Buyer/Planner

Position Summary

The Buyer/Planner is responsible for overall supply chain, vendor management and commodity management activities. The ability to understand MRP demand and use this to plan orders on time to support the operations team is crucial for this role. The Buyer/Planner position includes establishing and maintaining strategic sourcing relationships with emphasis on quality, delivery and cost. Responsibilities also include helping to define, develop and refine the purchasing system to meet the needs of internal and external customers. This position will have a focus on complex, large and/or non-standard contracts and supplier relationships.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Effectively manage the planning and acquisition of goods and services to support operations .
• Maintain open lines of communication with suppliers for prompt resolution of quality or delivery problems.
• Negotiate with suppliers to attain lowest possible total cost for purchased commodities.
• Maintain high level of knowledge about commodity suppliers and market conditions to support strategic sourcing decisions.
• Place and maintain purchase orders to support ongoing material supply including long-term contracts.
• Provide timely updates on the status of any supplier quality or delivery problems to internal customers.
• Maintain MRP database for proper sourcing, procurement lead times, order quantities, prices and internal delivery requirements (and all other parameters).
• Monitor supplier performance, hold supplier accountable for performance levels.
• Develop inventory reduction plans within value stream to achieve site inventory targets.
• Responsible for effectively managing the planning and acquisition of assigned commodities to support the production requirements as defined by the master scheduling; includes the analysis of MRP, purchase order placement and reschedules as required .
• Support control and storage of inventory in line with lean principles (e.g. visible FIFO and supermarket pull systems, Kanban loops), work with Materials team for replenishment systems which support Operations .
• Continuously develop external materials logistic network to achieve lowest cost movement of materials into and out of plants.

Required Qualifications

• BS/BA degree in Business, Operations or Supply Chain required.
• 2+ years of experience in Supply Chain planning/purchasing or Manufacturing/Enterprise Resource Planning in a manufacturing environment required.
• US citizenship required.

Additional Qualifications

• APICS (CPIM) certification preferred.
• Aerospace experience preferred.
• In-depth knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, including MRP, inventory management, and planning systems.
• Knowledge of supplier relationships, complex contract negotiations, JIT/demand flow philosophies, and legal issues involved with purchasing .
• Strong analytical skills, a strong understanding of lean manufacturing principles, and strong customer relation skills.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite and software skills.
• Must be a strong communicator and an ability to present well.

About Us

  GKN is a global engineering business. We design, manufacture and service systems and components for most of the world’s leading aircraft, vehicle and machinery manufacturers. We are continuously evolving, pioneering new technologies and reinventing existing ones, stretching ourselves to better in everything we do. GKN operates three divisions: GKN Aerospace, GKN Driveline and GKN Powder Metallurgy employing 56,000 people in more than 30 countries.



  GKN Aerospace is the world’s leading multi-technology tier 1 aerospace supplier. With 55 manufacturing locations in 14 countries, we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers. We design and manufacture innovative smart aerospace systems and components. Our technologies are used in aircraft ranging from the most used single aisle aircraft and the largest passenger planes in the world to business jets and the world’s advanced 5th generation fighter aircraft.

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