Buyer Planner – Manufacturing

Buyer Planner - Manufacturing

Location: Marietta, OH

Job Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire

Travel: Up to 10% for supplier visits and trade shows

Position Overview

We are seeking a Buyer Planner to manage purchasing and material planning for an electromechanical manufacturing operation. This position ensures components and materials are available to support production schedules while balancing inventory, supplier performance, cost, and delivery requirements.

The role works closely with Engineering, Production, Quality, Scheduling, Logistics, Sales, and Program Management in an MRP/ERP environment.

Products supported may include Power Distribution Cabinets (PDCs), Static Transfer Switches (STS), Remote Power Panels (RPPs), and Medium/Low Voltage Switchgear assemblies.

Key Responsibilities

Purchasing & Supplier Management

• Create and manage purchase orders for components such as bus bars, circuit breakers, contactors, transformers, enclosures, cable assemblies, and switchgear components.
• Identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers based on engineering requirements, lead times, quality, and total cost.
• Negotiate supplier pricing, payment terms, lead times, and contractual agreements with domestic and international vendors.
• Maintain supplier relationships and review performance using on-time delivery, quality PPM, and lead-time compliance.
• Manage spot purchases and blanket purchase orders for standard and custom materials.
• Identify supply risks involving single-source suppliers, sole-source components, and long-lead materials and develop mitigation plans.

Material Planning & Inventory

• Use ERP/MRP systems to review demand, calculate material requirements, and create planned orders based on production needs.
• Maintain item master information, including lead times, safety stock, minimum order quantities (MOQs), and reorder points.
• Monitor inventory to minimize shortages and excess while supporting production continuity.
• Resolve shortages and expedite critical materials when necessary to protect production schedules.
• Coordinate with production schedulers to align material availability with capacity plans and customer delivery dates.
• Perform cycle counts and physical inventory reconciliations and investigate discrepancies.

Cross-Functional Support

• Work with Design and Sustaining Engineering on new product introductions (NPIs), engineering change orders (ECOs), and bill of materials (BOMs).
• Partner with Quality Engineering on supplier corrective action requests (SCARs), non-conforming material (NCM) disposition, and first-article inspections (FAIs).
• Coordinate with Logistics and Receiving to monitor inbound shipments, resolve receiving discrepancies, and support timely dock-to-stock processing.
• Provide Sales and Program Management with material availability updates and supply-risk assessments during delivery escalations.
• Participate in Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) and production-readiness reviews.

Reporting & Process Improvement

• Monitor supply-chain metrics including purchase price variance (PPV), supplier on-time delivery (SOTD), inventory turns, and material shortages.
• Support cost-reduction initiatives involving value engineering, supplier consolidation, and total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis.
• Improve purchasing and planning processes through effective ERP usage and accurate supply-chain data.
• Support Lean Manufacturing initiatives and participate in Kaizen events involving material flow and supply-chain processes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3-5+ years of combined purchasing and/or material-planning experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience purchasing electromechanical or electrical/electronic components, including breakers, bus duct, switchgear parts, enclosures, or wiring harnesses.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems, such as SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, or similar systems, in a production environment.
• Working knowledge of MRP logic, demand planning, and supply-chain fundamentals.
• Strong negotiation skills with demonstrated success improving cost and supply reliability.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, BOMs, and technical specifications.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and supply/demand modeling.
• Strong communication, organization, and prioritization skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in power distribution, electrical switchgear, UPS, or critical power industries.
• Familiarity with PDCs, STS units, RPPs, panelboards, or MV/LV switchgear assemblies.
• APICS CPIM, CSCP, or ISM C.P.M./CPSM certification.
• Experience with Lean/Six Sigma and continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of UL, ANSI, IEC, NEMA, and NEC standards related to power distribution equipment.
• Experience with supplier development and international sourcing involving Asia, Mexico, or Europe.
• Familiarity with customs and import compliance for electrical components.

Core Skills

• Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation
• MRP & Demand Planning
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Inventory Optimization
• ERP Systems & Data Integrity
• Electrical/Mechanical Technical Aptitude
• Data