Inventory & Supply Chain Lead

Our client, an established mining services business, is growing fast and needs an Inventory & Supply Chain Lead to take charge of their inventory and supply chain, build it up properly, and then run it. Based at their head office in Middelburg, Mpumalanga and reporting to the Managing Director, you would own inventory across 22 sites and around 3,000 SKUs, and lead the buying and stores team.

The business provides total fluid management to the mining and industrial sectors: on-site hose manufacture and repair, lubrication, filtration and condition monitoring, 24/7, 365 days a year. It places fully stocked workshop containers on its customers' sites and keeps them supplied, so a technician always has the part in hand. Customers trust it to keep that stock right so they never have to think about it, which is exactly what this role is here to protect. It is part of a larger, well-established industrial group.

Job purpose

To own inventory accuracy and availability across the branch network, and to lead the buying and stores team that delivers it. Inventory is the priority. Demand planning, the proper use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and well-coordinated logistics are how you keep the right stock in the right place, at the right time and the right cost.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the buying and stores team, set the standard, and own inventory across all 22 sites as the person accountable for it
• Keep stock accurate across the main hub, the branches, the mobile vans and every on-site container: cycle counts, rolling site audits, variance investigation, and system stock reconciled to physical stock
• Keep critical parts available so a technician is never short, and measure, report and reduce shrinkage with proper controls including segregation of duties
• Build and run demand planning at SKU level: forecasting, safety stock, reorder points and ABC analysis, feeding automatic replenishment across the sites
• Drive proper adoption of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central across all sites, design out the manual workarounds, and automate reorder triggers, transfer documents, exception reports and stock alerts. Help select and roll out barcoding to link the sites to Business Central
• Coordinate logistics: the movement of stock hub to site, hub to customer and site to site, including inter-branch transfers and control of stock in transit, along with vehicles, routes, delivery frequency and cost to serve
• Report inventory as a financial asset: value in Rands, stock turn, ageing and dead stock, in numbers finance and the shareholders trust
• Support the wider business on inventory and supply chain queries, and spot and fix what is not working before it becomes a problem

Knowledge and experience

ESSENTIAL

• Inventory management and stock control across multiple sites or a branch network: cycle counts, stock takes, variance investigation and shrinkage control
• Demand planning and forecasting: safety stock, reorder points and ABC analysis at SKU level
• Taking a business from manual or spreadsheet-based processes onto an ERP or WMS, and getting people to actually use it
• Logistics and distribution: inter-branch transfers, stock in transit, route planning, delivery frequency and cost to serve
• Leading a buying and/or stores team
• Reporting inventory as a financial asset: value in Rands, stock turn, ageing and dead stock

DESIRABLE

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, or another Dynamics product
• Mining services, industrial distribution, or another technical parts environment
• Vendor-managed or consignment inventory, where you were accountable for stock held on a customer's site
• Rolling out barcode or mobile capture to a field team

Skills

• People management and team leadership
• Strong Excel and system reporting, with clean master-data discipline
• Analytical, and comfortable with both stock and financial numbers
• A clear communicator across field teams, finance and management
• Organised and structured, able to set process and hold people to it

Experience

• At least 5 years in inventory, supply chain or distribution, with real multi-site or branch-network experience
• At least 2 years leading a team

Education

ESSENTIAL

• Matric (Grade 12), and a strong track record

DESIRABLE

• Diploma or degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics or a related field. This is a plus, not essential. Track record wins

The package is market related and will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

• This search is managed by Stellar Talent on behalf of our client. Only applications from suitably experienced candidates who meet the requirements of this vacancy will be considered.
• To apply, email your updated CV (Word or PDF) to ***email_hidden***, quoting reference STL-ISCL-01 in the subject line.

Please attach any relevant supporting documents, including where applicable:

• Tertiary and secondary qualifications (including Matric)
• Professional memberships, for example SAPICS, if any
• Relevant certificates or training records (for example ERP or Business Central training)
• A valid driver's licence, as this role involves regular travel to sites
• Previous employment references with contactable details
• The package is market related and will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.
• Correspondence will be limited to shortlisted candidates who meet the minimum requirements.
• If you do not receive feedback within three (3) weeks of submitting your application, please consider your application unsuccessful.
• Our client is a Level 4 B-BBEE contributor and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

PLEASE NOTE

Data protection. By submitting your application, you consent to Stellar Talent collecting and processing your personal information for this role, and retaining it in our talent database for up to 24 months to consider you for similar future opportunities. Your profile may be shared with our client for this vacancy and, for the same purpose, future mandates. You have the right to access, correct, object to, or request deletion of your information, and to withdraw consent, at any time by emailing ***email_hidden***. If you would prefer we consider you only for this role and not retain your details afterwards, please note this in your application.

Use of AI. We use AI-assisted tools to help our consultants review applications efficiently against the role's core requirements. These tools support our team but do not replace human judgment. Our consultants decide which candidates are shortlisted, and final hiring decisions are made by the employer.

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