Custom Cones USA is the pre-roll industry leader, serving the largest brands, dispensaries, and producers in the cannabis space with cones, tubes, packaging, and pre-roll machinery. We manufacture through overseas partners and carry hundreds of SKUs across B2B and B2C channels.
That combination is what makes this a genuine planning job. Buys are committed months ahead against imperfect information. Lead times run long and move. Factory capacity is finite, and so is our warehouse space. The quality of the planning decision shows up directly in availability, cash, and margin — there is nowhere for a bad call to hide.
What We Mean by Planning
This is a planning role, not an inventory management role. Order placement, follow-up, and documentation are handled by the team. What we are hiring for is the layer above that:
- Knowing when and how to pull shipments in when demand moves
- Knowing every option available to close an out-of-stock gap — and reaching for the right one fast
- Building strategies with vendors so those gaps stop recurring in the first place
- Continuously optimizing what we carry, in what quantity, and where it sits
Years in this work build a bag of plays for when supply breaks. That instinct is what we are looking for.
The Role
The Inventory Planning Manager owns Custom Cones USA's inventory outcomes — availability, exposure, and the quality of what we buy. Our Inventory Analyst makes the day-to-day replenishment decisions and is good at it. What the team does not have is the layer above — someone to make the hard calls, set direction, and coach the judgment behind the decisions. That is this role.
This is a working manager position, not an oversight position. Alongside leading the team, the role personally owns raw material planning, ordering decisions, and inventory tracking — work the team does not currently have the capacity or tooling to absorb. It also covers the Analyst during time away, as the Supply Chain Manager covers this role in return.
The role leads a team of two — an Inventory Analyst and dedicated replenishment support — and reports to the Supply Chain Manager. Success is measured on inventory outcomes, not activity.
Core Accountabilities
1. Inventory Planning & Optimization
- Own the planning methodology — safety stock levels, coverage and days-of-supply targets, reorder points, and buy quantities
- Make the hard calls the Analyst escalates: what we commit to, how much, and when to hold off
- Close out-of-stock gaps using the full range of levers available — pull-ins, partial releases, expedites, resequencing, alternate sourcing
- Build structural strategies with vendors that reduce out-of-stock situations rather than reacting to them
- Optimize what we carry, in what quantity, and where it sits across our warehouse and 3PL locations
- Improve landed cost through planning levers — smarter buy quantities, order consolidation, MOQ negotiation, and freight optimization
2. Supply Continuity & On-Time Delivery
- Own PO-to-warehouse delivery outcomes — the team executes placement and follow-up; this role ensures results
- Decide how product moves — ocean versus air against need date and landed cost, and whether the vendor ships or we do to secure the better rate
- Approve bookings requiring sign-off
- When a factory cannot get product out, own the response: work the issue directly with the vendor and deploy the option that protects availability
- Own vendor performance on supply reliability — on-time delivery, order accuracy, and capacity against our requirements
- Freight documentation, routine follow-up, and claims processing sit with the team, supported by our freight forwarder
3. Raw Material Planning — Hands-On
- Own raw material planning and ordering decisions directly — these are materials CCUSA supplies into production, and the buy decision sits with this role
- Size buffer coverage from historical consumption. Raw materials run roughly 30-day lead times against demand that is not visible in advance — by the time an order is booked, it is already too late to buy against it, so coverage must be built ahead of the signal
- Build the visibility this stream currently lacks, including a dependable way for Sales to confirm raw material availability while still with the customer
- Establish the review cadence so raw materials are ordered alongside customer orders rather than after them
4. Stock Risk & Availability
- Identify stockout and excess exposure early, before it becomes an expedite or a write-down
- Maintain a running risk register for inventory exposure; report status and mitigation weekly to leadership
- Plan around supplier failures and factory capacity constraints — reallocate, resequence, or resource
- Direct the team on out-of-stock, overstock, and slow-moving inventory actions
5. New Item Evaluation & Product Lifecycle
- Run pre-order evaluation for new items: market analysis and demand sizing to set the ideal initial order quantity
- Run post-order review at 3 and 6 months: throughput, sell-through, and market reception
- Own the discontinuation decision — a cross-functional call made with Finance, Sales, Warehouse, and the COO. Build the case, drive alignment, and make the recommendation.
