Buyer Planning Manager

Job Summary

• The Demand and Buyer Planner Manager is responsible / accountable for the overall demand and supply management process for components as it relates to demand allocation.
• This position owns the allocation process driven by global material constraints and transportation challenges.
• Works closely with Customer Service, Production, Planning, and Warehouse Implementation teams to ensure alignment to meeting customer requirements.
• Experience in a “built to order” environment and high-Mix Low Volume Mfg.
• Monitor and support component inventory to maintain daily/weekly/monthly reports: Positive and Negative Balance.  Work with internal facility customers (Planning, Production and Warehousing depts.) to ensure all components balance information is correct and handled/corrected in an accurate and efficient manner.
• Work with external facility groups to drive resolution with system discrepancies.  Drive continuous improvement, Cost Reduction Projects and enhance the team spirit through the application of Root Cause Analysis Tools.

• Experienced in New Product Introduction (NPI), collaborating closely with Engineering on new product and component development, sourcing and purchasing new parts, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring material readiness to support successful product launches and production schedules

Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

• Requisition & PO Placement, Contract Reviews, Invoice Management, Customer & Internal Audits, Cost Savings Projects, Supplier Maintenance, (Reporting KPI’s, and Project Status).
• Root Cause and Counter Measure (follow up) 
• Able to deliver efficient, effective, and flexible solutions to meet production and business requirements. Create KPI’s to manage component demand.
• Able to connect activities, objectives, goals to the functional or business strategy.
• Ability to build a business case/scenario to support supply chain proposals. Understand how to create, read, and understand business reports and analyses.
• Negotiate the best price of components to be used in manufacturing.
• Monitors and supports all supply chain metrics performance, recommends corrective actions and strategies as needed (Demand and Supply Management)
• Tracks and monitors changes to manufacturing and CTB (clear to build) dates for alignment in supplying reasonable delivery dates.
• Communication with key stakeholders on any meaningful change in delivery dates, cause for delay, and estimated recovery date.
• Manage exceptions caused by significant, unexpected events in sales, operations, and procurement.
• Find and report on any significant variances between Reorder Points and customer service demand and business plan.
• Develop analysis and reports related to inventory level projections, recovery plans, performance metrics, etc. as needed.
• Maintain alignment of inventory levels to achieve targeted service levels, and backorder. Finds and pursues inventory reduction opportunities. Directs the periodic review and disposition of slow moving and unproductive inventories (Excess & Obsolete, Unscheduled, Expired, and cancelled orders)  
• Evolve and support documentation and standard operating procedures for demand supply allocation planning processes and systems.

Skills and Minimum Experience Required

Knowledge And Skills:

• Product Component Knowledge
• Knowledge of analytics reorder points, Min-Max, Kanban, build to order and forecasting methods.
• Solid knowledge of Supply Chain procedures (Demand/Supply/Production Planning, product deployment and inventory control)
• Experience in a manufacturing electronic environment 
• Ability to effectively interact with multi-functional areas (Customer Service, Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchasing, Finance, and Quality.)
• Customer Focus
• Excellent people skills and communication skills including written, verbal, listening, and presentation are needed and Detail-oriented individual with a strong ability to multi-task
• Familiarity with an ERP and MRP systems and common software applications a must
•  Advanced Excel skills
• Skills in project management, including the use of Microsoft Project or other common project management software.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor/associate degree preferred.
• High School Diploma or Relevant experience and equivalent knowledge may be considered.
• Experience with MRP/ERP systems and Microsoft Office. Knowledge of integrated Supply Chain Systems (SAP, Oracle or Any MRP).
• Minimum 10 years relevant work experience
• 5+ years Manufacturing/Materials/Logistics experience in a production environment.
• Experience should include mixed production processes in a low volume, high product mix operation.
• Background in Manufacturing production, Material flow, Kanban, and accounting principles preferred

Decision Making:

• Able to determine how to properly handle processing varying inventory transactions/corrections
• Determine priorities for continuous improvement (adaptation to change)
• Appropriate corrective action resolution with internal/external facility departments