Job Title:  Senior Buyer/Planner

SUMMARY

Responsible for the purchase of production material and major items or services. Utilize MRP reports and conduct weekly follow-up with suppliers to maximize timeliness of deliveries to meet production requirements. Obtain quotes from suppliers and determine ability of suppliers to supply desired material on time, meeting AR quality requirements and quantities required.  Strive to reduce overall cost of material through negotiation, supplier competition, and blanket orders. Interface with Engineering department to formulate specifications that would benefit cost and meet AR requirements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

1. Review daily MRP reports; place new Purchase Orders (PO’s) and adjust the schedule of existing PO’s to meet the requirements of the master production schedule.
2. Working with other technical disciplines as necessary to obtain competitive quotations for production materials; select supplier based on subjective evaluation of minimum cost, maximum quality, and best on-time delivery.
3. Justify any excessive material price increases as needed or requested.
4. Verify all item numbers, descriptions, revisions, specifications, etc. when placing PO’s.
5. Expedite critical materials and late deliveries as required.
6. Support Scheduling department and notify when materials will not be available to meet MPS.
7. Assist Design department as necessary with the initial entry and maintenance of item data, such as price, lead-time, supplier part numbers, etc. in ERP system.
8. Seek out and qualify new suppliers through referrals, trade publications, internet searches, etc.

1. Select suppliers based on subjective evaluation of minimum cost, maximum quality, and best on-time delivery.
2. Establish credit terms and negotiate contracts with new suppliers.
3. Enter and maintain supplier data, contact information, account numbers, etc. in ERP system.
4. Visit supplier facilities as required to review processes and capabilities.

9. Participate in semi-annual supplier evaluation meeting; maintain acceptable supplier rating for quality and on-time performance; consult with substandard suppliers to improve performance.
10. Mediate between Quality department and suppliers to resolve discrepancies; obtain return authorization for production materials to be returned to supplier for rework, repair, or correction.
11. Assist Customer Service department; obtain return authorization and place PO’s for the repair and calibration of third-party amplifiers and accessories.
12. Place special orders based on Engineering Projects or manually generated requisitions (e.g. shop tools, office supplies, etc.); send a copy of PO’s to department originating request.
13. Aid accounts payable to resolve billing, payment, and credit disputes.
14. Reconcile monthly company credit card statement.
15. Prioritize and manage diverse projects and variable daily demand.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES   This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

General:

1. Maintain a neat and orderly work area.
2. Adhere to company policies and practices.
3. Follow safety rules and common sense safety practices.
4. Keep Supervisor aware of problems and schedules.
5. Interface effectively with others. 
6. Participate in sound quality practices. 
7. Participate in TEAMs.
8. Each employee has the responsibility to learn their job to the best of their abilities, seek out feedback on performance to assess self development needs, attain and maintain a level of proficiency through on the job experience or special training, and utilize their expertise to develop and train others and recommend improvements in how things are done. 
9. Perform other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Associates degree (A.A.) or equivalent from two-year college or technical school; or at least three years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Be able to understand MRP, Technical Drawings, Specifications and Bills of Material documents.

SPECIAL TRAINING   

Read and understand Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) required for this position.

Utilize D365 software to conduct business following established operation procedures. Support the continuous improvement of these processes through definition and testing of new and improved procedures. Develop and maintain documentation of same.

Be operationally proficient in MS-Office programs, Outlook, Excel & Word in support of both internal and external communications.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.  Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.  Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as volume discounts, price change percentages, inventory values, etc.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

INTEGRITY/ETHICS

It is expected that professional courtesy, respect and fairness in dealing with suppliers will be observed at all times. Special treatment of one supplier over another based on personal preferential treatment by the supplier, or

accepting personal gifts provided by the supplier is a violation of the code of ethics governing purchasing and is grounds for employment termination.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Employees should ask for assistance from co-workers or direction from supervisor to lift/or move heavy loads. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.