Head, Retail Inventory, Category & Merchandising

Afri-9 Group / Services Afri 9in Ltd

The Opportunity

• Afri-9 Group is seeking an experienced retail inventory professional to build a disciplined, data-driven system for product variety, stock availability, replenishment, category performance and merchandising across its supermarket, Village Market and related consumer-goods operations.
• The successful candidate will ensure that the business holds the right products, brands, pack sizes and quantities while reducing stockouts, overstocking, expiry, shrinkage and cash trapped in slow-moving inventory.

Job Summary

This is a commercial inventory leadership role — not merely a storekeeping position.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and maintain the supermarket SKU master, category structure and product-assortment plan.
• Identify missing categories, brands, pack sizes and price levels based on customer demand and sales evidence.
• Set minimum stock, maximum stock, reorder points, safety stock and supplier lead-time controls.
• Lead cycle counts, physical stock counts, variance investigation and stock-record correction.
• Classify fast-, medium-, slow- and non-moving products; control damage, expiry and dead stock.
• Improve shelf availability, product placement, planograms, pricing labels and merchandising discipline.
• Produce daily, weekly and monthly inventory, availability, category and gross-profit reports.
• Train and supervise inventory, store, warehouse, shelf and merchandising personnel.

Role Purpose

• To establish and lead a reliable retail inventory, assortment, replenishment and merchandising system that ensures the right products are available in the right quantities, locations, conditions and price positions — while protecting cash flow, gross profit, stock integrity and customer confidence.

Business Context

• Afri-9 Group currently operates in Oil and Gas, Hospitality, and Consumer Goods Retail and Wholesale.
• This role is principally responsible for the Supermarket, Village Market and related consumer-goods operations, while supporting stock discipline and assortment planning across other approved retail and wholesale channels where required.

Required Outcomes

Accurate Stock:

• System and physical stock records reconcile, with variances identified, investigated and closed.

Right Assortment:

• The supermarket carries a commercially appropriate range of categories, brands, sizes and price points.

High Availability:

• Priority fast-moving products remain available without excessive overstock.

Healthy Working Capital:

• Cash is not unnecessarily trapped in slow-moving, duplicate or dead inventory.

Strong Merchandising:

• Shelves are organised, priced, replenished and presented to support customer choice and sales.

Management Visibility:

• Management receives timely, reliable inventory, category and profitability intelligence.

Authority and Boundaries

• May recommend product additions, reductions, substitutions, reorder levels, supplier schedules, shelf layouts and inventory controls.
• May stop or quarantine damaged, expired, unsafe, unrecorded or suspicious stock pending authorised review.
• May not independently select a supplier, approve a purchase, receive goods, alter stock records and reconcile the same transaction without documented independent checks.
• May not override approved prices, credit terms, procurement authority or financial controls.
• Must declare supplier relationships, gifts, commissions, rebates, conflicts of interest or personal benefits.

Operating Doctrine

• Right product. Right quantity. Right place. Right time. Right record. Right margin.
• The role operates under Publication ENIL-000. No inventory decision is complete until the source record, approval, physical movement, system update, verification and management reporting are reconciled.

Principal Responsibilities

SKU Master and Category Architecture

• Build and maintain a controlled SKU master containing product description, barcode, brand, category, subcategory, pack size, unit of measure, supplier, cost, selling price, tax treatment, shelf life and status.
• Create a category hierarchy that supports reporting, assortment planning, shelf allocation and profitability review.
• Prevent duplicate, unclear, inactive or unauthorised product records.

Assortment and Product Variety:

• Assess whether each category has appropriate economy, mainstream, premium, local, small-pack, family-pack and bulk-pack options.
• Identify missing products, customer-requested items, local preferences and commercially relevant brands.
• Recommend products to introduce, expand, reduce, substitute, suspend or discontinue based on evidence.

Demand Forecasting and Replenishment:

• Analyse sales history, seasonality, promotions, supplier lead times, stockouts and business plans.
• Set minimum stock, maximum stock, reorder points, safety stock and reorder quantities for approved SKUs.
• Prepare daily replenishment needs, weekly purchase recommendations and monthly inventory plans.

Inventory Accuracy and Stock Counts

• Implement daily spot checks, scheduled cycle counts, monthly physical counts and independent verification.
• Reconcile opening stock, receipts, transfers, sales/issues, returns, damage, expiry and closing stock.
• Investigate every material variance, document root cause and track corrective action to closure.

Receiving, Storage and Stock Movement

• Confirm that goods received match approved purchase documents, quantities, brands, pack sizes, condition and shelf-life requirements.
• Ensure all receipts, transfers, returns, issues and adjustments are recorded before or immediately when movement occurs.
• Establish FIFO/FEFO, storage, labelling, quarantine and stock-location controls.

Commercial Control, Reporting & Performance

Stock Health, Expiry and Shrinkage Control:

• Classify inventory by movement and value using appropriate methods such as ABC, FSN and ageing analysis.
• Track near-expiry, expired, damaged, rejected, obsolete, missing and non-moving stock.
• Recommend markdown, bundle, transfer, return-to-supplier, disposal or write-off actions through approved authority.

Merchandising and Shelf Availability:

• Develop practical shelf layouts and planograms based on category logic, customer behaviour, product movement and commercial priorities.
• Ensure shelves carry correct products, visible prices, clean labels, appropriate facings and timely replenishment.
• Coordinate promotional displays with Marketing & Sales only after stock, price, timing and replenishment readiness are confirmed.

Supplier and Procurement Interface:

• Maintain supplier lead-time, fill-rate, minimum-order, delivery-quality and price-change intelligence.
• Prepare evidence-based purchase recommendations without bypassing procurement or approval controls.
• Identify supplier concentration, recurring shortages, substitution risk and opportunities for improved commercial terms.

Data, Reporting and Management Insight:

• Submit daily stock and exception updates, weekly replenishment and category reports, and monthly inventory-management accounts.
• Report availability, stockouts, inventory turnover, days on hand, ageing, expiry, shrinkage, category sales and gross profit.
• Provide management with clear decisions required, risks, corrective actions and forecasted stock needs.

Team Leadership and Capability:

• Train inventory, warehouse, store, shelf and supermarket personnel on receiving, counting, recording, replenishment and merchandising.
• Set clear responsibilities, shift routines, count schedules, sign-off controls and performance standards.
• Coach underperforming e