Procurement Planner

The Procurement Planner is responsible for ensuring raw materials, components and sub-assemblies are delivered to the Cambridge production sites to support production needs at optimal efficiency. This individual must fully understand RIMOWA’s supply chain and production operations, as well as be an expert on their assigned product or commodities. They will deploy inventory strategies, be responsible for product change and associated material planning implications, manage and solve exceptions, and drive supplier execution.

This role involves daily management of supply and constraints, status reporting and escalation, supplier engagement and the relentless pursuit of operational excellence and continuous improvement.

We’ll look to you to coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments according to daily and weekly production schedules.

Operational Procurement & Material Availability

• Ensuring Material Supply: Define the manufacturing needs for components based on the production plan, stock of components available, lead times and stock policy.
• Order Management & On-Time Delivery: Create and deploy supply requirements via MRP that achieves production, inventory, and cost objectives. Monitor open purchase orders to ensure on-time delivery.
• Expediting & Deferring Orders: Expedite or defer orders based on schedule/inventory changes to maintain production flow and optimize inventory.
• Managing Inter-company Material Flow: Manage the inter-company flow of materials between warehouse locations.
• Issue Resolution (Day-to-Day): Manage and resolve PO issues to invoice discrepancies, returns, and quality problems with suppliers.

Inventory Optimization & Strategic Material Management

• Inventory Level Determination: Determine and establish optimal inventory levels based on forecast, demand variation, and material lead times to balance availability and cost.
• System Parameter Management: Set up and maintain material master system planning parameters (MOQ, lead time, safety stocks).
• Material Flow Coordination (Product Changes): Coordinate material flows throughout product/BOM changes, obsolescence, and the introduction of new suppliers and/or materials due to new product development.
• Engineering Change Management: Manage engineering changes to minimize obsolete inventory and ensure continuous supply.
• Analytical Optimization: Apply analytics and supply chain expertise to manage system parameters, meet target inventory and service level goals while minimizing costs and obsolescence.

Supplier Relationship & Strategic Sourcing

• Building Supplier Partnerships: Build and maintain operational partnerships with assigned suppliers, acting as the primary interface for delivery status, issues, and resolution, escalating when required.
• New Supplier Development & Local Sourcing: Actively seek and develop new local suppliers for cost savings and reducing the carbon footprint. Support onboarding and training of new suppliers ensuring operational excellence and compliance.
• Supplier Compliance & Audit Preparation: Proactively assess and manage supplier compliance with future environmental standards.
• New Product Launch Coordination: Coordinate supplier ramp-up and ramp-down for new product launches.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Proactively identify and implement improvements processes, collaborating with the Plant Scheduling team through shared best practices and job shadowing.
• Cost Reduction Initiatives & Critical Assessment: Lead and participate in cost reduction initiatives by analyzing supplier processes, internal procurement processes, and overall supply-chain costs. Identify efficiencies, redundancies, and opportunities for savings.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with internal customers and provide a high level of customer service, including recommending solutions, resources, and alternative supply options.
• Operational Support: Provide back-up support for supply chain functions including shipping, receiving, material handling, scheduling, and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration,…