Commodity Buyer

Aston Carter•Liberty Township, OH

1d•$29 - $31•Hybrid

About The Position

The Commodity Buyer plays a key role in managing piece price, investment, and annual cost reduction for assigned automotive parts, directly impacting overall financial performance. This position focuses on analyzing global and North American supply bases, understanding manufacturing processes and critical part design elements, and proposing suppliers that deliver the best combination of cost, quality, development capability, and delivery performance. The role offers a contract-to-hire path with long-term growth opportunities in procurement within a major automotive manufacturer and access to strong benefits upon permanent hire.

Requirements

0–2 years of experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain, or a closely related field.
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, or a related discipline.
Foundational experience or education in purchasing and procurement processes.
Understanding of supply chain principles and practices within a manufacturing or automotive environment.
Ability to perform negotiations with suppliers, including preparation, discussion of commercial terms, and follow-up.
Strong Excel skills for data analysis, cost tracking, and reporting.
Experience with purchase order management and related administrative processes.
Basic project coordination skills, including organizing tasks, tracking progress, and communicating with stakeholders.
Ability to work with SAP or similar enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to accurate and timely data maintenance, especially for BOM and quotation records.
Effective communication skills to collaborate with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
Ability to build and maintain professional relationships with suppliers based on trust and transparency.

Nice To Haves

Previous hands-on negotiation experience with suppliers is preferred and considered a strong asset.
Interest in developing a long-term career path in procurement and supply chain within the automotive industry.
Comfort working with global stakeholders and understanding international supply bases.
Ability to interpret industry trends in sourcing, technology, and market pricing to support strategic decisions.
Strong analytical mindset with the ability to establish logical cost targets and evaluate supplier quotations.
Organizational skills to manage multiple model developments and supplier relationships simultaneously.
Motivation to contribute to annual cost improvement initiatives and continuous improvement in purchasing processes.

Responsibilities

Manage assigned commodity portfolio of approximately 8–10 suppliers with an annual spend ranging from $150 million to $300 million.
Develop, gain approval for, and execute detailed situational analyses for assigned commodities and suppliers, including assessment of global and North American supply bases, manufacturing processes, and key part design elements.
Research and continuously monitor industry trends in sourcing, technology, and market pricing to support informed purchasing decisions.
Lead accurate and timely supplier selection for new and existing models, ensuring Bill of Materials (BOM) data is maintained and updated correctly.
Coordinate and gain consensus on new model supplier selections while managing multiple model developments, collaborating closely with stakeholders such as engineering and design centers, including international partners.
Build and maintain long-term, trust-based relationships with suppliers to support stable supply and ongoing collaboration.
Establish logical and achievable new model cost targets for assigned commodities, and negotiate with suppliers to meet these targets for all new model activities.
Drive achievement of annual mass production cost improvement goals through strategic sourcing, negotiations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure accurate and timely processing of supplier quotations to support efficient payment at mass production timing.
Maintain the Global Maker Layout system and issue Global Sourcing Requests in alignment with corporate sourcing strategies.
Support project coordination activities related to new model launches and commodity changes, collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Use purchasing systems and tools, including purchase order management and SAP, to execute procurement activities efficiently.
Apply strong Excel skills to analyze cost data, track supplier performance, and prepare reports and supporting documentation for decision-making.