Consultant - Materials Planning & Supply Chain Operations

WHAT YOU'LL DO

We are looking for a consultant with experience in materials planning and supply chain operations to support our clients in ensuring material availability, improving inventory performance, and maintaining uninterrupted production. In this role, you will work closely with manufacturing, purchasing, logistics, and supplier teams to balance customer demand, production requirements, and inventory objectives. Your ability to analyze data, manage priorities, and proactively resolve supply chain challenges will directly contribute to operational success.

• Analyze customer demand forecasts, production schedules, and inventory requirements to ensure material availability.
• Develop and maintain material requirements planning (MRP) processes to support production and customer demand.
• Manage planning parameters, lead times, safety stock levels, and inventory strategies.
• Monitor inventory levels and proactively identify shortages, excess inventory, and potential supply risks.
• Coordinate with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery of materials and resolve supply disruptions.
• Expedite critical materials and drive recovery plans for shortages impacting production.
• Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and production planning activities.
• Collaborate with purchasing, supplier quality, manufacturing, engineering, and logistics teams to address material-related challenges.
• Coordinate engineering changes, product launches, and material transitions.
• Analyze supplier performance, inventory metrics, and planning KPIs to identify improvement opportunities.
• Maintain accurate planning data within ERP and MRP systems.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives related to inventory management, planning processes, and material flow.
• Support manufacturing ramp-ups, operational readiness activities, and supply chain stabilization efforts.

WHO YOU ARE

• You hold a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, Logistics, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
• You have 3 years of experience in materials planning, production planning, supply chain operations, inventory management, or a related manufacturing environment.
• You possess strong knowledge of MRP, inventory control, demand planning, and supply chain management principles.
• You have experience working with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or similar planning platforms.
• You are skilled at analyzing large data sets and turning insights into actionable business decisions.
• You understand supplier management processes and have experience coordinating with suppliers to ensure material availability.
• You are comfortable managing competing priorities in fast-paced manufacturing and production environments.
• You have strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• You enjoy working cross-functionally with purchasing, manufacturing, engineering, quality, and logistics teams.
• Experience in automotive manufacturing or other high-volume production environments is highly preferred.
• Experience supporting production launches, engineering changes, or supply chain improvement initiatives is a plus.
• APICS, CPIM, CSCP, Lean, or Six Sigma certifications are advantageous.
• You are comfortable with extensive travel (up to 100% of your working time), typically Monday through Friday, depending on client and project needs.
• You are legally authorized to work in the U.S.