An industrial cleaning inventory specialist tracks the degreasers, caustic and acid cleaners, protective gear and pump parts the crews use, and reorders before a shutdown runs short. They count drums and totes, log what each truck takes out and brings back, and keep the records matched to the shelves.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the primary custodian of inventory for industrial cleaning and degreasing products, ensuring the seamless flow of supplies and stock updates to support daily operations. Contribute to operational excellence by effectively managing supply logs, coordinating orders, and ensuring accurate inventory records.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee the daily logging of inventory usage to ensure accurate records are maintained.
Order cleaning and degreasing supplies to prevent shortages and operational interruptions.
Maintain updated stock information and perform periodic inventory reconciliations.
Collaborate with team members to improve inventory tracking and supply chain efficiency.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Log and review daily usage of industrial cleaning and degreasing products.
Process supply orders and track deliveries to ensure timely restocking.
Conduct regular physical stock counts and reconcile with digital records.
Communicate with the procurement team and warehouse staff regarding inventory needs.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Inventory Accuracy: Maintain a minimum of 98% accuracy on periodic stock counts.
Order Cycle Time: Ensure supply orders are processed within 24 hours.
Stock-Out Incidents: Achieve a target of less than 2 stock-out incidents per quarter.
Supply Cost Efficiency: Reduce overall supply waste by 5% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Associate’s degree or equivalent experience in logistics, supply chain management, or related field.
Minimum of 2 years’ experience in inventory management or a similar role.
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
Proficiency in inventory management software and MS Office applications.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in the industrial cleaning or janitorial supply industry.
Familiarity with industrial cleaning and degreasing products and their handling requirements.
Experience working in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing priorities.
Background in operations or warehouse management.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs when handling inventory.
Frequent standing, walking, and bending in warehouse or storage environments.
Exposure to cooler/warmer temperatures depending on storage facility conditions.
Capability to work in confined spaces when necessary.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional overtime may be required during high-demand periods.
Minimal travel required between warehouse and supply vendors.
Potential on-call duties during critical stock replenishment periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range: $18 - $25 per hour, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance bonuses based on KPIs.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan participation.
Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a dynamic, inclusive environment where every team member is empowered to thrive.
We are committed to continuous improvement, sustainability, and innovation in our approach to industrial cleaning and degreasing services.
Join a team that values collaboration, ethical practices, and customer satisfaction as we lead the industry in service excellence.
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
What changes for an inventory specialist in industrial cleaning
Most of the stock here is concentrated chemical, and much of it leaves the shop on trucks bound for plants. That brings labeling and transport rules a parts room never sees.
Every pail filled from a drum needs a label
OSHA's hazard communication rule says each container of a hazardous chemical in the workplace is labeled, either with the shipped label's information or with the product name plus words, pictures or symbols that give its hazards. The one pass is a portable container meant only for immediate use by the person who filled it. When you split degreaser into pails or sprayers for the trucks, label each one before it leaves the shop. Source: OSHA: Hazard communication, labels and other forms of warning (29 CFR 1910.1200).
Trucks can carry some chemicals under a small-load exception
DOT's materials of trade exception lets a company whose main business isn't trucking carry some hazardous materials for its own work. It covers flammable liquids, corrosives and a few other classes. In packing groups II and III, each package holds 8 gallons or less. All materials of trade on one truck weigh 440 pounds or less in total. Each package shows a common name, and whoever drives is told the load is on board. Section 14 of the safety data sheet usually gives the class and group. Source: eCFR: Materials of trade exceptions (49 CFR 173.6).
Shutdown season empties the shelves at once
Many plants book their big cleanings around planned outages, so several large jobs can start in the same week. Build a pull list for each booked shutdown with the operations team, order drums, chemical suits and respirator cartridges early, and ask suppliers about their own lead times, since other contractors are buying the same things.
Cold storage changes what you can keep
In a North Dakota winter, water-based detergents left in an unheated shed or on a truck overnight can freeze. Check the handling and storage section of each safety data sheet, keep those products in heated space, and ask the supplier whether a product that froze can still be used before it's loaded again.
How much industrial cleaning inventory specialists make
The closest BLS group for industrial cleaning inventory specialists is shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.60 an hour ($47,010 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 520 of the 816,870 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in that survey work for building services companies.
