Buyer Planner – Manufacturing

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.

• 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.