- Evaluate and onboard new dropship vendors: assess volume potential and decide whether the product is worth carrying. Routine dropship updates are handled by the team
6. Team Leadership & Coaching (LMA)
- Lead a team of two — set clear expectations, inspect progress, and hold to outcomes
- Coach the Analyst from execution into judgment — how to frame a stock-level decision, how to weigh inbound risk, how to build a discontinuation case, and which methodology to reach for and when
- Raise the team's planning capability so good decisions do not depend on any one person being in the room
- Cover the Analyst during time away; the Supply Chain Manager provides the same coverage in return
- Participate in EOS Level 10 meetings and weekly scorecard reporting
Success Metrics
- Inventory availability / in-stock rate %
- Stockout risk items — count and aging
- Slow-moving inventory — identified, decided, and actioned
- On-time delivery % (PO approval to warehouse receipt)
- New item evaluation completion rate — pre- and post-order reviews delivered on time
- Building out inventory turns and days-of-supply reporting is part of this role
QualificationsRequired
- Minimum 5 years of hands-on, high-level inventory planning — personally owning the planning decisions and doing the work, not only supervising others who did it.
- Demonstrated planning proficiency: safety stock, reorder points, coverage and days-of-supply, lead-time variability, and forecast error, with the ability to explain how those targets were set and why.
- Familiarity with demand planning tools and the discipline behind them.
- Experience planning against overseas suppliers with 60–120+ day lead times, including committing to buys well ahead of certainty.
- Direct supervisory responsibility for at least two team members, including setting expectations and holding people accountable to outcomes.
- SKU rationalization judgment — a track record of discontinuing products, and the reasoning to defend those calls.
- Advanced Excel / Google Sheets / AI tools, and comfort building original analysis in messy data.
Preferred
- Cin7 or a comparable ERP
- Inventory Planner or similar demand planning software
- APICS / CPIM certification or equivalent formal planning training
- High-SKU B2B and B2C environment
- Cannabis, CPG, or another regulated industry
- EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) or a similar accountability framework
- PowerApps or workflow automation platforms
Who We're Looking For
- Resourceful. Carries a deep bag of options for when supply breaks, and knows which one fits — plays learned from experience, not from a textbook.
- Analytical. Reasons from numbers, and can show the work when an answer is contested.
- Decisive under uncertainty. Long lead times require committing before certainty. That prospect does not paralyze.
- A teacher. Takes real satisfaction in making the person alongside them sharper.
- Hands-on. A doer as well as a manager, and comfortable in the daily work.
- Accountable. Owns the result, including when the buy was wrong.
- Calm under pressure. Fast-paced, high-SKU operations do not rattle.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary: $90,000 – $100,000 per year
- Bonus potential
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Basic life, voluntary life
- 401(k) with company matching
- 15 accrued vacation days to start
- Sick days, rest days, and 10 paid holidays
- Daily free catered lunch and snacks
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
This position is performed on-site in an office environment and is primarily sedentary, requiring the ability to operate standard office equipment and to view a computer screen for extended periods. The role requires occasional lifting and moving of materials weighing up to 50 pounds in connection with inventory verification, product sampling, and warehouse activity. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
Ready to lead with precision and scale with purpose?
Apply now and help us build the future of pre-roll operations.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $90,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do you have advanced analysis skills?
- How many years of people management experience do you have?
- Do you have strong proficiency in inventory management systems (ERP)?
Experience:
- inventory management: 5 years (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Renton, WA 98057 (Required)
Work Location: In person
