Materials Manager – Manufacturing

Materials Manager – Manufacturing

Location:Marietta, OH
Job Type:Full-Time, Direct Hire
Travel:Up to 20% for supplier visits, sourcing reviews, industry conferences, and occasional customer engagement

We are seeking a
Materials Manager
to lead supply chain and material-planning activities within a manufacturing operation. This role oversees the Buyer Planner team while managing material availability, inventory, supplier performance, purchasing, and MRP/ERP planning.

The position combines hands‑on operational leadership with strategic supply chain planning. The Materials Manager will work closely with project management, sales, engineering, production, quality, and logistics to support delivery schedules, reduce supply risk, and improve inventory performance.

• Supervise, coach, and develop Buyer Planners through regular performance reviews, one‑on‑ones, mentoring, and cross‑training.
• Assign workloads based on commodities, projects, volume, and team capabilities.
• Establish performance expectations and monitor inventory and purchasing KPIs.
• Ensure Buyer Planners effectively use ERP/MRP systems for purchasing, planning, item data, and exception management.
• Identify team skill gaps and support professional development, including
  APICS CPIM and CSCP
  certification.
• Maintain coverage plans to ensure projects and supplier relationships remain supported during absences or turnover.

• Align material plans with project schedules, production requirements, and committed ship dates.
• Participate in project kickoffs to review
  BOMs, long‑lead materials, supply risks, and material availability
  .
• Provide supply‑chain input for lead‑time commitments and order acknowledgements.
• Lead escalation of material shortages that could affect production or delivery.
• Review the project portfolio regularly and identify actions needed to protect delivery commitments.
• Ensure quick‑ship and configure‑to‑order programs have appropriate finished goods and material availability.

• Provide Sales with material lead times, supplier capacity information, and supply‑risk assessments during quoting.
• Participate in
  Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP)activities.
• Use sales pipeline and demand information to anticipate material requirements and engage suppliers early.
• Support customer‑specific stocking programs, blanket orders, and consignment inventory arrangements where applicable.
• Communicate supply constraints clearly when proposed delivery dates are not achievable.

• Develop positioning strategies for critical or long‑lead materials.
• Manage inventory planning for components such as
  specialty breakers, bus assemblies, power electronic modules, custom enclosures, and transformers
  .
• Identify single‑source and sole‑source risks and develop mitigation plans involving dual sourcing, safety stock, supplier‑managed inventory, and LTAs.
• Support commodity strategies using supplier performance, consumption, and demand data.
• Implement approved supplier agreements, pricing frameworks, and contract requirements.
• Lead facility‑level
  make/buy analysis
  and present recommendations to leadership.
• Monitor commodity pricing, supply constraints, geopolitical conditions, and tariff impacts that may affect cost or availability.

• Own inventory performance, including
  inventory turns, excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory, days of supply, and working capital
  .
• Work toward a target of
  10 inventory turns per year
  while maintaining material availability.
• Lead monthly E&O reviews and coordinate disposition through supplier returns, project redeployment, or write‑off recommendations.
• Establish inventory policies covering safety stock, reorder points, lot sizes, and cycle counts.
• Lead the annual physical inventory process and reconcile results.
• Balance inventory investment, material availability, and working capital using data‑driven decisions.

• Track supplier performance using
  on‑time delivery (SOTD), quality/PPM, lead‑time accuracy, and responsiveness
  .
• Conduct quarterly business reviews with key suppliers and establish measurable improvement plans.
• Escalate…