Buyer/Planner

Department: Supply Chain Reports To: Process Engineer Location: Fuquay-Varina, NC Position Summary The Buyer/Planner is responsible for coordinating and managing the procurement of materials, inventory levels, and production scheduling to ensure the timely availability of materials and resources needed to meet customer demand. This position serves as a key link between suppliers, production, customer service, shipping, and other internal departments to align purchasing activities with production requirements. The Purchaser/Scheduler will develop and maintain production schedules, manage supplier relationships, issue and monitor purchase orders, and proactively address material shortages, scheduling conflicts, and changing business priorities. This role requires strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills to balance material availability, inventory investment, production efficiency, and on-time delivery performance. Key Responsibilities: Purchasing, Procurement & Supplier Management Plan, source, negotiate, and purchase raw materials, components, and supplies based on production requirements, customer demand, and inventory needs. Create, issue, and manage purchase orders, ensuring accuracy of pricing, quantities, specifications, and delivery dates. Coordinate purchasing activities with production schedules to ensure materials are available when needed and production interruptions are minimized. Monitor open purchase orders and supplier commitments, following up on late deliveries and proactively resolving potential material shortages. Establish and maintain strong supplier relationships to ensure dependable supply, competitive pricing, quality, and delivery performance. Evaluate supplier performance and address issues related to quality, pricing, lead times, and delivery reliability. Identify opportunities for cost savings, improved purchasing practices, and supplier development. Maintain appropriate inventory levels by balancing production requirements, supplier lead times, minimum order quantities, and carrying costs. Monitor material usage, inventory availability, and reorder points to support current and future production needs. Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier information, pricing, and inventory data within the company's ERP system. Production Planning & Scheduling Develop, coordinate, and maintain daily and weekly production schedules based on customer orders, production capacity, material availability, and delivery commitments. Align purchasing activities and material procurement with production schedules to ensure materials are available to support planned production. Review customer demand, inventory levels, open purchase orders, and production requirements to identify potential scheduling or material constraints. Coordinate with production, shipping, customer service, and other departments to establish priorities and maintain an efficient production workflow. Monitor production progress and order status to ensure schedules, customer priorities, and delivery deadlines are achieved. Proactively adjust production schedules in response to changes in customer demand, material shortages, supplier delays, equipment downtime, or capacity constraints. Communicate production schedule changes, material concerns, and potential delivery impacts to the appropriate departments. Identify scheduling conflicts, production bottlenecks, and capacity limitations, and work with department personnel to develop solutions. Monitor production lead times and material requirements to improve scheduling accuracy and overall operational efficiency. Coordinate with customer service and production teams regarding order priorities, schedule changes, and expected completion dates. Inventory & Cross-Functional Coordination Maintain visibility of raw materials, components, and inventory to ensure alignment between purchasing decisions and production requirements. Review inventory levels and material consump…

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