Inventory Optimization Manager

We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.

Summary The Inventory Optimization Manager is responsible for developing, evaluating, and implementing strategies that improve inventory performance across the enterprise. This role partners closely with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Store Operations, Category Management, Finance, Technology, and external partners to balance product availability, sales growth, margin, inventory investment, and operational efficiency. In this highly visible role, the Manager will lead analytical efforts and cross-functional programs supporting key strategic initiatives including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), On Shelf Availability (OSA), Next Generation Planning Solutions (NGPS), Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP), inventory productivity programs, and other enterprise transformation efforts. The successful candidate will combine strong analytical skills, business acumen, project leadership, and communication capabilities to identify opportunities, build business cases, influence stakeholders, support testing and operational readiness, and drive execution of initiatives that improve inventory performance and customer experience across the CVS Health network.

Inventory Strategy & Optimization Identify and evaluate opportunities to improve inventory productivity while maintaining or improving customer service levels. Analyze inventory, sales, forecast, service level, supply chain, and process performance metrics to identify risks and value creation opportunities. Develop recommendations that balance inventory investment, availability, sales, margin, and operational efficiency. Support enterprise inventory targets, long-range planning efforts, and working capital optimization programs. Strategic Initiative Leadership Lead and support high-impact initiatives related to PLM, OSA, NGPS, SIOP, replenishment optimization, inventory analytics, and forecasting enhancement. Coordinate workstreams across business, technology, vendor, and operational teams to ensure successful implementation and value realization. Support pilot design, testing, readiness, adoption, and post-implementation stabilization for new tools, processes, and capabilities. Help connect initiative objectives to measurable business outcomes, including availability, inventory productivity, planning accuracy, and operational efficiency. Analytics & Business Case Development Develop financial and operational business cases to support investment decisions and prioritization. Quantify expected benefits, risks, dependencies, implementation costs, and operational impacts for strategic initiatives. Create executive-level analysis, reporting, and presentations that support decision making and stakeholder alignment. Monitor initiative performance and track delivery against expected outcomes, milestones, and value commitments. Cross-Functional Partnership Partner with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Finance, Store Operations, Digital, Technology, and external partners to align priorities and drive results. Collaborate with vendors, solution providers, consulting partners, and supplier partners to identify opportunities and support implementation. Facilitate stakeholder discussions, summarize decisions, communicate progress, and help resolve issues or risks that could affect execution. Build trust and alignment across diverse teams through clear communication, strong follow-through, and fact-based recommendations. Process Improvement & Change Management Evaluate process improvement opportunities across planning,