Summary
Pleora Technologies is seeking a Senior Buyer / Planner to lead material planning and procurement activities supporting our manufacturing operations and global supply chain.
This role is responsible for ensuring the right materials are available at the right time and cost to meet customer demand while balancing inventory investment, lead time risk, and operational performance. The Senior Buyer / Planner converts demand into executable supply plans, manages supplier relationships, drives procurement activities, and proactively mitigates supply chain risks that could impact customer delivery commitments.
Working closely with Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales Operations, Finance, and external suppliers, this role plays a critical part in maintaining production continuity, inventory health, and overall supply chain performance.
What You Do
Planning & Inventory Management
- Review and execute MRP recommendations to maintain material availability and support production requirements.
- Develop and maintain material and production plans based on customer demand, forecasts, inventory levels, supplier lead times, and manufacturing capacity.
- Monitor inventory levels and implement inventory strategies that balance customer service, risk mitigation, and working capital objectives.
- Manage planning parameters including safety stock, reorder points, lead times, lot sizes, and planning horizons.
- Analyze forecasts, customer orders, historical demand, and inventory trends to identify supply requirements and risks.
- Coordinate production priorities and material readiness with Manufacturing and Operations teams.
- Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) activities through demand and supply analysis.
Procurement & Supplier Management
- Manage purchase orders from creation through delivery, ensuring supplier commitments support business requirements.
- Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships to achieve delivery, quality, cost, and responsiveness expectations.
- Monitor supplier performance and drive corrective actions related to delivery, shortages, quality, and service issues.
- Negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, and supply agreements where appropriate.
- Evaluate supplier capacity, risk, and continuity of supply for critical components.
- Coordinate supplier escalations, expedites, and recovery plans when material shortages occur.
- Support supplier sourcing, qualification, and onboarding activities.
Risk Management & Continuous Improvement
- Identify supply chain risks and develop mitigation strategies, including alternate sourcing, inventory buffering, and schedule adjustments.
- Support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) by assessing inventory impacts, material transitions, and excess inventory exposure.
- Maintain ERP master data integrity, including item masters, supplier records, lead times, and planning attributes.
- Participate in inventory reviews and support initiatives to reduce excess and obsolete inventory.
- Develop reports and KPI dashboards related to supplier performance, material availability, inventory health, and delivery performance.
- Support continuous improvement initiatives involving ERP optimization, procurement processes, planning methodologies, and operational efficiency.
What You Need
- 5-10 years of experience in purchasing, production planning, material planning, supply chain, or manufacturing operations.
- Post-secondary education in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management, Logistics, Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Strong understanding of MRP, ERP systems, inventory management, procurement, and manufacturing processes.
- Experience managing supplier relationships and purchase orders within a manufacturing environment.
- Advanced Excel skills including Pivot Tables, Power Query, lookups, and data analysis.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
- Strong attention to detail and data accuracy.
- Demonstrated ability to balance service, cost, inventory, and operational objectives.
Preferred Qualifications / Assets
- APICS / ASCM CPIM, CSCP, or CPSM certification.
- Experience within electronics manufacturing, industrial technology, semiconductor, PCB assembly, or contract manufacturing environments.
- Experience sourcing electronic components and managing global suppliers.
- Knowledge of inventory optimization, demand planning, and forecasting methodologies.
- Experience with Intuitive ERP or similar manufacturing ERP systems.
- Familiarity with Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement principles.
- Knowledge of international logistics, customs, import/export compliance, and supply chain risk management.
- Experience supporting ISO-certified manufacturing environments.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Supplier On-Time Delivery
- Material Availability
- Production Schedule Adherence
- Inventory Accuracy
- Inventory Turns
- Excess & Obsolete Inventory
- Purchase Price Variance (PPV)
- Supplier Lead Time Performance
- Customer Order Fill Rate
- MRP Action Compliance
- Production Line Shortages
- On-Time Customer Delivery
How you'll be rewarded
Salary Range: $75,000 - $95,000 (commensurate with experience)
We are currently hiring for this position to backfill an existing role.
