A commercial electrical inventory specialist tracks the wire, fixtures, gear and fittings bought for each building job. They also keep the small shelf stock crews pull from. They log what reaches each site, chase partial shipments, and keep cut reels, leftovers and the owner's spare stock where they belong.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Inventory Specialist is responsible for efficiently managing commercial electrical stocks and materials. This role supports business operations by ensuring accurate order processing, inventory tracking, and timely reordering of stock. The specialist plays a pivotal role in maintaining consistent supply levels to support ongoing projects and commercial installations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Order stock and maintain precise records of all inventory movements.
Track materials from receipt to distribution to ensure optimal stock levels.
Maintain reordering schedules to prevent stock shortages and surpluses.
Collaborate closely with procurement and project teams to forecast material needs.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and process incoming orders and update inventory databases daily.
Perform cycle counts and verify inventory accuracy with physical stock.
Communicate with suppliers and internal teams regarding order statuses and delivery schedules.
Monitor critical stock items and coordinate reorder requests to prevent project delays.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Inventory Accuracy Rate: >98%.
On-Time Reordering: 100% compliance with predetermined schedules.
Order Fulfillment Efficiency: ≥95% of orders processed within designated timeframes.
Cost Reduction in Stock Mismanagement: Achieve a reduction target of 10% year over year.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in business administration, logistics, or a related field.
Minimum of 2 years of experience managing inventory within the commercial electrical industry.
Proficiency in inventory management software and ERP systems.
Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working with commercial electrical supplies and technical components.
Prior involvement in the home services or construction sector.
Demonstrated ability in process improvement and inventory optimization.
Familiarity with safety and compliance regulations related to electrical materials.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 25 lbs.
Frequent standing, walking, and bending in warehouse or storage environments.
Work in environments that may involve occasional exposure to dust or temperature variations.
Operate manual handling equipment safely with proper training.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Periodic overtime may be required during high-demand periods.
Minimal travel may be required for vendor meetings or site inspections.
Availability to respond to urgent supply issues as needed.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range is $18 - $24 per hour, depending on experience.
Performance-based bonuses may be awarded quarterly.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401k plan with company matching contribution.
Additional fringe benefits include paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company is dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation, growth, and excellence.
We prioritize teamwork, continuous learning, and a commitment to exceptional service.
Employees are encouraged to take initiative and contribute to the overall success of our projects.
Join us and be part of a supportive team where your efforts directly impact our success and customer satisfaction.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
At a commercial electrical contractor, most material is bought for one building and shipped to it, often in pieces over months. The shelf holds only the small stuff. The hard part is knowing what each job has received, what it still needs and what came back.
Fixtures arrive by type, not by the box
A lighting package can list dozens of fixture types by letter. Each has its own catalog number, driver and finish, and the package often ships in pieces over several weeks. The specialist keeps a log by type: ordered, received, damaged and still due. When a foreman says the third floor is short on type F2, the log shows whether those fixtures are lost, late or never ordered.
Feeder wire comes on cut reels
Big feeder wire is often bought on reels cut to the lengths of a planned pull. Some reels carry a deposit until the empty goes back. The specialist tracks each reel by job, size and footage, and sends empties back for credit. Leftover lengths get tagged, so the next job's short runs use them before anyone orders new wire.
Federal money can mean American-made material
Some federal awards pay for infrastructure projects, and buildings can count. On those jobs, the Buy America preference passes down into every purchase order. The iron, steel, manufactured goods and construction materials that go into the job must be produced in the United States, unless a waiver applies. A manufactured product must also be built mostly from American parts, by cost. The specialist keeps those items labeled by job and apart from shelf stock. Source: 2 CFR 184: Buy America preferences for infrastructure projects (eCFR).
The owner's spare stock is part of the job
Read each spec for the extra materials the owner gets at the end, such as spare fixtures, lamps, fuses, devices and cover plates in set amounts. If crews use them up, the job comes up short at closeout and someone buys them again. So the specialist sets those items aside by job as they arrive, and gets a signed receipt when they're handed over.
How much commercial electrical inventory specialists make
The closest BLS group for commercial electrical inventory specialists is shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $24.00 an hour ($49,920 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $45,260 median for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in all industries. About 2,310 of the 816,870 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Hourly, per the template, with time and a half owed under federal law for hours past forty in a workweek. If you pay its quarterly bonus, tie it to clean counts on job material and to returns made inside each distributor's window.
