Sr Buyer
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Pelzer, SC, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Operations
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Engineering, or related discipline preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
- 5+ years of purchasing, procurement, materials, supply chain, or manufacturing experience preferred.
- Demonstrated experience managing suppliers and purchase orders within a manufacturing environment.
- Strong understanding of MRP, purchasing, inventory management, and production planning principles.
- ERP experience required; Oracle experience strongly preferred.
- Experience managing material shortages, supplier recovery plans, and production-critical requirements.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
- Ability to interpret demand, supply, inventory, and purchase-order data and translate information into actions.
- Strong supplier negotiation, communication, and relationship-management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple suppliers, priorities, and escalations simultaneously.
- Strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with operational teams, suppliers, and senior leadership.
Nice to have
- Experience within a high-volume or complex manufacturing environment.
- Experience supporting engineered-to-order, configure-to-order, or project-based manufacturing.
- Experience with Oracle ERP/MRP.
- Experience with supplier capacity planning and recovery management.
- Experience supporting new product introductions and rapid production ramps.
- Knowledge of BOM structures, engineering changes, lead-time management, inventory control, and production scheduling.
- Experience with supplier-performance metrics and continuous improvement.
- APICS/ASCM, CPSM, or related supply-chain certification is beneficial but not required.
Full description
Position Summary
The Senior Buyer is responsible for the execution and management of material procurement activities supporting the Pelzer manufacturing campus. This position plays a critical role in ensuring purchased material is available to support the production plan while maintaining strong supplier performance, accurate ERP/MRP data, appropriate inventory levels, and effective working-capital management.
The Senior Buyer will manage an assigned portfolio of suppliers and commodities from purchase-order placement through delivery. The role requires proactive management of material requirements, supplier commitments, shortages, lead times, capacity constraints, and purchase-order accuracy.
This is a hands-on position within a fast-paced and rapidly growing manufacturing environment. The Senior Buyer will work closely with Planning, Manufacturing, Warehouse Operations, Engineering, Quality, Project Management, Finance, Order Management, and Procurement to identify material risks and drive them through resolution before they impact production or customer commitments.
The successful candidate must demonstrate strong ownership, analytical capability, supplier-management skills, and the ability to operate effectively in an environment with changing production priorities and significant material complexity.
Key Responsibilities Procurement & Purchase Order Management
- Manage procurement activities for assigned commodities, suppliers, and material categories supporting Pelzer production.
- Review MRP requirements and convert demand into appropriate purchasing actions.
- Create, release, maintain, and manage purchase orders within Oracle in accordance with production requirements and established procurement policies.
- Maintain accurate PO quantities, pricing, required dates, promise-by dates, lead times, and supplier commitments within the ERP system.
- Ensure purchase orders provide appropriate coverage against current and future production demand.
- Identify parts without sufficient PO coverage and take corrective action before requirements become production constraints.
- Review changes in demand and appropriately expedite, defer, increase, decrease, or cancel purchase orders.
- Prevent unnecessary inventory exposure by balancing material availability with inventory and working-capital objectives.
- Maintain clear ownership of open purchase orders from placement through receipt and closure.
MRP & Material Planning Execution
- Review MRP exception messages and material requirements daily and take appropriate purchasing actions.