Description

Company Summary

Managed as part the Riverbend Industries portfolio, Phoenix Manufacturing, Inc (“PMI”) designs, markets, sales, and manufactures various high-efficiency residential and industrial evaporative cooler systems under the Frigiking®, Aerocool®, and Ecokool® brands. For almost fifty years, PMI has been providing quality cooling solutions and exceptional customer service to customers across the western United States and beyond. 

Riverbend Industries Inc. (“RBI”) is a private family-owned portfolio holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The portfolio is primarily comprised of several small, independently operated, previously family-run businesses in the light manufacturing and distribution sectors. The portfolio is a long-term holder of its investments and plans to grow both organically and through acquisitions into the foreseeable future.

Position Summary

As a strategic leader, the Sourcing Specialist will create and implement sourcing strategies that align with the organization's procurement goals. This role identifies suppliers, negotiates contracts, and manages supplier relationships to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality goods and services at a reasonable price while optimizing sourcing procedures to attain maximum efficiency. The successful candidate will evaluate and improve sourcing activities by analyzing the company's spending, supplier partnerships, and new vendor relationships. This role requires leadership and support for manufacturing and supply chain activities to ensure cost-effective production and on-time delivery of high-quality products. You will collaborate closely with Sales, Engineering, and Production Management to develop and manage sourcing while analyzing and calculating costs of procurement and suggest methods to decrease expenditure. You will leverage data analytics and strategic sourcing principles, they assess numerous factors beyond cost and quality, such as risk, and reliability. You will develop and manage a supplier matrix and production strategies that elevate performance, boost profit, drive speed to market and deliver on sustainability commitments, through an optimized and rationalized supplier base. 

Essential Job Functions

The Sourcing Specialist will have several Roles and Responsibilities including, but not limited to the following:

•  Approach every task with a Safety-First mindset
• Responsible for managing the company’s supply portfolio ensuring transparency of spending
• Identify and evaluate potential suppliers based on factors such as price, quality, reliability, and service
• Negotiate contracts, terms, and pricing with suppliers to achieve cost savings and favorable terms
• Manage supplier relationships to ensure alignment with company objectives and performance expectations
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, such as production, scheduling, sales, quality assurance, engineering, and finance teams to understand requirements and priorities 
• Generating and implementing efficient sourcing and category management strategies
• Analyze and calculate costs of procurement and suggest methods to decrease expenditure
• Develop negotiation strategies and secure profitable deals
• Monitor supplier performance and address any issues or concerns in a timely manner
• Optimize sourcing procedures to attain maximum efficiency when buying material from vendors
• Research and anticipate shifts in the negotiating power of supplies by performing cost and scenario analysis, and benchmarking 
• Stay informed about industry trends, market conditions, and regulatory changes that may impact sourcing decisions 
• Develop, deploy, and ensure adherence to policies and procedures for all supply chain activities including purchasing, warehousing, order fulfillment, and logistics 
• Participate as a key member of the Operations management team. Collaborate well with other managers and functions to improving overall business performance 
• Collaborate with customer base to determine weekly inbound forecast and develop consumption models to improve accuracy
• Work closely with the Materials team in developing a Production (Build) plan based on demand requirements from actual Sales Orders. Translates the build plan into firm work orders to drive MRP
• Works closely with the Materials & Procurement Manager to ensure raw materials support the Production plan and provide timely feedback to Sales/Marketing for any deviation from the original expectation
• Coordinate information with other functional staff, including customer service, engineering, operations, and accounting
• Understand capacity management relationship to MRP. Work with work center input and output loading. Establish, measure, monitor, and adjust capacity levels to execute all manufacturing schedules.
• Work with the Inventory Control team in Identifying/ analyzing operational problems related to cycle count inventory and identifying root causes
• Coordination with Inventory Control team of the annual physical inventory with all departments
• Monitor and ensure accuracy of all inventory transactions and maintain records of all stockroom locations
• Develop and implement strategies to simplify processes, improve accuracy, and improve operating efficiency
• Provide appropriate direction and support to team members to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of inventory control systems and procedures
• Excellent organizational, verbal, and written communicational skills 
• Able to develop rapport and relationships with all levels of employees 
• Ability to quickly adapt to current conditions and to multi-task efficiently and effectively
• Will perform duties in both office and Manufacturing plant environment 
• Must perform all work per all applicable safety procedures
• Able to work Overtime based on production requirements
• Follow up the execution of the excess and obsolescence process for raw material and review options with suppliers to reduce the inventory 
• Other duties and responsibilities as required

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Supply Chain Management, or related field
• 7-10 years’ experience in Global multi-operations supply chain management in high-volume assembly and large-scale fabrication operations 
• 3-5 years’ experience in sourcing, procurement, or supply chain management roles
• 3-5 years’ experience in negotiation skills and ability to build and maintain effective supplier relationships 
• 3-5 years’ Senior Level experience in leading materials organizations and effectively deploying and overseeing materials management processes and activities including analyzing complex data and working with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced distribution operation environment
• JD Edwards or Epicor ERP experience preferred 
• Working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing 
• CPM/CPSM or CIPS Certification a plus 
• Software/Technical Skills (Intermediate)
• MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PPT)
• Warehouse Management System Knowledge
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong interpersonal and communication skills to interact with all levels of the organization as well as professionally represent the company to outside parties
• Ability to foster and build relationships with cross-functional team members throughout the organization. 
• Ability to effectively explain and interpret organizational policies and procedures
• Superb skills in problem-solving and critical thinking with attention to detail and follow-up
• Ability to work as needed, particularly during high volume periods, to ensure that departmental objectives are accomplished
• Capacity to apply a good understanding to conduct detailed written or oral instructions; deal with problems involving variables in standardized situations; understand the fundamental flow of shop material and its problems or material handling

Physical Conditions

• Ability to remain seated for extended periods
• Ability to stand, walk, kneel, squat, climb, and navigate in closed manufacturing spaces on occasion
• Ability to safely lift and move objects up to twenty-five (25) lbs. over short distances

Work Environment

The work environment described here is representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job the employee will be in an Office-based environment. All job requirements listed indicate the minimum level of knowledge, skills, and/or ability deemed necessary to perform the job proficiently. 

This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. This position description is not all inclusive.

PMI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.