PURCHASING MANAGER - FABRICATION & MANUFACTURING

American Fence Company is seeking an experienced Purchasing Manager to oversee purchasing activities supporting our fabrication and manufacturing operations. This position is responsible for ensuring the right materials are available at the right time and cost while developing strong supplier relationships, controlling inventory investment, and identifying opportunities to reduce material and freight costs.

We are looking for someone who understands that purchasing in a fabrication environment goes well beyond issuing purchase orders. The successful candidate will be analytical, highly organized, comfortable negotiating with vendors, and able to balance pricing, lead times, quality, inventory levels, and production demands.

The Purchasing Manager will be responsible for:

• Managing the purchasing of raw materials, components, supplies, and other products required for fabrication and manufacturing operations.
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers and manufacturers.
• Negotiating pricing, freight, payment terms, lead times, minimum order quantities, and other purchasing terms.
• Continually evaluating vendors and sourcing alternatives to improve pricing, quality, availability, and service.
• Monitoring material costs and identifying opportunities for measurable cost savings.
• Working closely with fabrication, operations, inventory, and finance teams to forecast material requirements.
• Ensuring critical materials are available to support production schedules while avoiding unnecessary excess inventory.
• Monitoring supplier performance, delivery timelines, backorders, shortages, and quality concerns.
• Developing purchasing strategies for high-volume and high-dollar materials.
• Reviewing historical usage, purchasing trends, inventory levels, and anticipated demand to make informed purchasing decisions.
• Identifying opportunities for volume purchasing, consolidated orders, standardized materials, and improved freight efficiencies.
• Managing purchase orders and ensuring pricing and terms are accurate.
• Resolving vendor discrepancies, shortages, damaged materials, and invoicing issues.
• Establishing and maintaining purchasing procedures, controls, and approval processes.
• Tracking and reporting purchasing KPIs, including cost savings, supplier performance, lead times, purchase price variance, and inventory-related metrics.
• Partnering with leadership to develop annual purchasing strategies and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Staying informed of commodity pricing, supply-chain conditions, and other market factors that may impact material costs or availability.

• 3 years of purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply-chain experience, preferably within a fabrication, manufacturing, steel, construction-material, or similar environment.
• Previous purchasing leadership or management experience strongly preferred.
• Strong vendor negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and deliver purchasing and supply-chain cost savings.
• Experience purchasing raw materials and manufactured components.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, lead times, demand planning, and production requirements.
• Ability to analyze purchasing and inventory data and translate that information into actionable decisions.
• Strong Excel and computer skills; experience working with ERP, inventory, or purchasing systems preferred.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively across operations, fabrication, finance, and leadership teams.

A successful Purchasing Manager will ensure our fabrication operations have the materials they need without unnecessarily tying up capital in inventory. You will continuously challenge current pricing, purchasing practices, freight costs, and supplier relationships to identify better ways of doing business.

You should be comfortable asking questions such as: Are we buying from the right supplier? Are we paying the right price? Are we buying the right quantity? Can we negotiate better terms? Are we carrying too much inventory? And is there a better way to source this material?

This is an opportunity for someone who enjoys taking ownership of purchasing and making a measurable financial and operational impact on a growing organization.

American Fence Company is a growing organization with operations throughout the Midwest and a significant commitment to fabrication, manufacturing, and operational excellence. This role provides the opportunity to directly influence purchasing strategy, supplier relationships, material availability, and profitability across our fabrication operations.

We are looking for someone who wants to build, improve, negotiate, analyze, and lead—not simply maintain the status quo.

Job Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday–Friday
Work Location: In person

American Fence Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.