Job Description
Supply Chain & Materials Operations Manager
Job Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire
Location: Marietta, OH
Starting Salary: $95,000/year (Compensation may be higher based on experience.)
Travel: Up to 20% for supplier meetings, sourcing activities, and industry events.
We are seeking an experienced Supply Chain & Materials Operations Manager to lead materials planning, procurement, inventory management, and supplier performance for a manufacturing operation. This leadership position is responsible for ensuring materials are available to support both configure-to-order (CTO) and engineered-to-order (ETO) production while balancing inventory investment, supplier performance, and production schedules.
The ideal candidate is equally comfortable leading day-to-day operations and developing long-term supply chain strategies. This role supervises Buyer Planners and works closely with project management, engineering, production, sales, quality, and operations teams to maintain uninterrupted manufacturing.
Primary Responsibilities
Team Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop the Buyer Planner team.
- Assign workloads and monitor performance across purchasing and planning activities.
- Conduct coaching sessions, performance reviews, and employee development planning.
- Promote cross-training and support professional certifications such as APICS CPIM or CSCP.
- Ensure team coverage during vacations, absences, or staffing changes.
Materials Planning & Production Support
- Oversee material planning for active manufacturing projects.
- Coordinate with Project Managers to align material availability with production schedules.
- Participate in project kickoff meetings to review BOMs, identify long-lead components, and evaluate supply risks.
- Lead material shortage investigations and implement recovery plans before production is impacted.
- Support configure-to-order (CTO) and engineered-to-order (ETO) manufacturing programs.
Sales & Demand Planning
- Partner with Sales during quoting activities to provide realistic material lead times.
- Participate in Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) meetings.
- Monitor demand forecasts and backlog trends to improve purchasing decisions.
- Support customer-specific inventory programs, blanket orders, and stocking agreements.
Strategic Supply Chain Management
- Develop sourcing strategies for long-lead and high-risk materials.
- Maintain inventory plans for critical electromechanical components including breakers, transformers, bus assemblies, custom enclosures, and power electronic modules.
- Identify single-source risks and recommend mitigation strategies including dual sourcing, safety stock, vendor-managed inventory (VMI), supplier-managed inventory, and long-term agreements (LTAs).
- Support commodity strategy implementation and make/buy evaluations.
- Monitor market conditions including pricing trends, tariffs, supplier capacity, and supply chain disruptions.
Inventory Management
- Manage inventory performance including inventory turns, excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory, working capital, and days of supply.
- Develop inventory policies including safety stock, reorder points, lot sizing, and cycle counting.
- Lead physical inventory activities and reconcile inventory results.
- Balance production requirements with inventory investment objectives.
Supplier Performance
- Measure supplier performance using on-time delivery, quality (PPM), lead time accuracy, and responsiveness.
- Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with strategic suppliers.
- Coordinate Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs) with Quality Engineering.
- Support supplier qualification activities and negotiate pricing agreements, blanket purchase orders, and long-term contracts.
ERP / MRP Management
- Maintain ERP and MRP planning accuracy, including item masters, supplier lead times, BOMs, and planning parameters.
- Ensure procurement and planning activities are completed within ERP systems.
- Analyze MRP outputs to identify planning issues and improve data accuracy.
- Partner with IT to improve reporting and supply chain system performance.
Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Prepare supply chain dashboards covering inventory, shortages, supplier performance, and material availability.
- Present monthly KPI reports and improvement plans to leadership.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on inventory optimization, supplier performance, ERP efficiency, warehouse operations, and material flow.
- Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and 5S principles where appropriate.
Performance Metrics
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field
- 7+ years of progressive supply chain experience in manufacturing
- At least 3 years leading buyers, planners, or Buyer Planner teams
- Experience supporting electrical, electromechanical, industrial, or similar manufacturing environments
- Advanced knowledge of ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, IFS, or similar platforms
- Strong understanding of inventory planning, procurement, supplier development, and material management
- Experience improving inventory performance while maintaining production support
- Experience leading supplier performance programs including QBRs and SCARs
- Strong Microsoft Excel and data analysis skills
- Excellent communication and cross-functional leadership abilities
Preferred Qualifications
- APICS CPIM, CSCP, ISM C.P.M., or CPSM certification
- Experience supporting power distribution products including PDCs, STS, RPPs, switchgear, UPS systems, or similar equipment
- Knowledge of UL, ANSI, NEMA, NEC, and IEC standards
- Experience with commodity management for electromechanical components
- Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt
- Experience with VMI, consignment inventory, supplier-stocked programs, blanket purchase orders, or import compliance
Work Environment
- On-site position within a manufacturing facility
- Daily interaction with production, warehouse, and receiving operations
- Ability to walk manufacturing areas and participate in inventory activities
- Up to 20% travel for supplier visits, sourcing reviews, and industry events
- Availability to respond to critical supply chain issues that may occur outside normal business hours
