Manager, Purchasing and Planning

Forte Opening Solutions • West Deptford Township, NJ

5d • $115,000 - $125,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Purchasing & Planning Manager is responsible for leading the procurement functions across multiple sites to ensure sustainment of key vendor-partner relationships, optimal inventory levels and turns, timely acquisition of materials, and the lowest optimal material costs without sacrificing quality. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, negotiating with suppliers, and driving cost-effective purchasing strategies while maintaining high standards for quality and delivery. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical, leadership, and negotiation skills, with the ability to optimize the supply chain to meet business goals. This position will manage a team of buyers, category managers, and/or production planners. This position reports to the Division VP & GM.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, economics, or analytics required.
• Minimum of 5 years of Supply Chain experience with a focus on purchasing, procurement, category and vendor management.
• Minimum of 2 years of team leadership experience leading a team of at least two buyers or planners.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to communicate detailed planning.
• Ability to lead through influence with other cross functional leaders.
• Advanced skillset in Microsoft office – Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Previous subject matter expertise in ERP/MRP systems.
• Experience using data to drive informed and thoughtful decision making.
• Onsite in Thorofare, NJ; Arlington, TX; or Howell, MI; 100% In-Office – no remote or hybrid option.
• This position will require ~20% travel for routine plant and supplier visits.

Nice To Haves

• APICS CSCP, APICS CPIM are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Development (10%): • Lead and develop purchasing team with specific plans/goals for each team member and routine feedback. • Ensure adherence to Standard Operating Procedures. • Utilize Voice of Customer feedback to enhance supplier or team performance. • Provide support and mentorship to team members. • Ensure purchase-level spend thresholds are adhered to and/or appropriate approval is sought.
• Supplier & Category Management (30%) • Identify and qualify new suppliers to diversify the supply base and reduce sourcing risks. • Sustain positive relations with existing suppliers and utilize a supplier scorecard to analyze, review, and hold the company’s top suppliers accountable for compliance with contracts, quality, standards, and delivery. • Develop alternative supply and contingency plans to ensure minimal supply-related disruptions to production and on-time delivery. • Procure key parts, components, and supplies from key vendors on a daily/weekly basis by issuing purchase orders and communicating with vendors via email, phone, or in-person. • Manage spend-level approvals and thresholds, seeking plant manager or executive approvals when needed. • Lead and author Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Quote (RFQ) processes that will be administered by the purchasing team. • Partner with the Corporate Strategic Sourcing Team to implement strategic inventory programs such as Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI), consignment, or long-term agreements (LTA) for key commodities or services.
• Materials & Cost Management (20%) • Lead make/buy decision process and analysis with cross-functional leaders in SIOP. • Implement and sustain effective procurement and MRP strategies that ensure the timely purchase of materials, goods, and services as part of standard work. • Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, negotiating the best pricing, terms, and conditions without sacrificing quality. • Partner with Product Management to ensure parts and supplier planning and communication for new product development as well as product rationalization, cannibalization, and retirement. • Review and monitor pricing and material margins on daily/weekly basis for alignment to budgets, contracts, and expectations.
• Inventory Optimization (15%) • Ensure vendor partners are aligned with and participating in safety stock requirements. • Regularly review vendor lead times and publish reports for internal customers and peers. • Lead inventory segmentation through materials planning strategies such as ABC and XYZ analysis that results in budgeted inventory turn metrics being met or exceeded. • Ensure alignment with corporate cycle counting strategies that achieve 96% or better inventory accuracy. • Own the cycle counting process and results across all division locations. • Collaborate with Product Management to facilitate new product development material forecasting and cannibalized and rationalized product or part supply/demand phase out.
• Production Planning (25%) • Establish and sustain a standardized capacity planning model within ERP for all division locations. • Ensure visualization of production planning through MDI (manage for daily improvement) visual tools. • Produce weekly capacity and lead time reports for internal customers and leaders driven by data analytics from each plant. • Lead and own SIOP activities to ensure alignment between sales, inventory, and production planning for short- and long-term business needs. • Manage coordination of outbound production logistics for planned routes, LTL, and contract freight. • Manage capacity and optimization planning for logistics to achieve lowest cost per unit freight while maintaining reliability to customer expectations. • Produce weekly logistics route utilization reports for leadership.

Benefits

• This position may also be eligible for an annual bonus and a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) and vacation time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager