Senior Specialist - Material Buyer AA

The Apparel Materials Buyer is a critical logistics and procurement role responsible for the efficient, on-time, and cost-effective acquisition of all material yardages required for the product creation lifecycle, from initial wear testing through to salesman samples (SMS). This role requires a blend of keen negotiation skills, precise tracking, and strategic inventory management to consolidate purchasing and maximise the utilisation of all raw materials across multiple business units.

• Source and procure all necessary fabric and trim yardages specifically for critical product creation phases, including concept phases, key internal review meeting dates, wear testing and salesman samples (SMS).
• Collaborate closely with Material Developers to gain an in-depth understanding of materials under consideration and build the material yardage tracker at the start of each season to align purchasing strategy with development needs.
• Negotiate optimal sample yardage lead times with Tier 2 (T2) suppliers, balancing speed, quality, and cost constraints to meet demanding product calendar milestones.
• Drive material buying consolidation by identifying and implementing opportunities to combine procurement across different product categories and various internal business units, achieving economies of scale.
• Manage material buffer inventory by strategically arranging material reserves to support multi-season use, mitigating risk of shortage and ensuring continuity.
• Own the end-to-end tracking and arrangement of sample yardages, ensuring materials are allocated, shipped, and received by the designated allocated factories (T1s) precisely when needed.
• Actively manage all leftover and excess material yardages, tracking inventory levels and driving internal allocation for repurposing in future development or sampling needs, minimising waste.
• Develop and maintain a robust tracking system for all in-house and factory-held sample materials.
• Manage the dedicated budget for all material sample buying, ensuring all purchases remain within forecast and seeking cost efficiencies without compromising material quality or timeline integrity.
• Provide regular reporting on material usage, spend vs. budget, and leftover material value.

• 5+ years of experience in apparel materials procurement, logistics, or fabric buying, specifically handling sample yardage purchasing.
• Proven expertise in negotiating lead times and managing supplier relationships (T2 partners).
• Demonstrated ability to consolidate purchasing across multiple product categories or business units.
• Exceptional organisational skills and proven ability to track and manage material inventories, budgets, and complex logistics movements globally.
• Strong understanding of apparel product creation calendars and the urgency associated with sample phase deliverables.
• Proficiency in PLM or ERP systems for tracking material allocation and usage.
• Fluent in English; additional languages are a plus.

We are a collaborative, creative, and science-driven development team working closely to convert cutting-edge ideas into viable prototypes and eventually commercialising them into exceptional performance products sold globally at premium sport retailers, in our global flagship stores, and in our DTC channel. High quality, aesthetically pleasing, and truly functional attributes are top of mind when creating our two season apparel collections and multiple fashion collaborations.

Our cross-functional teams combine the best experts in fields such as Development, Design, Materials, Innovation, Sourcing, Testing, and Product Management/Merchandising to create truly extraordinary sportswear products.

Just by the banks of the Limmat you’ll find our largest global hub in Zürich West – On Labs – where you can hike up 12 floors through our custom-built spiral trail.

We always look for better decisions, we always listen to people and listen to different colleagues. We listen, we digest, and we find the most suitable one for all the team and everybody benefits. That process makes us really innovative.

On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an…