Coordinating and controlling the procurement and control of materials required to ensure they are delivered on time in full and available for production when required to meet customer demands. Responsible for communicating with suppliers and internal departments ensuring compliance with material specification and document any exceptions. Working closely with warehousing and production to ensure that accurate stock levels are always maintained.
Key Responsibilities
* Ensure Health & Safety remains the overriding priority across all materials management, purchasing, and stock‑related activities.
* Manage and process purchase orders promptly to meet production requirements, using SAP, running the MRP cockpit to effectively plan and control material flow.
* Run forward orders on a weekly basis for several long lead time suppliers to ensure sufficient stock on site and on order to meet MRP demand.
* Review, validate, and confirm supplier purchase order acknowledgements, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and alignment with business needs.
* Proactively monitor overdue purchase orders through system reporting, liaising with suppliers to expedite deliveries as required. Escalate any delays that may impact production to Production Planning (PP).
* Maintain the CLS report daily with a high level of accuracy, ensuring strong data integrity and clear visibility of supplier performance.
* Regularly review, update, and maintain purchasing information records for all procured materials to ensure system accuracy and reliability.
* Communicate proactively with internal stakeholders regarding material shortages or supplier delays that could affect the Master Production Schedule (MPS).
* Attend and actively contribute to daily production and supply review meetings, providing clear updates on material availability, risks, and constraints.
* Work collaboratively with Manufacturing, Quality, R&D, Planning, and Goods Inwards to ensure material availability supports customer demand.
* Investigate all stock discrepancies thoroughly, complete the necessary system stock movements, and raise additional purchase orders where required to replace missing or unusable stock.
* Plan, coordinate, and verify inventory levels through regular physical stock counts and daily/weekly cycle counts.
* Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date inventory records, ensuring clear visibility of stock levels, usage, and material status to support informed purchasing and production decisions.
* Strong understanding of materials control, purchasing processes, and inventory management principles.
* Proven ability in inventory control, MRP/ERP systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics)
* Experience with forecasting, demand planning, and stock optimisation.
* Understanding of procurement best practices, lead times, MOQ and supplier evaluation.
* Confident user of Microsoft Excel for reporting, tracking, and data analysis.
* Ability to manage purchase orders, open orders, and material planning.
Person Specification
* Proven experience in materials management and purchasing within a manufacturing or operational environment.
* Strong working knowledge of MRP/ERP systems and materials planning processes.
* Demonstrated ability to manage inventory levels and supplier performance.
* High level of numerical and analytical capability
* Experienced user of Microsoft Excel and reporting tools
* Clear, confident communicator with ability to engage internal and external stakeholders.
* Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities with accuracy and control.
Essential Experience & Qualifications
* Experience in a material, purchasing, supply chain, or inventory control role.
* Experience working in a manufacturing, or industrial environment.
* Inventory control and stock optimisation.
* Purchase order processing and supplier liaison
* Supporting production or operational continuity
* Qualified or equivalent experience in Supply Chain Procurement.
* Professional qualification or active study toward CIPS (Desirable but not essential)
Personal Attributes
* Proactive and dependable, with a strong sense of ownership
* Detail driven with a structured approach to problem solving
* Resilient under pressure and comfortable meeting deadlines
* Continuous improvement mindset focused on accuracy, efficiency, value for money and value added.
* Well organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment.
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