Materials Planning Director

Position Overview

We are seeking a high-caliber Materials Manager to serve as the operational backbone of our inventory planning and working capital strategy across our industrial manufacturing platform. This individual will own full-cycle materials management — from demand signal to finished goods availability — and will be held accountable to clear, measurable improvements in Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), Excess & Obsolete (E&O) levels, and On-Time Delivery (OTD).

This is not a caretaker role. We are a PE-backed manufacturer with a strong bias for execution, and we need a leader who is energized by complexity, capable of building process where limited structure exists, and comfortable holding cross-functional teams accountable to materials discipline.
The Opportunity

The right candidate will be crucial in creating the materials management function. Three specific pain points define the near-term agenda:

• Excess & Obsolete Inventory: Inventory segmentation is underdeveloped. A large portion of on-hand inventory is slow-moving or non-moving, tying up working capital and obscuring true availability. The Materials Manager will take ownership of a rigorous ABC/XYZ segmentation framework, establish reserve governance, and drive systematic disposition of E&O, while providing valuable insights to drive consumptions that prevent aging of materials.
• Inventory Accuracy & Warehouse Managemnt: Inventory accuracy is core to our business; it enables customer responsiveness and provides financial assurance to our stakeholders. The Materials Manager will cross-functionally lead cycle counting procedures that results in highest standards of accuracy and continuous improvement.
• Demand Planning & Forecasting: Current forecasting is largely ad hoc and reactive. The incoming leader will partner with Sales and Operations leadership to stand up a credible S&OP process, introduce statistical baseline forecasting, and reduce demand signal bias — ultimately improving material readiness without building unnecessary stock.
• Cross-Functional Discipline: Materials decisions are too often made in isolation from commercial commitments and financial constraints. The Materials Manager will serve as the connective tissue between Sales, Operations, Finance, and Procurement — building shared KPIs, escalation protocols, and a culture of materials accountability, while also overseeing Procurement of materials that meet or exceed on time delivery needs of our customers.

Key Responsibilities
Inventory Planning & Optimization

• Own and execute MRP/ERP-driven materials planning across all product lines and sites
• Implement multi-dimensional inventory segmentation (ABC by value, XYZ by velocity) to right-size safety stock and reorder parameters leading to purchasing decisions within budgets.
• Lead quarterly E&O reviews with Finance; develop and execute disposition plans (liquidation, return, repurpose, write-off)
• Establish and monitor Inventory Reserve % targets in partnership with the Controller
• Drive DIO reduction as a primary working capital KPI

Demand Planning & S&OP

• Stand up or formalize a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, including a consensus demand review cadence
• Translate demand signals into actionable purchase plans and production schedules
• Manage supplier lead time variability; build buffer strategies that are data-driven, not gut-driven

Working Capital & Financial Partnership

• Partner with Finance on monthly inventory roll-forward reporting (receipts, usage, write-downs, absorption variances)
• Provide forward-looking inventory projections tied to production plans and customer commitments
• Identify opportunities to reduce working capital through VMI, consignment arrangements, or supplier payment term optimization
• Support annual budgeting and periodic reforecasting for raw material and WIP inventory levels

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead a weekly materials review meeting with Sales, Operations, and Procurement to align on constraint, priority, and demand changes
• Establish escalation protocols for material shortages that threaten OTD commitments
• Build accountability frameworks — scorecards, visual management, and KPI ownership — across the materials team
• Coach and develop a team of Materials Planners, Buyers, and Warehouse Leads

Qualifications

Required

• 7 years of progressive materials management experience in a discrete manufacturing environment
• Demonstrated track record of reducing E&O inventory and improving DIO in a measurable, quantifiable way
• Strong ERP proficiency (Epicor, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent); must be capable of extracting and analyzing data independently
• Experience facilitating or participating in a formal S&OP process
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification, or equivalent demonstrated expertise
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives without direct authority

Preferred

• Background in industrial, energy, or defense-adjacent manufacturing (fittings, forgings, or machined components)
• Experience in a PE-backed or high-accountability operating environment
• Familiarity with VMI / consignment structures and supplier development
• Exposure to ABC-XYZ inventory segmentation and reserve governance frameworks
• Proficiency with Excel-based analytics and/or BI tools (Data Rails, Power BI, Tableau, etc.)