Buyer, Sr.

SUMMARY

The Sr. Buyer is responsible for all procurement necessary to keep the plant equipped with materials, supplies and services used in the manufacturing of molded fiber components. Coordination of all activities related to procurement such as supplier management including on time delivery, quality rejections, and premium freight utilizing Material Requirement Planning (MRP) systems and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is performed using best buy practices and conformance to MFT-CKF, Inc. corporate procedures and Sarbanes-Oxley.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manages inventory levels to targets; monitors customer demand and production schedules to ensure adequate material availability.
• Working knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
• Reviews current material costs and negotiates cost savings when appropriate
• Ensure lowest cost purchasing of MRO items
• Monitors incoming freight costs based on established budgets.
• Maintains, track, and reports supplier quality rating – on time delivery, supplier project portfolio management (PPM)’s and expedited freight.

• Manages the return of defective materials with suppliers including authorization of payment of invoices or return of merchandise.

• Requests and reviews supplier corrective actions.
• Maintains and performs monthly raw material inventory per UFP corporate procedures and in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.

• Analyzes and monitors sales records, trends and economic conditions to anticipate consumer buying patterns and determines what the company will sell and how much inventory is needed.
• Confers with Sales and provides quotes/pricing as needed.
• Attends daily production meetings and presents any material shortages or supplier issues.
• Develop and implement strategies to improve operational efficiency, add value and drive continuous improvement
• Travels to suppliers up to 10% of the time.

• Performs all other duties as assigned or needed.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in material procurement or similar discipline, and 5 years related work experience in a manufacturing environment; or
• Equivalent combination of above education and experience.
• Strong analytical abilities and experience working with ERP and MRP systems.
• Ability to effectively communicate information and respond to questions from groups of managers, coworkers, vendors and customers.
• Experience with lean manufacturing and six sigma environment a plus.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Supervisory Responsibility

• Not Applicable.

Complexity

• Must be able to handle analysis projects independently. Example; obtain multiple quotes that may be purchased in different measures; compare best buy; and come up with annual savings for multiple items from same source. Also, must be able to extensively plan projects.
• Must understand and apply best buy practices versus just repeat buying.
• Must be able to handle complex monitoring/planning projects with various steps and facets, including material production run authorization.
• Must be depended upon to work with suppliers ethically and with company confidentiality.

Latitude of Judgment

• The senior buyer must have the ability to make decisions based on limited data and execute actions with limited guidance from the Customer Services & Materials Manager.
• Must be able to handle and respond to any purchasing department questions in the manager’s absence, and seek guidance from others as needed. Must understand when approvals are necessary and then follow through to obtain the approvals.

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL EFFORT