Inventory Control Manager

foodpanda, part of the Delivery Hero Group—a leading global local delivery platform operating in around 65 countries—is looking for an Inventory Control Manager based in Karachi, Lahore, or Islamabad. This role is crucial for maintaining inventory integrity, governance, and loss prevention across the country’s QCommerce network. The manager will ensure accurate reconciliation between physical stock, inventory systems, and financial records by implementing robust controls throughout all stages of inventory movement. Working closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Finance teams, the role involves identifying inventory risks, investigating losses, and driving corrective actions to completion. Additionally, the manager will adapt regional inventory control standards for consistent local execution, improving stock accuracy, shrinkage management, and expiry handling.

Key Responsibilities

Inventory Governance & Financial Reconciliation: Develop and enforce inventory policies, standard operating procedures, and approval controls across all owned and third-party logistics (3PL) facilities. Ensure timely and accurate recording of inventory movements in warehouse management systems (WMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and financial records. Lead the reconciliation process between inventory sub-ledger and General Ledger with Finance, resolving discrepancies to support month-end closing. Validate stock adjustments through physical verification, documented reason codes, evidence, and approvals, maintaining clear accountability and audit trails.

Stock Accuracy & Transaction Controls: Oversee the country-wide stocktake and cycle count program, including risk-based scheduling, count integrity, variance investigation, and approved adjustments. Reconcile dispatch and receipt quantities for stock transfers, addressing discrepancies and overdue transfers. Monitor reserved stock and sales buffers, collaborating with Operations to resolve exceptions. Manage supplier returns from authorization through credit-note reconciliation. Conduct site audits and ensure corrective actions address identified control gaps.

Shrinkage, Expiry & Inventory Risk: Analyze shrinkage, expiry, and damage by site, SKU, and root cause, assigning and tracking corrective actions. Investigate unknown losses and challenge unsupported adjustments, write-offs, and loss claims. Verify expiry dates against system records and ensure adherence to first-expiry-first-out (FEFO) processes. Identify near-expiry, high Days-on-Hand (DOH), zero-moving, and slow-moving stock, coordinating clearance, returns, and transfers with Planning, Commercial, and Operations teams. Pursue eligible supplier and 3PL claims before writing off losses. Escalate material inventory risks with clear exposure assessment, recommended actions, owners, and resolution timelines.

Warehouse & 3PL Assurance: Monitor compliance with inventory service level agreements (SLAs), including stock accuracy, reconciliation timelines, adjustment turnaround, and shrinkage targets. Validate 3PL stock records, investigate discrepancies, and challenge loss claims using contractual terms and evidence. Act as the primary escalation point for inventory disputes across Operations, Finance, and 3PL partners. Drive consistent controls across receiving, storage, picking, dispatch, returns, and disposal processes.

Systems & Process Improvement: Define inventory control requirements for system enhancements and lead user acceptance testing, pilot validation, and post-launch reviews. Govern inventory-critical master data such as units of measure, expiry parameters, and FEFO settings, coordinating cost-data validation with Finance. Collaborate with Technology and operational teams to resolve system issues affecting stock integrity. Enhance reporting and automate exception detection, reconciliation, and control monitoring where feasible.

Leadership & Performance Management: Lead cross-functional inventory reviews with clear ownership, deadlines, and evidence of action closure. Provide actionable reporting on losses, stock accuracy, financial exposure, and control compliance to the Country General Manager and regional Inventory Control team. Build inventory control capability through training, coaching, and consistent application of standards.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Finance, or a related discipline. A minimum of five years’ relevant experience in inventory control, warehouse operations, or supply chain auditing within retail, FMCG, e-commerce, or darkstore environments. Strong knowledge of stock reconciliation, financial inventory controls, stocktakes, and 3PL governance. Hands-on experience with WMS/ERP platforms such as SAP and analytical tools like Looker, BigQuery, or equivalents. Proven ability to improve inventory accuracy, reduce unexplained losses, and resolve recurring process gaps. Excellent analytical, investigative, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to challenge discrepancies and drive accountability across teams.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to lead inventory control initiatives within a fast-growing QCommerce environment, directly contributing to operational excellence and financial integrity.