Buyer Planner

Buyer Planner I

The Buyer Planner I plays a critical, dual-function role within the supply chain team, managing a unique portfolio that spans suppliers, university lab providers, co-packers, contract manufacturers, and internal manufacturing sites. This position oversees the end-to-end procurement cycle—from sourcing and purchase order execution through shipment tracking and customer delivery—while coordinating material movement, inventory transfers, dropship orders, and vendor relationships. The role offers broad exposure to procurement, planning, logistics, supplier management, and cross-functional operations, and provides the opportunity to make a direct impact on customer satisfaction and overall supply chain performance.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full lifecycle of purchase orders and work orders, ensuring accurate creation, timely execution, and alignment with customer and business requirements.
• Oversee the end-to-end procurement cycle, from sourcing and order placement through fulfillment and customer delivery.
• Coordinate material movement across suppliers, co-packers, contract manufacturers, university lab providers, and internal manufacturing sites.
• Monitor supplier performance, including on-time delivery, quality, and responsiveness, and address issues proactively to maintain reliable supply.
• Track domestic and international shipments, monitor status, and resolve shipment delays or discrepancies to keep orders on schedule.
• Manage sales order ship dates and provide time-sensitive updates to internal stakeholders to ensure customer commitments are met.
• Handle dropship orders, ensuring accurate setup, timely fulfillment, and effective communication with third-party suppliers.
• Coordinate intercompany site-to-site transfers between manufacturing locations, suppliers, and distribution centers, including oversight of monthly retests where applicable.
• Maintain accurate ERP transactions related to purchase orders, inventory movement, shipments, and transfers, ensuring data integrity and traceability.
• Identify and resolve supply chain issues, including shipment and invoice discrepancies, inventory variances, and vendor-related challenges.
• Manage key vendor and supplier relationships, fostering collaboration and ensuring clear communication on forecasts, orders, and performance expectations.
• Support inventory management activities, including monitoring inventory levels and coordinating replenishment to balance service and cost.
• Collaborate closely with Supply Chain, Operations, Sales, Finance, Product Management, and Customer Service teams to support day-to-day supply chain activities and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Communicate order status, shipment updates, and supply risks to internal stakeholders in a clear and timely manner.
• Leverage ERP systems and advanced Excel skills to analyze data, generate reports, and support decision-making for planning and procurement.
• Support logistics activities related to international shipping and customs documentation as needed.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing supply chain performance, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

Essential Skills

• Minimum 5+ years of experience in Supply Planning, Materials Planning, Purchasing, Production Planning, or Supply Chain Operations.
• Proven experience managing purchase orders, work orders, vendor relationships, and inventory movement.
• Strong hands-on experience with ERP systems; ability to maintain accurate transactions and use ERP data for planning and analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills, including the ability to manage and analyze large data sets and create reports to support supply chain decisions.
• Demonstrated experience tracking shipments and resolving supply chain issues, including shipment and invoice discrepancies.
• Experience coordinating transfers between manufacturing sites, suppliers, or distribution locations.
• Strong cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to provide clear, time-sensitive updates to stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and accuracy.
• Organized and detail-oriented approach, with a strong focus on supporting day-to-day supply chain activities.
• Experience working with dropship orders or third-party suppliers in a supply chain environment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• ERP experience required;
  Net Suite experience strongly preferred.
• Experience in supply chain, logistics, procurement, supply chain management, supply planning, materials planning, purchase order management, vendor and supplier management, ERP systems, inventory management, shipment tracking, and site-to-site transfers.
• Experience in international shipping and customs documentation is beneficial.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers, co-packers, and third-party suppliers is preferred.
• Industry experience from manufacturing, medical device, life sciences, food production, consumer products, industrial, electronics, or distribution…