Materials Manager

Role Summary

The Materials Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for purchasing, inventory, cycle counting, shipping and receiving, and material-handling activities within a large, build-to-order manufacturing environment. This role leads a multi-level materials organization of more than 35 team members and ensures the plant has the materials, resources, and processes needed to support production execution, customer commitments, cost objectives, and overall operational performance.

The Manager partners with site and cross-functional leaders to improve material flow, resolve constraints, optimize inventory, and strengthen planning and execution across the full materials and product lifecycle. Core Responsibilities

1. Materials Strategy and Functional Leadership

• Lead purchasing, inventory control, material handling, receiving, warehouse movement, production support, and shipping interfaces.
• Ensure efficient material flow from raw-material purchasing and receipt through finished-goods handoff to traffic and transportation partners.
• Build and sustain a high-performing material-handling function of more than 20 hourly team members across receipt, stocking, internal movement, production staging, and finished-goods transfer.
• Align materials resources, processes, and priorities with production execution and customer commitments.

1. People Leadership and Capability Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a materials organization of more than 35 team members across salaried, technical, hourly, and entry-level roles.
• Establish clear goals and expectations and reinforce accountability for results.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide ongoing coaching and feedback.
• Build succession capability and strengthen team engagement.

1. Purchasing and Supplier Support

• Drive material demand through the purchasing function and monitor purchased-item availability.
• Manage purchasing activity through the commodity-sourcing structure and ensure cost, quality, and delivery expectations are met.
• Identify alternate suppliers and support high-volume material purchases.
• Partner with the Director, Materials and Planning, ASD Manufacturing Operations on site-specific pricing, cost-benefit analyses, and make-versus-buy assessments.
• Execute daily purchasing responsibilities when required to support production needs across assigned factories.

1. Planning, Capacity, and Order Commitment

• Maintain accurate capacity plans, material forecasts, and planning assumptions.
• Use Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning and related ERP tools to maintain timely and accurate planning.
• Determine customer-order ship dates through effective order-promising processes.
• Balance material availability, lead times, production schedules, and capacity constraints when resolving ship-date conflicts.
• Review new product introductions and promotional calendars to confirm supply-chain readiness.

1. Inventory and Intercompany Material Flow

• Lead initiatives to reduce inventory while maintaining customer-service levels and production readiness.
• Manage accurate and consistent cycle counting administration to confirm availability of material, buffer stock, and triggers to order and maintain adequate stock levels while minimizing holding costs and increasing inventory turns.
• Coordinate intercompany movement of materials and products to support production continuity, customer fulfillment, and inventory optimization.
• Create visibility to material constraints and resolve gaps that may disrupt production.
• Maintain disciplined inventory and material-flow practices across the site.

1. Cross-Functional Execution and Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, Marketing, and site leadership.
• Resolve constraints, improve material flow, and support production priorities.
• Coordinate actions that protect customer commitments and operational performance.
• Lead or participate in continuous-improvement activities. Leadership Expectations
• Operate as a site leader who balances strategy, execution, people, and results.
• Lead visibly and model accountability, collaboration, and respect for people.
• Use data, planning discipline, and structured problem-solving to make decisions.
• Develop others through coaching, candid feedback, succession planning, and clear expectations.
• Communicate directly across functions and surface material, capacity, and customer risks early.
• Follow through on commitments and maintain focus in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with an emphasis in Business, Engineering, or a technical field required.
• Minimum of eight years of progressive professional experience in discrete-manufacturing planning, purchasing, materials management, or supply-chain operations using formal MRP, supply-chain planning, and ERP systems.
• Minimum of two years of direct leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional initiatives across manufacturing, supply chain, purchasing, operations, quality, engineering, finance, sales, and customer-facing teams.
• Strong working knowledge of material planning, purchasing, inventory management, warehouse operations, and internal material flow within a large manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to lead teams, improve processes, manage competing priorities, communicate across disciplines, and influence decisions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel, required.
• MBA in Supply Chain, Operations, or Finance preferred.
• APICS certification highly desirable.