Materials Manager

We are looking for a talented Materials Manager to join our team for our Upfit site in Ankeny, IA.

In this role, you will make an impact in the following ways: 

• Drive the daily execution of a critical segment of the supply chain by ensuring customer requirements are met, proactively managing operational priorities, and maintaining continuity of supply.


• Identify and eliminate potential supply chain disruptions through effective planning, risk assessment, and preventative actions that reduce the need for reactive expediting.


• Lead cross-functional teams to develop and implement short- and mid-term improvement initiatives that enhance operational performance, responsiveness, and overall supply chain effectiveness.


• Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs), identify trends and improvement opportunities, and develop action plans that deliver measurable results and support business objectives.


• Optimize supply chain planning processes by leveraging common tools, systems, and best practices while recommending and approving planning parameter changes that improve performance and accuracy.


• Collaborate with suppliers, customers, and internal stakeholders to mitigate capacity, material, and demand constraints, ensuring continuity of operations and minimizing business impact.


• Champion continuous improvement by leading Six Sigma and process improvement projects that increase efficiency, strengthen controls, and drive sustainable operational excellence.


• Mentor and develop supply chain planners while reinforcing standard processes, governance, and internal controls to build organizational capability and ensure consistent execution across the function.

To be successful in this role you will need the following: 

• Success in this role requires a strong combination of supply chain planning expertise, analytical problem-solving, leadership, and stakeholder engagement. You will be most effective when you balance operational execution with strategic thinking while ensuring customer needs remain at the center of decision-making.

• Build strong partnerships across planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, suppliers, and customer-facing teams to resolve constraints, align priorities, and achieve shared supply chain objectives.

• Communicate proactively and effectively with stakeholders at all levels, translating complex planning challenges, risks, and performance metrics into clear actions and recommendations.

• Maintain a strong customer focus by ensuring material availability, minimizing supply disruptions, and making decisions that support delivery performance and customer satisfaction.

• Lead and develop others by coaching planners, sharing best practices, fostering continuous learning, and building team capability to improve overall supply chain performance.

• Drive accountability by establishing clear expectations, monitoring commitments, following through on action plans, and ensuring operational targets and business objectives are achieved.

• Leverage materials planning systems and advanced planning tools to manage supply and demand, resolve exception messages, identify root causes, and make data-driven decisions that improve planning effectiveness.

• Apply Plan for Every Part (PFEP) principles and master scheduling expertise to optimize material flow, inventory levels, production alignment, and end-to-end supply chain efficiency.

• Analyze supply chain KPIs, inventory trends, and operational performance data to identify improvement opportunities, balance competing priorities, and implement sustainable solutions that drive measurable business results.
  
  Education, Licenses, Certifications: 
  College, university, or equivalent degree required.
  This position may require licensing for compliance with export controls or sanctions regulations. 
  
  Experience: 
  Intermediate level of experience required. 3-5 years of relevant work experience preferred.

• Lead and develop the Materials Planning team (6) by establishing standardized processes, providing cross-training, conducting regular one-on-ones and team meetings, and ensuring clear supplier and planner ownership.
• Ensure material availability and purchasing execution by overseeing ordering activity, approving purchase orders in SAP, monitoring team progress, and addressing gaps that could affect production.
• Manage supplier performance and escalations by resolving past-due orders, missing confirmations, drawing or resourcing issues, and other supplier-related constraints in partnership with Sourcing and Scheduling.
• Optimize inventory and minimize operational risk by managing stocking levels, identifying excess and obsolete inventory, supporting inventory-reduction initiatives, and leading root-cause analysis of material shortages.
• Drive performance visibility and continuous improvement by tracking key materials KPIs, reviewing SAP and exception reports, maintaining accurate inventory and open-PO reporting, and working with leadership to improve processes across sites.
• Ankeny is the only Upfit site currently on SAP.

Compensation: 

Please note that the salary range provided is a good faith estimate on the applicable range. The final salary offer will be determined after considering relevant factors, including a candidate’s qualifications and experience, where appropriate.