Materials Manager

Description

The Materials Manger is responsible for all supply chain and procurement for our Marshalltown and Des Moines vendor managed inventory. This position will implement best practices in procurement, inventory management, and logistics to ensure the supply chain runs smoothly and efficiently.

General Duties, And Responsibilities

Lead and manage the supply chain team to do the following:

• Lead and manage all material planning, purchasing, forecasting, and logistics.
• Monitor the daily operations of the company’s supply chain, from raw materials to finished goods, ensuring products are delivered to customers on time and within budget.
• Based on historical sales, customer forecast information, and intelligence of future sales, manage a team to create a forecast to place purchase orders with suppliers at appropriate lead times. Continuously analyze, update, and maintain inventory forecast.
• Manage new part setup by confirming the price, minimum order quantity, and supplier information in the system.
• Provide customer support with direct and efficient communication on order status and other requests as provided by the customer. Prioritize urgent orders with operations to meet the needs of the customer.
• Manage inventory levels, ensuring adequate stock is maintained for all necessary supplies and materials while avoiding overstocking and minimizing waste.
• Ensure suppliers are reliable, cost-effective, and meet the company’s quality standards. Monitor supplier performance to assess the ability to meet quality and delivery requirements.
• Quote, evaluate, negotiate, and select carriers for bulk and LTL shipments as required.
• Communicate and work with other departments as required to complete all tasks such as invoice resolution, inventory discrepancies, prioritizing shipments, and follow-up lost shipments.
• Manage Bill of Materials and create work orders for kitting and assembly of finished kits.
• Document import paperwork with customs broker to ensure smooth import activities.
• Monitor supply chain performance metrics (KPI), supplier scorecards, and work with suppliers to address areas to improve.
• Manage inbound logistics for incoming shipments by selecting the most cost-effective mode of transportation (domestic and international)
• Develop and implement master schedules that align with client priorities, company objectives and production capabilities.
• Evaluate customer change requests to determine what we can accommodate and what the impact to other orders and labor demands will be.
• Collaborate with the Location and Operations Manager on priority orders, and labor planning for short- and long-term work.
• Identify potential schedule disruptions and develop a contingency plan.
• Monitor production status to ensure scheduling adherence, and report discrepancies to management.
• Analyze requested client schedule changes to provide communication on the impact of changes to the current production schedule. Communicate and keep a record of responses and approved changes.
• Identify and implement process improvements for scheduling efficiency, on-time delivery, and quality control.
• Analyze production specifications and warehouse capacity to give feedback on processes, tools, and human resources required to complete projects.
• Efficiently process and manage incoming orders, ensuring accuracy and timeliness in order fulfillment. Monitor projects and teams to meet deadlines.
• Work with your team to ensure all parts are ordered and delivered on time. Assist to expedite orders to make sure the master schedule can be met, and customer orders delivered on time.
• Proactively monitor and review schedule and coordinate kitting work with other warehouses to ensure labor is fully utilized.
• Attend and provide input and support for client meetings for new part adoption and approval. Proactively drive orders and completion to the customer due dates to meet agreed to timelines.
• Monitor and follow up on all price change requests from our vendors, evaluate and pull in the appropriate team members to analyze and review for ways to avoid or reduce cost. Communicate price change requests immediately with the client to avoid any financial impacts to the business.
  
  

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Supply Management, Logistics, Business, or related field or at least 5 years’ experience prior supplier relationship management experience as a Buyer, Logistics, or program manager.
• At least 5 years’ experience in materials management, preferably in a manufacturing or warehouse setting, with experience in raw materials, forecasting, production processes, quality control, and cost management.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-speed environment, follow standardized work, and adhere to safe work practices in a continuous improvement environment.
• Lean Manufacturing or APICS / CPIM certification is a plus
• Experience and competence with MS Office Products including Teams, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Strong knowledge of ERP / MRP systems and inventory best practices.
• Experience in a warehouse or production environment preferred