Position Overview

The Buyer/Planner is responsible for maintaining a reliable and cost-effective supply of finished goods, raw materials, components, and other assigned items while supporting the execution of manufacturing operations. This role develops and maintains production schedules based on demand forecasts, inventory targets, material availability, production capacity, and customer requirements to ensure on-time delivery and efficient utilization of manufacturing resources. The Buyer/Planner converts demand, inventory, production, and product launch requirements into actionable production and purchasing plans and is responsible for executing the procurement process, including creating purchase orders, managing supplier commitments, monitoring deliveries, and resolving supply issues. Working closely with Production, Demand Planning, Product Development, Sales, and suppliers, this position proactively identifies and resolves material, capacity, and scheduling constraints while balancing service levels, inventory investment, lead times, and cost. The role maintains accurate ERP data, monitors inventory health, manages supplier performance, and drives continuous improvement initiatives across purchasing, inventory management, and manufacturing planning.

This role is an Exempt role and pays $75,000-$90,000 depending on experience.

What you'll be doing

Buyer Responsibilities - 60%

• Monitor demand, inventory levels, open orders, lead times, safety stock, and inventory turns to identify purchasing requirements and prevent stockouts or excess inventory.
• Review purchase requisitions and planning recommendations; create and manage purchase orders through the approval process.
• Analyze proposed orders using forecasts, historical demand, current inventory, open supply, minimum order quantities, production cycles, and service-level requirements.
• Work with Demand Planning, Sales, Production, Product Development, Warehouse, Logistics, and Accounting to maintain rolling forecasts and align purchasing and production plans with business priorities.
• Determine material requirements for production schedules, product launches, product transitions, and discontinuations, ensuring timely material availability to support manufacturing operations.
• Follow up with suppliers on confirmations, delivery dates, shortages, late orders, quality concerns, and corrective actions.
• Develop and maintain professional supplier relationships; negotiate pricing, lead times, delivery terms, minimums, discounts, and other commercial terms within assigned authority.
• Monitor supplier performance for quality, cost, service, and on-time delivery, and support supplier reviews and sourcing initiatives.
• Identify and execute cost-saving initiatives across the supply chain through supplier negotiations, sourcing opportunities, order quantity optimization, freight improvements, inventory reduction strategies, process efficiencies, and continuous evaluation of total delivered cost.
• Maintain accurate items, vendor, purchasing, pricing, lead-time, and planning data within NetSuite and related reporting tools.
• Resolve invoices, pricing, and receiving discrepancies in coordination with suppliers, Receiving, Accounting, and other internal teams.
• Track supplier price changes, discounts, promotions, and applicable vendor bill-backs; communicate financial impacts to relevant stakeholders.
• Support shared-item and multi-brand inventory strategies, including safety stock, order quantities, warehouse allocation, and inventory entitlement.
• Identify slow-moving, obsolete, or deletion-candidate items and support disposition, lifecycle, and inventory-control decisions.

Planner Responsibilities - 40%

• Develop, maintain, and communicate production schedules to support customer demand, inventory targets, and service-level objectives.
• Coordinate production priorities with Manufacturing, Operations, and Demand Planning to balance capacity, labor availability, material constraints, and customer requirements.
• Monitor production performance and adjust schedules as necessary to address demand changes, supply disruptions, equipment downtime, or other operational constraints.
• Analyze production capacity, inventory levels, and forecasted demand to identify potential bottlenecks and recommend corrective actions.
• Maintain production planning parameters within the ERP system, including lead times, production rates, safety stock levels, and planning calendars.
• Work closely with Production and Warehouse teams to optimize inventory levels, production efficiency, and schedule adherence.
• Track and analyze key purchasing, inventory, and production planning metrics, including fill rate, service levels, inventory turns, forecast accuracy, supplier delivery performance, schedule attainment, material availability, and cost performance to identify trends and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead and participate in S&OP and production planning meetings to align operational plans with business objectives.
• Support ERP enhancements, process documentation, reporting improvements, and continuous improvement initiatives related to purchasing, inventory management, supplier performance, and production planning.
• Conduct ad-hoc analyses using inventory, production, purchasing, supplier, and sales data to identify trends, support decision-making, and drive operational improvements across the supply chain.

Any other duties needed to help drive to our Vision, fulfill our Mission, and abide by our Company's Values.

The duties listed above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required.

Work Schedule: This position will be fully onsite for the first 90 days. After the initial 90-day period, the position will transition to a hybrid schedule of four days onsite and one day working from home per week.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Strong analytical and mathematical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make sound purchasing decisions.
• Working knowledge of inventory planning methods such as MRP, safety stock, reorder points, EOQ, and Kanban.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and ERP systems; NetSuite experience is preferred.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accurate item, vendor, pricing, and purchasing data.
• Effective supplier negotiation, relationship management, and issue-resolution skills.
• Clear communication and the ability to collaborate across departments, brands, sites, and levels of the organization.
• Good judgment, organization, and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment with changing requirements.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills with the ability to identify root causes, evaluate alternatives, and implement effective solutions with minimal supervision.
• Continuous-improvement mindset; familiarity with Lean, 5S, or similar methods is helpful.

Is this role for you?

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3- 5 years of purchasing, buying, inventory planning, production planning, or supply chain experience, preferably in a manufacturing or multi-brand environment.
• Experience creating and managing purchase orders, working with suppliers, and supporting inventory or material planning.
• Experience using an ERP system and advanced spreadsheet-based analysis.

What's in it for me?

We constantly strive to provide our team members with an optimal workplace. We believe that your work should be rewarding. Below are just a few of the benefits our Company offers our team members:

• Friendly and supportive culture with team member appreciation events
• Open-door policy
• Health and welfare benefits
• Pet Discount program
• Supplemental insurance options including long and short-term disability and EAP
• 401k with company match
• Paid time off in addition to paid holidays
• Employee Referral Program
• Continuous training and growth opportunities