The Material Sourcing & Planning Manager is responsible for the strategic sourcing, planning, inventory management, and material flow optimization of all metallic raw materials required to support the production of high-quality aluminum billet. This role serves as the critical link between commercial commitments, customer tolling agreements, raw material procurement, production planning, inventory control, and operational execution.
The position oversees the sourcing of scrap aluminum, prime metal, alloying elements, and key consumables while ensuring adequate inventory levels, accurate metal accounting, and optimized production scheduling. The role is responsible for maximizing recovery, minimizing metal costs, maintaining toll customer balances, and ensuring uninterrupted production while supporting profitability and customer delivery performance.
The Material Sourcing & Planning Manager will lead the Receiving & Inventory Coordinator and collaborate closely with Operations, Metallurgy, Quality, Finance, Sales, and Logistics.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Strategic Material Sourcing
- Develop and execute sourcing strategies for aluminum scrap and other alloying materials.
- Identify, qualify, and manage relationships with scrap suppliers, brokers, and processors.
- Negotiate pricing, supply agreements, freight arrangements, and purchasing terms.
- Monitor market conditions.
- Evaluate supplier performance and quality.
- Ensure adequate supply to support production requirements while minimizing working capital.
- Source and procure:
- P1020 ingot
- Magnesium
- Silicon
- Manganese
- Chromium
- Grain refiners
- Other alloying additions
- Develop procurement strategies balancing cost, chemistry requirements, and production flexibility.
- Forecast future alloying and prime metal requirements.
- Serve as the project manager for material management and inventory control processes within the ERP system.
- Material Planning & Inventory Optimization
- Develop material plans aligned with billet production schedules and customer commitments.
- Coordinate with the Casthouse Manager to optimize furnace campaigns and alloy sequencing.
- Balance scrap, prime, and alloying additions to achieve target chemistry and recovery rates.
- Balance customer demand, material availability, and production capacity.
- Optimize casting campaigns to minimize alloy transitions and maximize productivity.
- Support capacity planning initiatives.
- Coordinate inbound material deliveries.
- Support outbound shipment planning when required.
- Identify material constraints and proactively implement mitigation plans.
- Establish and maintain inventory targets.
- Monitor inventory turnover and working capital performance.
- Review inventory aging and identify slow-moving materials.
- Implement cycle counting and reconciliation processes.
- Support physical inventory counts and cycle count programs.
- Ensure lot traceability and material segregation standards are maintained.
- Oversee material receiving and inspection processes.
- Establish inventory control procedures and receiving standards.
- Promote inventory discipline and accountability throughout the organization.
- Toll Customer Coordination
- Manage material balances associated with tolling agreements.
- Ensure accurate tracking of customer-owned materials from receipt through shipment.
- Coordinate production planning based on available customer inventory.
- Maintain customer-specific inventory and metal balance reports.
- Metal Accounting Oversight
Ensure accurate tracking of:
- Scrap receipts
- Metal consumption
- Recovery yields
- Melt losses
- Dross generation
- Alloy additions
- Work-in-process inventory
- Finished goods inventory
- Reconcile inventory variances and investigate discrepancies
Qualifications:
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Metallurgy, Operations Management, or related field preferred.
- Equivalent industry experience will be considered.
- Experience:
5+ years of experience in:
- Metals manufacturing
- Aluminum remelting
- Recycling
- Foundry operations
- Industrial procurement
- Supply chain management
Preferred experience:
- Aluminum billet production
- Tolling operations
- Metal accounting
- Production planning and scheduling
- ERP systems
- Knowledge & Skills:
- Aluminum scrap markets
- Prime metal procurement
- Alloy chemistry fundamentals
- Inventory management principles
- Production planning methodologies
- Supply chain management
- Strong organizational and planning abilities
- Analytical problem-solving skills
- Negotiation and supplier management experience
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Excellent communication skills
