Buyer/Planner

Compensation: $28.00 per hour

Core business hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., 7.5 hour daily work schedule (flexibility to work overtime when required)

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Ins. AD&D, Sup. Life, Vacation, Sick (6), 401K, Holidays (12)

Ensure availability of components and finished goods from all suppliers to meet customer service level goals while simultaneously maintaining inventory level objectives. Improve visibility within the supply chain by collaborating with internal stakeholders (Marketing, Productions, etc.), customers and suppliers at regular intervals. Oversee and coordinate with Packaging for production scheduling. Responsible for selecting vendors to supply the Packaging and Warehouse facilities.

Essential Duties:

• Perform all supply chain planning and purchasing activities
• Review and analyze daily demand and supply numbers
• Proactively communicate schedule changes to necessary affected personnel and reasons for any deviations
• Maintain planning information in Oracle
• Negotiate contracts and terms with suppliers to ensure favorable pricing, payment terms and mutually beneficial agreements.
• Prepare, review, and refine purchasing plans according to the forecast and actual sales numbers
• Develop and implement purchasing and inventory optimization strategies for promotions, new products, discontinued products and all other stocked product
• Proactively monitor purchase orders and expedite deliveries as needed to meet customer requirements and sales budget
• Minimize back-ordered goods, and resolve outstanding backorders quickly by coordinating activities with overseas and domestic suppliers Review and create purchase orders utilizing Oracle functionality
• Update system information to reflect latest status
• Provide weekly report of backorders with ETA on resolution
• Assist in developing inventory policies and practices
• Develop inventory level targets for each inventory category
• Once a month at a minimum, proactively identify potential slow moving/obsolete inventory utilizing the inventory analysis report
• Once a month at a minimum, take action to disposition slow moving/obsolete inventory
• Set appropriate stock levels based upon sales requirements
• Continuously maintain inventory master data in Oracle
• Monitor forecast accuracy on a monthly basis and provide feedback
• Maintain stock status reports
• Create and maintain departmental reports as required
• Attendance and punctuality are an essential job duty

CONTACTS:

• Internal: Marketing, Production, Operations
• External: Vendors

Education and/or Experience:

• Associates degree or equivalent work experience preferred
• 3 years exp. in procurement, preferably in a manufacturing environment
• Experience working with ERP systems, Oracle is a plus, for planning and purchasing
• Experience in managing vendor relationships

Knowledge, Skills and General Abilities:

• Negotiation skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to interact professionally with all levels of management
• Prioritize competing and interdependent tasks to meet aggressive deadlines
• Measure and benchmark internal inventory performance against stated objectives
• Establish metrics to monitor supplier performance
• Establish personal goals and objectives and measure performance against those goals
• Use a statistical system to analyze and manage inventory levels

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

• Certificates, Licenses, or Registration in related field

Other Special Skills and Abilities:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Windows applications and Microsoft Office software
• PC Desktop knowledge and usage required
• Continually work to reduce lead times, improve supplier on-time performance, improve customer service levels, reduce inventory levels and eliminate excess and obsolete stock
• Continually upgrade skills in the areas of Supply Chain Management, ERP systems and problem solving
• Utilize problem solving tools to determine root causes and solutions to planning and purchasing performance problems
• Aggressively manage finished goods to ensure maximum percentage in stock while minimizing safety stock levels
• Stratify inventory to focus on products that have the biggest impact on the business by utilizing the new ABC group

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Sitting for periods of time.
• Infrequent lifting up to 15 lbs.
• Walking for brief periods of time.
• Prolonged visual acuity is necessary to view VDT.
• Standing for brief periods of time.
• Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard.
• Infrequent travel to local suppliers
• Infrequent Travel to Ontario

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Office, local suppliers, Ontario CA.