What are the responsibilities and job description for the Materials Specialist position at ALPHIA?
JOB PURPOSE:
The Materials Specialist strategically executes material releases from Purchase Order Contracts (POCs) to support the plant production schedule at both optimal inventory levels and costs. The teammate works cross functionally to identify potential risks and opportunities within the supply chain and is an active contributor to the Production Operations team’s continuous improvement process.
DESCRIPTION OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
- Strategically plans and executes material releases from POCs to meet production requirements preventing schedule changes and supporting customer requirements.
- Customer /Inventory:
- Proactively monitors inventory levels for upcoming runs.
- Effectively communicates with customers regarding raw material requirements and shortages.
- Identifies and executes opportunities to minimize inbound freight costs.
- Identifies and executes opportunities to safely reduce inventory and works toward defined Alphia targets.
- Identifies risks in the material plan and communicates to the appropriate stakeholders as well as mitigates and escalates to get support as needed.
- Collaborates with the materials teams to improve fill rates, schedule attainment and adherence metrics.
- Actively identifies cost avoidance/savings opportunities and utilizes root cause analysis methods to execute corrective actions.
- Strategically manages interplant and other material transfers.
- As a teammate, seeks to maintain a safe and healthy working environment in accordance with OSHA requirements- accepting safety as a condition.
- Provides regular analytics on aging materials and minimizes age out.
- Suggests and executes dispositions of materials.
- Collaborates cross functionally where further support is needed.
- Actively embraces and exemplifies Alphia’s operational drivers of Appreciation, Integrity, Ownership, Passion, and Teamwork.
- Collaboratively works with plant operations to manage warehouse space effectively.
- Updates assigned product attributes according to the protocol defined in the SOP.
- Provides feedback and data analytics on various aspects of supplier performance.
- Acts as a backup for other materials coordinators/schedulers as needed.
- Must be accessible after hours as needed to support plant operations.
- Occasional travel to other plant locations required.
- All other duties as assigned.
COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS
- Basic working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook required.
- Willingness to work collaboratively.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Basic math skills to include ratios, percentages, addition, subtraction, etc.
- Problem solving mindset.
- Ability to prioritize tasks independently.
- A customer centric focus, defining customers as both internal and external.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: (To perform this job successfully, and individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required).
- Education: Minimum Associates degree in business or equivalent experience preferred.
- Experience: One to three years minimum experience in inventory control, purchasing, supply chain management or production planning fields.