Hourly pay with overtime is the norm, and some shops reward clean counts and few stock-outs with a bonus.
Building services companies
$47,010$47,010 median Middle half $39,520–$55,800 10th–90th $31,810–$66,180
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
Building services companies
$31,810
$39,520
$47,010
$55,800
$66,180
All industries
$34,650
$38,200
$45,260
$51,570
$62,190
BLS doesn’t publish pay for industrial cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. 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
Counts carefully and fixes the record the same day
Finds the storage and transport sections in a safety data sheet
Has moved drums and totes with a drum dolly or pallet jack
Uses inventory software and spreadsheets without help
Warns early when a shortage will hit a booked job
Teach these on the job
Your product list, mixing ratios and approved substitutes
The standard load for each truck and trailer
DOT marking for chemicals that ride on trucks
Supplier ordering portals and lead times
Your job numbers, so each draw posts to the right job
The stockroom runs on an inventory app or the parts module of your field service software, with barcode labels, a scale or tank gauge for partly used drums, and a label printer for containers filled in the shop. Name your system in the ad so experienced candidates know what they'd be using.
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 · Usage spikes
Chemical use on one recurring job doubled with no change in scope. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks the data, looks at dispenser settings, leaks, soil changes and how the crew mixes and applies it, and reports findings without accusing anyone.
Behavioral · Reconciling counts
Tell me about a time you tracked down why chemical or gear counts didn't match the records.
A strong answer: Traced the gap through receipts, job usage logs and transfers, found the cause (unlogged truck loads, a spill, a wrong unit of measure), and fixed the process.
Treat the template's figures as samples only. Several months of counts and orders make a better base, since shutdown season will skew any single month.
Inventory Accuracy
Pick a rotating group of items weekly, count what's on shelves and trucks, and compare with the system. Note the share that matched with no adjustment.
Order Cycle Time
Measure the time from a crew's or manager's request to a placed purchase order, using the time stamps in your ordering system or email.
Stock-Out Incidents
Count each time a crew left late, swapped a product or skipped a step because something wasn't on the shelf. Ask supervisors to report them, since crews often work around gaps.
Supply Cost Efficiency
Compare chemicals and supplies bought with what job tickets show was used, product by product. Expired stock, spills and drums thrown out half full make up the gap.
Career path
Shop helper or driverLoads trucks and learns the products and equipment.
Inventory specialistOwns the counts, the orders and the chemical shelf records.
Warehouse managerRuns the building, equipment repairs and deliveries.
Operations managerOversees crews, equipment and job flow across the company.
Other roles in an industrial cleaning & degreasing business
What does the lifting, bending and confined space wording mean in this stockroom?
Lifting means moving cases, pails and boxes of parts up to 50 pounds; anything heavier, like a drum or tote, moves on a dolly, pallet jack or forklift. Counting low and high shelves brings the standing, walking and bending. The temperature line reflects storage that isn't climate controlled. The confined space line rarely applies here, so say where it would, if anywhere. Write each of these duties into the job post, then let applicants say if they need any adjustment to do them.
How much does an industrial cleaning inventory specialist make?
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.60 an hour ($47,010 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $39,520 and $55,800 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What should happen to chemicals that come back from a job?
Log every partly used drum or pail back in the same day, with the job number, so usage stays right. Check that the label is whole and readable, keep returns apart from new stock, and send them out first on the next job. Never pour leftovers back into a bulk drum unless you know it's the same product, and treat anything unlabeled as unknown until the warehouse manager decides.
How do crews get supplies when a shutdown starts at night?
Night and weekend shutdowns are common, but this job runs on weekdays. Load the trucks before the inventory specialist leaves, using the job's pull list. For anything else, set up a locked cage with a sign-out sheet or a scan station, and check it first thing next morning. That keeps counts right without calling the specialist in for every missing box of gloves.
Is janitorial supply experience a good fit for this job?
Partly. Someone from a janitorial supply house knows ordering, counts and product names. Industrial work adds stronger caustic and acid cleaners, solvent products, drums and totes instead of cases, and DOT marking for loads that ride on trucks. Ask how they stored and labeled hazardous products before, and test it with a short safety data sheet exercise.
