Materials and Inventory Manager

Baxters North America•Cincinnati, OH

10d

About The Position

The Materials and Inventory Manager owns inventory planning, inventory policy development, safety stock strategy, material risk management, inventory reporting, expiration management, and disposition of excess and obsolete inventory. The role provides leadership to the Buyer team and establishes processes, metrics, and governance to move the organization from transactional purchasing to strategic materials management. Buyers and Cycle Counters report to this position. The role requires independent action, leadership, and influencing skills to facilitate change and align functional areas around cohesive strategies, processes, and execution so that policies are followed. The manager works with fulfilment teams, plants, procurement, business development, warehouse, finance, production, site management, and upper management to support inventory accuracy, supply continuity, food safety, and product quality.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
5–10 years of experience in Supply Chain and Cost Accounting.
1–3 years of supervisory or management experience required.
Extensive knowledge of the function and department processes.
Competencies include cycle counting, operations management, inventory control software, data collection, inventory management, material management, planning strategy, ERP systems, strong communication, teamwork, leadership, attention to detail, results and goal orientation, analytical ability, initiative, integrity, and operational excellence.
Requires prolonged sitting and continuous computer use; may lift, carry, push, or pull objects up to 10 lbs.

Nice To Haves

Experience in food manufacturing is preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintain inventory dashboards with site-based fulfilment teams to provide visibility into aging of finished goods, raw materials, and obsolete inventory against established inventory goals.
Create, monitor, and improve cycle-counting processes, including count frequencies based on material cost and/or use.
Direct investigations into inventory inconsistencies and work with plants to resolve them.
Work with procurement, business development, warehouse, and upper management to ensure obsolete materials are returned or destroyed in a timely manner.
Investigate, recommend, and implement inventory and vendor improvement strategies for BNA.
Maintain documentation and records required for inventory reporting.
Work with Business Development, Finance, Procurement, and site management to create inventory KPIs, which may include cycle-count goals and days on hand for finished goods, raw materials, and obsolete inventory.
Develop and maintain short- and long-term material supply plans.
Escalate constraints proactively before production or customer impact occurs.
Monitor supplier delivery performance and manage supplier recovery plans when commitments are at risk.
Manage recruitment and training of new inventory support staff.
Oversee a team of buyers and cycle counters.
Collaborate with production and supporting departments to ensure food safety and product quality.
Perform other duties as assigned.