Senior Materials & Supply Chain Manager

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Buyer Planners.


• Assign workloads and balance responsibilities across projects and commodities.


• Conduct coaching sessions, performance reviews, and KPI tracking.


• Support employee development through training and cross-functional exposure.


• Ensure continuity of purchasing and planning activities during absences.

Materials Planning & Production Support

• Coordinate material plans with project schedules and production requirements.


• Review Bills of Materials (BOMs) and identify long-lead components early in the project lifecycle.


• Lead material shortage escalations and coordinate corrective actions across departments.


• Monitor project priorities to maintain production schedules and customer delivery commitments.


• Support both configure-to-order and engineered-to-order manufacturing environments.

Sales & Demand Planning

• Partner with Sales during quoting activities to provide realistic material lead times.


• Participate in Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP).


• Monitor demand trends and proactively position critical materials.


• Support customer stocking programs and inventory agreements.

Strategic Supply Chain Management

• Develop inventory strategies for critical and long-lead components.


• Identify sourcing risks and implement mitigation strategies such as dual sourcing, safety stock, supplier-managed inventory, and long-term agreements.


• Support commodity planning and make-versus-buy evaluations.


• Monitor market conditions including pricing, tariffs, supply disruptions, and commodity availability.

Inventory Management

• Oversee inventory accuracy, working capital, and inventory health.


• Drive improvements in inventory turns while maintaining production readiness.


• Lead excess and obsolete inventory reviews and disposition planning.


• Manage safety stock policies, reorder parameters, cycle counts, and annual physical inventories.


• Balance inventory investment with operational requirements.

Supplier Performance

• Manage supplier delivery, quality, responsiveness, and lead-time performance.


• Conduct supplier business reviews and oversee improvement initiatives.


• Partner with Quality on Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs).


• Support supplier qualification and development activities.


• Negotiate pricing agreements, blanket purchase orders, and long-term supplier contracts.

ERP / MRP Leadership

• Maintain accurate ERP/MRP planning data including item masters, BOMs, supplier lead times, and planning parameters.


• Ensure purchasing and planning activities are executed through the ERP system.


• Identify planning issues and improve system effectiveness.


• Partner with IT on ERP enhancements and reporting improvements.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Prepare weekly and monthly supply chain performance reports.


• Track KPIs related to inventory, supplier performance, shortages, and material availability.


• Lead Lean and continuous improvement initiatives focused on inventory optimization, warehouse efficiency, and planning accuracy.


• Support 5S, process improvements, and operational excellence initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured by metrics including:

• Inventory Turns (goal: 10+ annually)


• Material Availability


• Supplier On-Time Delivery


• Purchase Price Variance


• Excess & Obsolete Inventory Reduction


• Production Downtime Due to Material Shortages


• Supplier Quality Performance


• Strategic Inventory Readiness

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field (advanced degree preferred).


• 7-10+ years of progressive supply chain experience in manufacturing.


• Minimum of 3 years leading buyers, planners, or purchasing teams.


• Experience supporting industrial, electrical, electromechanical, or similar manufacturing environments.


• Advanced knowledge of ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, IFS, or similar.


• Strong experience improving inventory performance while maintaining production support.


• Background managing supplier performance programs including QBRs and SCARs.


• Demonstrated ability to lead both day-to-day operations and long-term supply chain strategy.


• Excellent communication and cross-functional leadership skills.


• Advanced Microsoft Excel and data analysis skills.

• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification.


• ISM C.P.M. or CPSM certification.


• Experience with power distribution equipment or similar industrial products.


• Knowledge of UL, ANSI, NEMA, NEC, or IEC standards.


• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma certification.


• Experience with Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), consignment programs, or blanket purchase agreements.


• International sourcing, customs, or import compliance experience.

• Supply Chain Leadership


• Inventory Optimization


• ERP/MRP Planning


• Purchasing & Procurement


• Supplier Relationship Management


• Strategic Sourcing


• Demand Planning


• Cross-Functional Collaboration


• Risk Management


• Data Analysis & Reporting


• Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement


• Executive Communication

• This is a fully on-site position within a manufacturing facility.


• Daily interaction with production, warehouse, and receiving operations is expected.


• Travel up to 20% for supplier visits, sourcing activities, and industry events.


• Occasional availability outside normal business hours may be needed to resolve critical supply chain issues.


• Ability to walk the manufacturing floor and participate in inventory activities is required.