find employment with the federal government.

Inventory control analyst responsibilities and tasks

Inventory control managers have a robust list of duties. Some of these can be more hands-on tasks, such as setting up pickups and shipments, handling inventory counts, placing orders, checking raw materials, and documenting shipments. However, you may also handle more business-oriented tasks like creating new and more efficient procedures, collaborating with teammates to solve problems, compiling and analyzing data, or hiring and training new staff. 

What tools do inventory control analysts use?

As an inventory control analyst, you may use various tools to automate your processes, which can help you and your employer save time and money and avoid mistakes. Those tools will vary, but a few typical ones include:  

• Extensiv Order Manager: This tool synchronizes inventory data and analysis across sales channels, warehouses, point-of-sale systems, and more and includes automation for tracking and reporting. It can help reduce costs, stop dead stock, and balance inventory turnover. Extensiv also analyzes real-time data so the company can schedule sales orders for raw materials, helping prevent backorders and stockouts. 

• SkuVault: This tool connects a business’s channels, organizes warehouses, and manages inventory through integrations and workflows. It helps ensure the company never runs out of products to sell. 

• Inventory Planner: This tool helps with inventory control and demand forecasting. It also features automatic replenishment recommendations. Organizations can use current data from inventory analytics to forecast inventory challenges. 

Required qualifications for an inventory control analyst

The path you take towards becoming an inventory control analyst and the necessary qualifications will vary by employer. However, you will need some education and experience, and focusing on honing specific workplace and technical skills can prove valuable when job searching.  

Education

Businesses typically look for inventory control analyst candidates who have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field, such as accounting, supply chain management, or business. However, 8 percent of people who landed inventory control analyst roles only have a high school diploma, and 20.9 percent have an associate degree, according to Zippia [1]. 

Related certifications can also help you gain the skills and knowledge required for the job, and they may appeal to some employers, but they are typically optional. The  American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) offers many valuable certifications, including: 

• Certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM)

• Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)

• Certified in Logistics, Transportation, and Distribution (CLTD)

• Certified in Transformation for Supply Chain (CTSC)

Experience

To work as an inventory control analyst, you’ll typically need experience in inventory management. You can gain from several entry-level roles, such as working as a stocker at a retail store or other related warehouse positions. After a couple of years, you may be ready to move into an inventory control analyst role.  

Read more: How to Get a Job with No Experience: A Job Seeker’s Guide

Skills

As an inventory control analyst, you’ll need a collection of related skills to be successful. These skills include a mix of workplace and technical skills. Check out some of the essential skills required in more detail below:

• Supply chain management: You’ll monitor and report on the supply chain as an inventory control analyst. This network of people and organizations is pivotal in producing and delivering a business's products to consumers. You’ll help ensure it operates effectively and make recommendations to improve its efficiency.

• Data entry: You’ll primarily use the company’s inventory management software to input inventory, make orders, and more. Because you'll work with lots of data, you'll need strong data entry skills, meaning the ability to accurately transcribe data into a management system for tracking and analysis. 

• Inventory control: This skill encompasses a broad range of tasks, such as cycle counting, setting up and managing inventory control protocols, managing inventory levels for product sales, developing inventory process improvements, and presenting them to stakeholders. You'll also identify inventory shortages and their root causes, and more. 

• Analytical and data analysis skills: You’ll spend a lot of time analyzing inventory strategies and procedures. Doing so can help you find ways to cut costs, make informed decisions, and improve the efficiency of your supply chain. 

• Material requirements planning (MRP): MRP is the control system that organizations use to plan and manage manufacturing activities, ensuring that all the components needed to manufacture a product are available at the lowest possible cost. This system can also be used in inventory control, giving a business increased agility. 

Salary and job outlook for an inventory control analyst 

According to Glassdoor, the average base salary for an inventory control analyst in the US is $58,169 [2]. Keep in mind that this is only an average, and your salary could vary by years of experience, education level, certifications, location, the company you work for, and other factors.

The career of an inventory control analyst is similar to that of a logistician. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that it will grow by 18 percent from 2022 through 2032, which is significantly faster than the growth rate of many other occupations in the US [3].   

Related jobs

If you're interested in working with inventory but unsure about working as an inventory control analyst, you might consider a similar job in the field. Explore some related careers, including their key responsibilities and average salaries.  

1. Logistician

Average annual salary (US): $75,438 [4]

A logistician, or logistics analyst, oversees a product’s entire lifecycle from initial purchase through final resource clearance. In this role, you will enhance your employer's performance by uncovering and rectifying inefficiencies that can detract from profits. 

2. Management analyst

Average annual salary (US): $91,665 [5]

A management analyst conducts and prepares operations and procedures manuals that help an organization’s management operate more efficiently. You will perform organizational studies and evaluations, collect information to solve problems, analyze data, and make recommendations. 

Read more: What Is a Management Analyst and How Do I Become One?

3. Material recording clerk

Average annual salary (US): $46,824 [6]

The material recording clerk helps keep businesses and supply chains on schedule by tracking and maintaining records of products. Some of your duties include keeping records of shipped, received, and transferred items; creating reports on inventory and production changes; and looking for damages or defects in items.

4. Purchasing manager

Average annual salary (US): $80,798 [7]

As a purchasing manager, you would buy goods and services for your company and secure the best possible deals for your employer. To aid in this goal, you'll study sales and inventory records, search for foreign and domestic suppliers, and remain current with any recent changes affecting product and material supply and demand.

Possible career paths for an inventory control analyst

After spending some time and gaining success in an inventory control specialist role, you may be ready to move on to senior or more specialized jobs. Some common next steps after inventory control analyst positions include:

• Buyer

• Inventory analyst

• Production planner

• Team leader

• Operation supervisor

• Supply chain analyst

Following time and success at one or several of those positions, you may be ready to take your career even further into the following roles:

• Senior buyer

• Office manager

• Purchasing manager

• Accounting manager

• Plant controller

• Distribution center manager

• Global supply chain manager

Get started on Coursera

As an inventory control analyst, you’ll be on the front line, ensuring a company’s assets are in order and correctly stocked. You’ll also play a role in finding new and more effective ways to manage inventory that can help your organization’s bottom line. 

Continue exploring the world of inventory management and this vital role with the University of California, Irvine’s Inventory Management course, or Rutgers’ Inventory Analytics. These are just two of many options you’ll find on Coursera. Upon completing either program, gain a shareable Professional Certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.