Inventory & K8 ERP Manager

Lumax Energy is looking for an experienced Inventory & K8 ERP Manager to take company-wide ownership of inventory management, K8 support, reporting, analytics, stock planning and loss control across our Midrand and Olifantsfontein operations.

Reporting to the Operations Manager and Group Financial Manager, this is a senior specialist role responsible for protecting and optimising inventory exceeding R50 million, maintaining high stock accuracy, improving replenishment and working-capital control, and acting as the company’s internal K8 ERP subject-matter expert.

Key responsibilities include:

• Own inventory accuracy and control across both warehouses.
• Manage cycle counts, stocktakes, variances, replenishment, safety stock, reorder levels and stock availability.
• Analyse slow-moving, excess, obsolete and aged inventory.
• Work closely with Procurement on forecasting, purchasing and replenishment decisions.
• Challenge or place purchase orders on hold where quantities may create excessive or inappropriate stockholding.
• Lead inventory loss-control activities, including shrinkage, adjustments, scrap, write-offs and suspicious stock movements.
• Investigate material inventory discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
• Maintain inventory accuracy of at least 98%, progressing toward 99%+.
• Act as the company-wide K8 ERP super-user and first-line support resource.
• Support and train users across Sales, Procurement, Warehouse, Inventory, Finance and other operational functions.
• Manage K8 ERP testing, UAT, process improvements, developments and user documentation.
• Own product and inventory master-data quality and governance.
• Develop management dashboards, inventory reports, forecasting models and exception reporting.
• Analyse inventory, purchasing, sales, warehouse and K8 ERP data and provide clear recommendations to management.
• Support inventory valuation, costing, inventory-to-GL reconciliation and financial stock controls.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, strengthen controls and reduce manual work.

Application Note: Applications will only be accepted through the official job advertisement link. Applications submitted via email or other channels will not be considered. No recruitment agencies or third-party recruiters, please.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years’ proven senior inventory management or inventory-control experience.
• Minimum 3 years’ hands-on K8 ERP experience - essential.
• Candidates without meaningful K8 experience will not be considered.
• Proven responsibility for inventory valued at R50 million or more.
• Proven multi-warehouse or multi-site inventory-management experience.
• Experience in a complex, high-volume and SKU-dense inventory environment.
• Strong experience in inventory planning, forecasting, replenishment and working-capital control.
• Proven loss-control, stock-investigation and variance-management experience.
• Strong understanding of stock movements, adjustments, scrap, write-offs and inventory controls.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills - essential, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, SUMIFS, complex formulas, data cleansing, large-data analysis and dashboard development.
• Strong proven background in management reporting and analytics.
• Ability to interpret data, identify trends and risks, and recommend corrective action.
• Proven K8 user-support and training experience.
• Experience with ERP testing, UAT, system improvements and process documentation.
• Strong understanding of product and inventory master-data management.
• Working knowledge of inventory valuation, costing and reconciliation.
• Experience within engineering, automotive, manufacturing, electrical, industrial or technical distribution environments is strongly preferred.
• Strong FMCG inventory-management experience may also be considered.
• Relevant tertiary qualification advantageous but not essential where strong practical experience can be demonstrated.
• Must be analytical, investigative, highly detail-oriented, assertive and comfortable challenging poor inventory or ERP practices.
• Based in Midrand, with regular travel between company sites and availability for stocktakes or ERP activities outside normal working hours when required.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration aligned with experience and capability.
• Senior role with direct exposure to operational and financial leadership.
• Company-wide ownership of inventory management and K8 ERP improvement.
• Opportunity to materially influence stock accuracy, working capital, loss prevention, reporting and business-process improvement.
• Broad exposure across Operations, Finance, Procurement, Warehouse, Sales and other business functions.