Procurement Specialist

About the Role

Our Waco, TX facility manufactures aluminum beverage cans commonly used for soft drinks, beers, energy drinks, teas, and non-carbonated beverages. Using state-of-the-art can-making technology, this high-speed environment provides rewarding manufacturing opportunities. The Procurement Specialist is responsible for the strategic sourcing, negotiation, and purchasing of all materials, equipment, and services required for the continuous, high-volume operation of the Aluminum Beverage Can Manufacturing Plant. This role is critical in managing the supply chain, optimizing costs, ensuring material availability, and maintaining strong supplier relationships to support production efficiency and quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Sourcing and Negotiation
  • Transaction Processing: Convert approved purchase requisitions into formal Purchase Orders (POs) within SAP, ensuring accurate pricing, quantities, and delivery dates.
  • MRO Procurement: Source and purchase mechanical spare parts (bearings, belts, seals), electrical components, lubricants, and safety supplies to support the Maintenance and Engineering departments.
  • Expediting: Monitor open orders and proactively follow up with vendors to ensure on-time delivery. Resolve any shipping delays or discrepancies before they impact production.
  • Invoice Reconciliation: Partner with the Finance department to resolve "three-way match" discrepancies between POs, receipts, and invoices.
• Vendor Relationship & Performance
  • Sourcing: Identify and vet new suppliers for specialized manufacturing components, requesting quotes (RFQs) to ensure competitive pricing.
  • Performance Tracking: Assist the Procurement Manager in evaluating vendor performance regarding quality, lead times, and service levels.
  • Contract Administration: Maintain up-to-date records of supplier agreements, insurance certificates, and tax documentation.
• Inventory & Operational Support
  • Collaboration: Work closely with the Materials Coordinators to ensure that "min/max" levels are maintained and that incoming materials are properly received and labeled.
  • Technical Liaison: Coordinate with the Maintenance Team to ensure the correct technical specifications are met for high-precision machine parts (e.g., bodymaker tool packs or decorator plates).
  • Cost Reduction: Identify opportunities for bulk purchasing or alternative sourcing to contribute to the plant’s annual cost-savings targets.
• For All Envases Employees
  • Commit to ensuring the health/wellness of our employees and product.
  • Ensure the jobs/operations are completely safe to protect employees and to ensure the sustainability of company equipment/machinery.
  • Ensure the security of the workforce and sustain any client confidentiality requests.
  • Deliver timely and efficiently without hindering quality of services and work to ensure the team’s success in meeting our client delivery schedules.
  • Team-centered to perform your job successfully while identifying ways to help others be successful too; willingness to learn; works at a fast pace, actively pursues tasks or direction; willing to work extended hours and adapt to changing work schedules as well as assignments; determines what work needs to be done without instruction; takes action to complete additional work that is beneficial to the team without being instructed.

Requirements

• Education & Experience:
  • Required Education: High school diploma or GED.
  • Experience: 2+ years of experience in industrial purchasing or supply chain within a manufacturing environment.
  • Software: Strong proficiency in SAP (MM module) and Microsoft Excel.
  • Attention to Detail: Meticulous approach to data entry and order tracking to prevent costly production delays.
  • Critical Availability: Must be available to respond to and manage supply chain emergencies (e.g., critical delivery failures, line-down risks) on a 24/7 basis, including nights, weekends, and holidays, due to the plant's continuous operation.
• Preferred:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, or a related field.
  • Experience in the beverage packaging or metal forming industry.
  • Familiarity with technical drawings or blueprints to assist in parts identification.
• General Skills/Experience:
  • Negotiation Skills: Demonstrated ability to conduct effective negotiations and manage long-term supplier contracts.
  • ERP/MRP Proficiency: Strong working knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards) for purchasing and inventory management.
  • Analytical Skills: Proficiency in financial analysis, total cost of ownership (TCO) calculation, and managing supply chain metrics.
  • Communication: Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills for internal stakeholder communication and external vendor relations.
  • Certifications: Certification such as Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) is a plus.
  • Ability to work with employees from many different cultures and backgrounds.
• Software/Computer Skills & Experience:
  • General knowledge of basic hardware and software and uses of a variety of different computer operating systems such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), Google Workspace, and website software.
  • Prior experience with enterprise-wide purchasing software.
  • Prior experience with supply chain inventory databases.
  • Ability to learn new software systems and data management systems quickly.
  • Proficient keyboarding and typing skills.

Schedule

• Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM; present to fulfill job duties and meet operational demands/support.
• Schedule may vary depending on plant operational needs, which could include long days, occasional evenings, and weekends.
• Regular and predictable attendance is an essential function of this position.

Environmental & Physical Factors

• Works primarily indoors in a well-lighted, air-conditioned office.
• Daily contact with the public, other departmental personnel, and vendors.
• Occasionally required to work outside and/or in an un-air-conditioned warehouse when working with surplus and scrap materials.
• Continuous use of vision, hearing, and speech.
• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, and occasional bending.
• May lift, carry, pull/push, and reach for supplies, and on occasion lift up to 50 lbs.