Purchasing and Materials Planning Manager

Description

JOB PURPOSE OR JOB SUMMARY

The Purchasing & Materials Planning Manager is responsible for leading the company's purchasing and materials planning functions to ensure material availability supports customer requirements, manufacturing operations, and inventory objectives.

This role is responsible for building a disciplined, proactive, and MRP-driven approach to purchasing and materials management. The Manager leads and develops the Purchasing team, establishes effective planning and procurement processes, drives supplier relationship ownership, and ensures the organization identifies and addresses supply risks before they impact customers or operations.

Working collaboratively with Sales, Customer Service, Engineering, Project Management, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Finance, this position translates demand and business requirements into effective material and procurement plans while supporting the company's broader Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Purchasing Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop the Purchasing team to build strong professional procurement and materials management capabilities.
• Establish clear supplier ownership, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability across the Purchasing team.
• Develop Buyers beyond transactional purchasing and expediting toward proactive supplier and supply management.
• Establish standard work, performance measures, and development plans that strengthen team capability and effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer focus.

MRP & Materials Planning

• Establish and continuously improve robust MRP-driven purchasing and materials planning processes.
• Own ERP planning parameters including lead times, safety stock, reorder policies, planning calendars, and inventory settings.
• Ensure MRP recommendations, exception messages, shortages, reschedules, and other planning signals are reviewed and acted upon consistently and timely.
• Partner with Sales, Engineering, Project Mgmt, and Customer Service to translate customer demand, forecasts, manufacturing requirements, and project demand into actionable supply requirements.
• Drive exception-based material management that enables proactive focus on shortages, changing demand, excess supply, and other conditions requiring action.
• Monitor material availability and inventory health while balancing customer service requirements with working-capital objectives.

Supplier Relationship & Supply Management

• Establish clear ownership of supplier relationships and ensure Buyers actively manage assigned suppliers.
• Develop collaborative relationships with strategic suppliers to improve communication, delivery performance, responsiveness, and supply reliability.
• Ensure regular review of supplier performance, lead times, commitments, constraints, and emerging supply risks.
• Lead escalation and recovery efforts for significant supplier performance or material availability issues.
• Drive proactive supplier communication regarding forecasts, changing requirements, capacity concerns, and future business needs.
• Support sourcing, commercial negotiations, supplier agreements, and supplier-development initiatives as appropriate.

Cross-Functional Planning & Execution

• Collaborate with Sales to understand forecasts, significant opportunities, customer demand changes, and future material requirements.
• Partner with Engineering and Project Management to anticipate material requirements for engineered systems, projects, and new product introductions.
• Work closely with Customer Service and Supply Planning to resolve shortages, establish realistic supply commitments, and support customer delivery expectations.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing to ensure purchasing and material plans support production requirements.
• Partner with Logistics to improve inventory management, replenishment, accuracy, and material flow.
• Participate in the SIOP process by providing supply, purchasing, inventory, supplier capacity, and risk information necessary for effective business planning.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and monitor KPIs for purchasing, supplier performance, material availability, inventory health, and planning effectiveness.
• Identify recurring supply, inventory, or planning issues and lead root-cause corrective actions.
• Continuously improve ERP/MRP utilization, purchasing workflows, planning processes, and data quality.
• Develop standardized purchasing and materials management procedures, responsibilities, controls, and hand-offs.
• Use data and business intelligence to identify risks, opportunities, and priorities requiring management attention.

COMPETENCIES

• Purchasing & Procurement Leadership
• Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
• Materials & Supply Planning
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Inventory Management & Optimization
• ERP/MRP Systems (Infor M3 preferred)
• Team Leadership, Coaching & Development
• Supply Risk & Exception Management
• Analytical & Data-Driven Decision Making
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Business & Financial Acumen
• Continuous Improvement
• Change Leadership
• Customer Focus

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Material availability and shortage performance
• Supplier on-time delivery and commitment accuracy
• Purchase order past-due performance
• MRP exception management
• Inventory turns and inventory health
• Excess and obsolete inventory
• Lead-time and planning-data accuracy
• Purchasing team productivity and professional development
• Supplier relationship ownership and performance
• Customer on-time delivery
• Purchasing and planning process compliance

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS

The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• Work hours average 40 per week with typical hours of operation Monday through Friday; additional hours may be required based on business needs.
• Work is typically performed in an office environment and may include time in a manufacturing or warehouse environment.
• Travel may be required periodically for supplier visits, meetings, or business needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Engineering, or related field preferred, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in purchasing, procurement, materials planning, supply chain, or related operational leadership.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing purchasing or materials teams.
• Strong working knowledge of MRP principles and experience building disciplined, ERP-driven planning and purchasing processes.
• Experience managing supplier relationships, performance, supply risk, and commercial negotiations.
• Experience utilizing ERP/MRP systems in a manufacturing or industrial distribution environment; Infor M3 preferred.
• Strong analytical, communication, organizational, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP, or ISM CPSM certification preferred.