Supply Chain & Materials Manager – Manufacturing

Qualdoc•Marietta, OH

3d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Supply Chain & Materials Manager to lead material planning, purchasing, inventory, and supplier performance for a manufacturing operation. This is an on-site leadership position responsible for keeping materials aligned with production and project requirements while improving inventory performance, supplier reliability, and supply chain resilience. The position directly supervises a Buyer Planner team and works closely with Project Management, Sales, Engineering, Production, Quality, Finance, and Supply Chain leadership. Power distribution industry experience is strongly preferred.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree is a plus.
7–10+ years of progressive supply chain experience in manufacturing, including at least 3 years in a supervisory or team lead role overseeing buyers, planners, or Buyer Planners.
Experience managing material planning and procurement in an electromechanical, electrical equipment, or industrial manufacturing environment.
Power distribution industry experience strongly preferred.
Advanced proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, including SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, IFS, or comparable systems.
Ability to diagnose and resolve MRP planning issues, not simply report them.
Demonstrated success improving inventory turns while maintaining or improving material availability, with the ability to quantify previous results.
Experience managing supplier performance programs, including QBRs, SCARs, and supplier development.
Ability to operate effectively at both tactical and strategic levels.
Strong cross-functional experience working with project management, sales, engineering, production, and finance.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate supply chain information into actionable recommendations.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and data analysis tools for inventory, spend, and supplier performance reporting.

Nice To Haves

APICS CPIM or CSCP certification.
ISM C.P.M. or CPSM certification.
Experience with power distribution products such as PDCs, STS, RPPs, switchgear, UPS systems, and associated electromechanical components.
Familiarity with UL, ANSI, NEMA, NEC, and IEC standards relevant to power distribution equipment.
Experience developing commodity strategies for breakers, bus duct, transformers, enclosures, and power electronics.
Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
Experience leading kaizen events in supply chain or warehouse environments.
Experience with VMI, consignment agreements, supplier-stocked buffers, and blanket PO/call-off arrangements.
Experience with import compliance, customs, and international supplier management.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop Buyer Planners while establishing clear performance expectations and KPIs.
Balance workloads across commodities, projects, and production requirements.
Ensure Buyer Planners effectively use ERP/MRP systems for purchasing, planning, item master maintenance, and exception management.
Support professional development, cross-training, and certification opportunities such as APICS CPIM and CSCP.
Maintain coverage plans to ensure continuity during absences and staffing changes.
Partner with Project Managers to align material availability with project schedules and production release dates.
Participate in project kickoffs for engineered-to-order (ETO) programs to review BOMs, identify long-lead materials, and assess supply risks.
Provide material availability and lead-time information to support realistic customer commitments.
Lead shortage escalations and coordinate corrective actions with suppliers and internal teams.
Review the active project portfolio regularly and align material critical paths with project schedules.
Support configure-to-order (CTO) and quick-ship programs through appropriate inventory and material planning.
Provide Sales with supply chain input on material availability, supplier capacity, and realistic lead times before commitments are made.
Participate in Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) activities.
Use sales pipeline and backlog information to anticipate material requirements and reduce supply risk.
Support customer-specific stocking programs, blanket orders, and consignment inventory arrangements.
Develop positioning plans for critical and long-lead materials.
Manage inventory strategies for components such as specialty breakers, bus assemblies, power electronic modules, custom enclosures, and transformers.
Identify single-source and sole-source risks and recommend mitigation strategies, including dual sourcing, safety stock, supplier-managed inventory, and LTAs.
Support commodity strategies using supplier performance, consumption, and demand data.
Execute approved supplier and commodity strategies at the facility level.
Lead facility-level make/buy analysis and provide recommendations to supply chain and operations leadership.
Monitor commodity pricing, supply constraints, geopolitical risks, tariffs, and other factors affecting material cost or availability.
Own facility inventory performance, including inventory turns, excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory, days of supply, and working capital.
Drive toward a target of 10 inventory turns per year.
Lead monthly E&O reviews and coordinate disposition actions such as supplier returns, project redeployment, and write-off recommendations.
Establish inventory policies covering safety stock, reorder points, lot sizing, and cycle counts.
Lead the annual physical inventory process.
Balance inventory investment, material availability, and working capital using data-driven decisions.
Manage supplier performance using on-time delivery (SOTD), quality/PPM, lead-time accuracy, and responsiveness metrics.
Conduct quarterly business reviews with key suppliers and establish measurable improvement plans.
Escalate supplier issues that could affect production continuity.
Partner with Quality Engineering on SCARs, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and supplier qualification.
Support new supplier qualification with Quality Engineering and Application Engineering.
Negotiate or oversee pricing agreements, blanket purchase orders, and long-term agreements (LTAs).
Maintain accurate ERP/MRP data, including item masters, BOMs, supplier lead times, and planning parameters.
Establish consistent ERP usage standards and eliminate off-system planning workarounds.
Review MRP output and resolve issues involving parameter drift, demand signals, BOM accuracy, and planning logic.
Partner with IT and ERP administrators on system improvements, reporting, and configuration changes.
Prepare weekly supply chain dashboards and monthly KPI scorecards for leadership.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives involving ERP optimization, supplier lead-time reduction, dock-to-stock improvements, and inventory reduction.
Apply Lean principles, including 5S, throughout receiving, warehouse, stockroom, and material-handling processes.