Strategic Materials & Planning Manager

Team Leadership

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


• Establish performance goals, conduct reviews, and support employee development.


• Balance workloads across team members based on project demands and business priorities.


• Promote effective ERP/MRP utilization and ensure planning activities are executed through established systems.


• Support cross-training, succession planning, and professional development initiatives.

Material Planning & Project Support

• Align material plans with project schedules, customer commitments, and production requirements.


• Participate in project kickoff activities to identify long-lead components and supply risks.


• Monitor shortages and coordinate corrective actions to minimize project disruptions.


• Partner with project management teams to ensure material availability supports delivery commitments.


• Support quick-ship, configure-to-order, and engineered-to-order programs.

Sales & Demand Planning

• Provide material availability and lead-time guidance during quoting and order planning activities.


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


• Review sales forecasts, backlog trends, and anticipated demand to support inventory decisions.


• Assist with customer stocking agreements, blanket orders, and inventory programs.

Strategic Supply Chain Management

• Develop sourcing strategies for critical and long-lead materials.


• Identify supply chain risks and implement mitigation plans, including dual sourcing, safety stock, and supplier partnerships.


• Support commodity strategy initiatives and supplier positioning efforts.


• Evaluate make-versus-buy opportunities and provide recommendations to leadership.


• Monitor market trends, pricing changes, tariffs, and supply constraints impacting operations.

Inventory & Warehouse Performance

• Manage inventory levels, working capital, inventory turns, and excess or obsolete inventory.


• Establish and maintain inventory policies including safety stock, reorder points, and cycle count programs.


• Lead annual physical inventory activities and inventory reconciliation efforts.


• Drive improvements in inventory accuracy and overall inventory performance.

Supplier Management

• Monitor supplier performance related to delivery, quality, responsiveness, and lead times.


• Conduct supplier business reviews and manage performance improvement initiatives.


• Support supplier qualification, development, and corrective action processes.


• Participate in supplier negotiations and long-term agreement management.


• Partner with quality teams on SCAR activities and supplier improvement efforts.

ERP/MRP Systems & Data Integrity

• Maintain accurate item master, BOM, supplier, and planning data.


• Review MRP outputs and address planning exceptions.


• Support ERP system enhancements and reporting improvements.


• Promote data accuracy and system discipline throughout the supply chain organization.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and present supply chain performance reports and KPI dashboards.


• Analyze inventory, supplier, and material availability metrics.


• Lead continuous improvement projects focused on planning effectiveness, inventory optimization, warehouse efficiency, and supplier performance.


• Support Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and waste-reduction initiatives.

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Inventory turns


• Material availability to schedule


• Supplier on-time delivery performance


• Purchase price variance (PPV)


• Excess and obsolete inventory reduction


• Production shortage prevention


• Supplier quality performance


• Strategic inventory positioning for critical materials

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


• 7+ years of progressive supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.


• Minimum of 3 years leading buyers, planners, or supply chain personnel.


• Experience supporting electrical, electromechanical, industrial, or engineered manufacturing operations.


• Strong knowledge of material planning, procurement, inventory management, and supplier performance programs.


• Advanced experience with ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, IFS, or similar platforms.


• Proven success improving inventory performance while maintaining material availability.


• Experience working closely with project management, engineering, sales, operations, and finance teams.


• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.


• Advanced Microsoft Excel and reporting capabilities.

• APICS CPIM, CSCP, CPSM, C.P.M., or related certifications.


• Experience supporting power distribution products including switchgear, UPS systems, PDCs, STS, RPPs, and related equipment.


• Familiarity with UL, ANSI, NEMA, NEC, and IEC standards.


• Experience developing sourcing strategies for electromechanical components such as breakers, transformers, enclosures, bus systems, and power electronics.


• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma certification.


• Experience with VMI, consignment inventory, blanket purchase agreements, and strategic inventory programs.


• Exposure to import compliance and international sourcing activities.

• Competitive salary based on experience


• Comprehensive benefits package


• Career growth opportunities


• Professional development support


• Collaborative leadership environment