Inventory Planning Supervisor

Come Join an Inclusive Team

Supply Chain is a customer-focused Center of Excellence providing industry-leading service while delivering differential value to the business, today and into the future. As a member of the Polymers Supply Chain team, this contributing through others role is responsible for leading and motivating a team of Inventory Planners to deliver consistent, effective, and compliant inventory planning execution.

The Polymers Inventory Planning Supervisor provides day-to-day operational leadership to the Inventory Planning team, ensuring adherence to inventory policies and disciplined execution of planning activities. The role is accountable for driving operational consistency, coordinating resolution of execution issues, and leading inventory-related projects and process improvements in support of service, cost, and working capital objectives.

This position reports to the Manager, Polymers Inventory Planning and is located at LYB’s North American Headquarters in Houston.

A Day in the Life

Team Leadership & Execution

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Inventory Planners to achieve best-in-class inventory planning performance across assigned RDCs and packaging types.
• Communicate clear expectations, goals, and priorities; provide routine feedback and performance coaching to support individual development and accountability.
• Balance workloads across the team to ensure adequate coverage, responsiveness, and continuity of operations.
• Foster a positive team culture that emphasizes ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and adherence to standard work.

Inventory Planning & Operations

• Ensure consistent execution of inventory planning activities in accordance with established inventory policies, targets, and planning guidance.
• Monitor inventory health metrics such as service level, inventory turns, inventory aging, and slow-moving or at-risk inventory; coordinate corrective actions as needed.
• Act as the first level of escalation for inventory execution issues, working cross functionally to resolve service risks or inventory imbalances.
• Support compliance with internal controls, audit requirements, and established business rules.

ISTO Ownership & Material Flow Coordination

• Provide day-to-day leadership for ISTO execution within Inventory Planning, with ISTO ownership distributed across Inventory Planners based on RDC responsibility.
• Coordinate with Logistics, Operations Planning, Customer Fulfillment, regional HUB teams, and RDC partners to align transfer priorities, timing, and execution.
• Proactively identify ISTO constraints or risks and lead resolution efforts to minimize service and cost impacts.

Cross Functional Coordination

• Act as a key liaison with Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Logistics, Operations Planning, and Quality to support inventory planning activities.
• Lead or facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action for service or quality incidents, including Wrong Product Shipped.
• Communicate inventory-related risks, trends, and issue resolution status to stakeholders and management in a clear, concise manner.

Project & Continuous Improvement Leadership

• Lead inventory planning–related projects and initiatives, including process improvements, system enhancements, and changes in scope or responsibility.
• Coordinate cross-functional project teams to ensure alignment on objectives, timelines, and deliverables.
• Support system and automation improvements related to SAP, reporting, and inventory planning tools; promote adoption of new processes or technology within the team.
• Identify opportunities to standardize work, improve efficiency, and reduce rework across inventory planning activities.

Performance Management & Metrics

• Monitor key performance indicators and team-level metrics; drive actions to meet or exceed defined targets.
• Provide analytical support and insight related to inventory performance, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support preparation of data and analysis for management reviews and leadership discussions as required.

You Bring This Value

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, either through direct people leadership or leading cross-functional projects and initiatives.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to communicate clearly in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Demonstrated ability to make timely decisions, prioritize effectively, and coordinate issue resolution with immediate business impact.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ERP systems such as SAP.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; will consider candidates with a High School Diploma and at least 10-12 years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
• Experience with inventory planning, material flows, and regional distribution center operations.
• Demonstrated project leadership and continuous improvement experience (process improvement, change management, system enhancements).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into action.
• Experience working cross-functionally in an operations-focused environment.

Competencies