WHAT DOES AN INVENTORY CONTROL ASSOCIATE DO?

Published: Oct 09, 2025 - The Inventory Control Associate maintains accurate inventory records, organizes warehouse space, and ensures timely stocking and distribution of materials. This role supports purchasing activities by verifying orders, reconciling invoices, and coordinating with vendors for quality and cost efficiency. The associate also ensures proper documentation of issued and returned items while facilitating transportation between warehouse locations.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Inventory Control Associate

1. Inventory Control Associate Duties

  • Inventory Allocation: Allocate, assign and pull inventory for the production lines
  • Receiving Operations: Direct and execute receiving and put-away processes and ensure compliance with standard practices
  • Discrepancy Resolution: Evaluate transactions to resolve count discrepancies
  • Product Handling: Identify problems in handling and storage of the product
  • Cycle Counting: Maintain supporting cycle count records
  • Safety Compliance: Maintain a safe, clean and orderly work area
  • Procedure Execution: Execute defined work instructions, procedures, as well as company and safety policies
  • Process Improvement: Provide ideas/insights to refine established procedures to improve inventory accuracy and efficiency, improve quality, or reduce cost
  • Equipment Operation: Operate material handling equipment
  • Policy Support: Support company policies and safety
  • Continuous Improvement: Continually work with management on other optimization ideas and continuous improvements
  • Task Management: Work with management to perform miscellaneous assigned duties

2. Inventory Control Associate Details

  • Customer Service: Deliver outstanding customer service to internal distribution teams and to customers
  • Attention Detail: Maintaining attention to detail and completing assigned work promptly
  • Warehouse Operations: Perform all GWA functions (receiving, order selection, processing, palletizing, lift truck operations and loading of products)
  • Independent Work: Work safely, productively and accurately with minimal supervision
  • Equipment Operation: Safely operate various types of material-handling equipment (i.e., forklift with pacer attachment or electric pallet jack)
  • Product Handling: Complete tasks such as loading, unloading, sorting, staging and transporting product
  • Report Preparation: Prepare complex reports/presentations
  • Procedure Development: Determining methods and procedures for completing tasks
  • Office Support: Providing intermediate-level office support knowledge and skills
  • Information Coordination: Preparing and/or coordinating information for internal and external contacts

3. Inventory Control Associate Responsibilities

  • Inventory Management: Perform counts and ensure all inventory is accounted for and reported according to company policy
  • Stock Control: Maintain adequate inventory levels to meet customer demand
  • Discrepancy Resolution: Investigate and correct discrepancies in reported quantities and locations of all inventory
  • Productivity Analysis: Assess inventory output on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to identify trends in productivity
  • Cycle Counting: Help to ensure cycle counts of product inventories are on track to the quarterly goal
  • Safety Leadership: Lead others in safe work practices, especially when in a distribution center environment
  • Quality Control: Adjust defective/damaged products as discovered
  • Customer Coordination: Coordinate with customer service and investigate any trends regarding customer complaints
  • Product Inspection: Check date-sensitive products for expiration and facilitate the removal or transfer of the product
  • System Testing: Perform process system testing and track performance by area to locate and solve problems in data integrity, productivity, and efficiency

4. Inventory Control Associate Job Summary

  • Inventory Control: Perform inventory control activities encompassing the following: overflow/cycle counts, researching missing product for orders, handling damaged product per company/vendor agreements
  • Product Assistance: Respond to questions from co-workers concerning product location and status
  • Quality Auditing: Conduct audits on packed orders to ensure quality standards are met per Company standards
  • Slotting Operations: Perform slotting and cubiscan activities for Retail Operations
  • Promotional Assembly: Put together special promotional packages and gift bags
  • Sample Tracking: Inventory and track samples for Dotcom orders
  • Area Maintenance: Perform area maintenance per established company standard operating procedures
  • Safety Compliance: Follow all Company, state and OSHA safety rules, policies and regulations to ensure safe working practices, including proper work attire
  • Violation Reporting: Report safety violations and potential safety violations to appropriate supervisory or management personnel
  • Loss Prevention: Comply with all Company Loss Prevention policies and procedures, including proper work attire
  • Attendance Management: Maintain regular and acceptable attendance as set by Sephora
  • Schedule Flexibility: Maintain a flexible work schedule and adhere to the requirement of working any designated shift and overtime per business and operational needs
  • Team Collaboration: Proactively respond to direction from the leadership team, including Shift Coordinators, management staff and other departmental personnel
  • Customer Service: Provide high-quality internal and external customer service per company standards

5. Inventory Control Associate Accountabilities

  • Customer Communication: Communicates clearly with Zone Managers, shop personnel, and management in providing the highest level of customer service
  • Warehouse Organization: Organizes and maintains warehouse space, physical inventory, and inventory records
  • Inventory Management: Works with shop personnel and the Facilities Manager to manage inventory space and dispose of excess inventory and unused items
  • Receiving Operations: Receives, palletizes, and stocks deliveries, ensuring accuracy
  • Order Preparation: Prepares and organizes inventory items for pickup
  • Data Reporting: Provides item count, cost, reorder point, minimum/maximum levels, and other information
  • Record Accuracy: Ensures inventory records are accurate
  • Inventory Adjustment: Ensures issued and returned items are properly recorded and makes inventory adjustments
  • Purchasing Management: Purchasing items ensures purchases are necessary and obtained at the best price and quality
  • Invoice Reconciliation: Properly codes transactions, reconciles invoices with purchase requests, services vendor accounts, and checks vendor lead time
  • Return Processing: Returns damaged or incorrect items, tracks backorders and tracks cost savings
  • Material Transport: Drives truck to warehouse and stone yard locations and may drive a cart for tool and material pick-ups and deliveries