Supply Chain & Materials Operations Manager

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.

Position Overview

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

Success in this position may be measured using metrics such as:

Inventory turns

Material availability for scheduled production

Supplier On-Time Delivery (SOTD)

Purchase Price Variance (PPV)

Excess & Obsolete (E&O) inventory reduction

Production shortages caused by material availability

Supplier quality performance (PPM)

Strategic inventory readiness for long-lead materials

### 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