Electrical contractors
$49,920$49,920 median Middle half $41,420–$60,620 10th–90th $36,050–$74,070
All industries
$45,260$45,260 median Middle half $38,200–$51,570 10th–90th $34,650–$62,190
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$36,050
$41,420
$49,920
$60,620
$74,070
All industries
$34,650
$38,200
$45,260
$51,570
$62,190
BLS reports residential and commercial electrical contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Checks every fixture against the schedule by type, voltage and finish before logging it
Keeps a running record of what each job has received and what's still due
Calls the distributor the same day a shipment comes in short, and logs the answer
Keeps job material moving in your ERP without letting the shelf counts drift
Asks the project manager before swapping anything on a spec job
Teach these on the job
Reading a reel tag: conductor size, type and footage
Your fixture type letters and how the drawings show them
Which distributors charge reel deposits, and how to get them back
Buy America paperwork on federally funded jobs
Where the spec lists extra materials for the owner
Expect the inventory and purchasing side of a construction ERP, each distributor's portal for order status and signed delivery tickets, a handheld scanner and a cable footage counter. Signed delivery tickets matter most, since they settle any argument over what reached the site.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Protecting project material
Light fixtures for a job arrive early and the site has no secure storage. What do you do?
A strong answer: Keeps them in the warehouse labeled by job, confirms quantities against the order, and schedules delivery when the site can receive and store them.
Behavioral · Fixing recurring count errors
Tell me about a time look-alike parts, such as breakers or fittings with similar part numbers, kept getting mixed up in your counts.
A strong answer: Traced it to the cause (similar part numbers, shared bins, unclear labels), separated and relabeled them, fixed the item records, and checked that counts held.
Keep job material and shelf stock on separate lines. Job material comes and goes with each building, while the shelf turns over every week. Set targets once a few jobs have closed.
Inventory Accuracy Rate
Pick a set of bins, staged jobs and reels each week and compare them with the system. Score fixture cartons by type letter, not by box total, so a missing type shows up.
On-Time Reordering
Shelf reorders sent on their set day, plus job releases sent by the project manager's requested date, out of all that were due. A release placed late still counts against the score, even when the gear arrives on time.
Order Fulfillment Efficiency
Foremen's material requests ready to ship inside the window you promise, out of all requests. Keep same-day emergency pulls on their own line so they don't hide slow routine orders.
Cost Reduction in Stock Mismanagement
Add up what was lost each quarter to write-offs, missed return windows, unreturned reel deposits and items bought twice. Compare it with last year's matching quarter, and note the cause of each loss.
Career path
Warehouse associateUnloads trucks, stages job material and learns to read fixture schedules.
Inventory specialistLogs every fixture type, reel and spare part by job, and keeps the shelf stocked.
Warehouse managerAdds the tool crib, the trucks and the warehouse crew.
Assistant project managerMoves into submittals, releases and buyout under a project manager.
Give each time-and-material ticket its own number, and have the foreman write it on every pull used for that work. The specialist records those items against the ticket, not the base job. Then the office can price the change order from real quantities instead of a guess, and the base job's material numbers stay clean.
How much does a commercial electrical inventory specialist make?
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $24.00 an hour ($49,920 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $41,420 and $60,620 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Which items should a commercial electrical shop keep on the shelf?
The things every job burns through and nobody wants to wait for: common fittings, straps, connectors, anchors, wire nuts, tape, and the devices and breakers your crews install most. Most of the rest is bought for one job and shipped to it. Review shelf items each quarter, and drop any that haven't moved in two quarters unless the service crews need them for emergencies.
Does a commercial electrical inventory specialist need the template's degree?
The template accepts a bachelor's degree or the equal in experience, plus two years managing stock for a commercial electrical company. Either way, the real test is keeping one job's material straight for months. Ask finalists to walk through the last big job they tracked: how they logged partial shipments, what came back at the end, and who signed for the owner's spare stock.
What lifting and moving does the inventory specialist do?
Carrying boxes of fittings or devices, none over the template's 25 pounds, walking the racks and yard to count reels and cartons, and reaching high and low shelves. The warehouse can be dusty, and warmer or colder than an office. Hand trucks and pallet jacks are used after training. Build the posting from those tasks, and make clear that applicants may request accommodations.
