Buyer - Custom Studio 431

Buyer - Custom Studio 431

Kalamazoo, MI Help Turn One-of-a-Kind Ideas Into Reality

At Landscape Forms, Studio 431 is where custom ideas take shape. Our team partners with designers and customers to create unique solutions for outdoor spaces—and bringing those ideas to life requires the right materials, manufacturing capabilities, suppliers, and partnerships behind them.

We're looking for a Buyer (Internally titled: Supply Chain Analyst) who enjoys solving problems, building strong supplier relationships, and working across teams to find the best path from concept to production.

This is an opportunity for someone who understands that sourcing is about more than finding a supplier or placing an order. It's about asking the right questions early, understanding how something can be made, balancing quality, cost, timing, and risk, and building partnerships that help us deliver exceptional custom work.

This role sits at the intersection of supply chain, engineering, manufacturing, supplier partnerships, and custom product development.

You'll work closely with Studio 431 Project Management, Engineering, Production, Supply Chain, and external suppliers to support projects from early development through production.

You'll engage suppliers early to evaluate manufacturability and capabilities, identify and develop sourcing partners, support business awards aligned with our broader commodity strategies, and help ensure production has reliable, high-quality, and cost-competitive sources.

Because Studio 431 specializes in custom work, the challenges are rarely identical. Success requires curiosity, sound judgment, strong relationships, and the ability to think beyond the immediate sourcing decision to understand its long-term impact.

This is a hybrid position based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, requiring you to be onsite four days per week in accordance with our Flexible Work Guidelines.

• Support, stability, and the opportunity to grow within a collaborative, design-driven organization
• A competitive benefits package including, but not limited to, insurance benefits available your first day, 401(k), family and parenting leaves, tuition reimbursement, wellness programs, quarterly profit-sharing bonuses, and paid time off
• A highly collaborative environment where you'll work closely with Supply Chain, Engineering, Project Management, Production, and external suppliers
• Exposure to unique custom projects that require creative thinking and thoughtful sourcing solutions
• Opportunities to identify and lead continuous improvement across Studio 431 and broader Supply Chain processes

Landscape Forms is the industry leader in integrated solutions of high-design site furniture and advanced LED lighting. For more than 50 years, we have partnered with designers and clients to create beautiful, functional outdoor environments.

Our secret is simple:
Design, Culture, and Craft drive everything we do.

• Collaborate within the Studio 431 team to complete projects on time with reliable, high-quality, and total-cost-competitive sources
• Engage suppliers early in the development process to evaluate manufacturability, capabilities, quality, cost, and timing
• Support Supply Chain objectives by aligning sourcing activities with commodity strategies and sourcing values, including sustainability and risk management
• Build and actively manage supplier relationships, using performance metrics to evaluate results, award business, and implement solutions
• Identify and evaluate new suppliers and partners for components, subassemblies, and complete fabrication of Studio 431 purchased materials
• Maintain appropriate depth within the approved supplier base across individual commodities
• Collaborate with engineers, manufacturing team members, designers, suppliers, tool builders, and other partners to improve Studio 431 processes with scalability, reliability, and efficiency in mind
• Identify and execute continuous improvement projects across Studio 431 and broader Supply Chain processes
• Actively gather continuous improvement ideas from the supply base
• Drive accountability within the supply base and project teams to…