Buyer

About the Role

The Buyer serves as the single point of contact for procuring and ensuring the availability of materials needed to manufacture customer products. Using Epicor applications, this role collaborates with project managers and production planners to develop a materials availability plan. Key responsibilities include placing purchase orders, managing delivery schedules, ensuring on-time delivery of quality materials, and optimizing inventory to meet service levels and turnover targets.

Responsibilities

• Perform tasks associated with tactical buying under moderate supervision, supporting commodity management, project management, and manufacturing operations.
• Review Buy Reports generated by the ERP system to identify and act on buy, defer, expedite, or cancellation signals for assigned parts.
• Negotiate additional material discounts and terms at the time of order placement.
• Publish supplier open order reports to custom parts suppliers and communicate any issues to production.
• Analyze buy messages to maximize VPA and discount terms agreements with Tier 1 & 2 suppliers.
• Work with Production Planners to ensure material availability and maximize production capacity.
• Review Engineering Change Notices (ECNs) and recommend material effectivity dates for new or substituted parts to production planners.
• Ensure all purchased materials are in-house on time and meet quality standards; develop action plans when criteria are not met.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree or equivalent experience in a technical or business field.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• NAPM or APICS certification (CPIM) desired.
• Technical knowledge of purchasing, logistics, planning, and master scheduling.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and sound judgment.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP systems, particularly Epicor.

Working Environment

Primarily works in an office environment but may occasionally perform duties outside of the typical office setting.

Physical Requirements

• Interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting.
• Must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone.