Buyer/Planner (9 month Contract)

Reporting to the Purchasing Manager Directs, the Buyer/Planner is responsible for ensuring the accurate, timely purchasing of ingredients, packaging and other materials used in the day-to-day manufacture of products. This position will employ procurement and sourcing strategies to ensure the effective execution of purchase agreements and positive supplier relationships with a focus on-time material availability, reducing costs and maximizing quality of materials and products.

Essential Duties and responsibilities

• Evaluate daily MRP (materials requirement plan) to determine material supply needs and take the appropriate actions to meet those needs.
• Generate, adjust, and expedite purchase orders for assigned commodities ensuring inventory levels are aligned with production schedule requirements. 
• Follow up on purchases to ensure on time delivery.
• Monitor required materials are delivered and received to storage to ensure inventory accuracy.
• Make sound purchasing decisions that avoid price variances and minimize inventory levels.
• Support inventory management to review and minimize disposition of aged and excess inventory of assigned commodities. 
• Assist with the coordination of material requirements to support projects, innovation, short- and long-term forecast.
• Support the sourcing, evaluation and recommendation of new suppliers and materials that help generate cost savings or improve efficiencies.
• Maintain data integrity/pricing for assigned commodities as defined by company and department guidelines.
• Generate/Publish supplier monthly score cards.
• Support Global Specification Management requirements as needed.
• Establish and maintain active relationships with suppliers. 
• Communicate and monitor expected service levels from suppliers that support company goals and objectives.
• Support QA to resolve supplier quality issues, ensure supplier performance issues are resolved on a timely basis to the satisfaction of internal stakeholders.
• Support Global Supplier Quality with requests for documentation, supplier registration and quality performance expectations
• Participate in the supplier score card review and evaluation for assigned suppliers at established intervals.
• Stay proactive to flag any risks to supply based on market conditions that could affect price or availability of purchased items.
• Work with suppliers to ensure the latest order processing procedures and technology are being used.
• Support and resolve invoice reconciliation with accounts payable.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or related experience.
• Minimum three years’ experience within sourcing function in the manufacturing industry.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
• Self-starter with excellent organization, negotiation, follow up and decision-making skills.
• Team player who can also work well independently and with little direction.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and requests in an efficient manner and on a timely basis.
• Strong analytical ability with great level of proficiency in use of Microsoft Office applications i.e. Excel, Word, PowerPoint and SharePoint.
• Proficiency with an ERP system utilizing MRP or other replenishment tool.