Career Opportunity – Procurement Analyst, Materials Management Department

Home Careers Career Opportunity - Procurement Analyst, Materials Management Department

Career Opportunity - Procurement Analyst, Materials Management Department

Position Purpose:

The Procurement Analyst plays a critical role in optimizing purchasing activities, reducing inventory levels, and improving working capital across the organization. This position will focus on analyzing inventory trends, identifying excess and obsolete materials, optimizing purchasing quantities, and developing strategies to improve inventory turns while maintaining uninterrupted production. Working closely with Procurement, Production Planning, Operations, Warehouse, and Finance, the Procurement Analyst will use data analytics and supplier collaboration to establish appropriate inventory levels, improve material availability, reduce purchasing costs, and drive continuous improvement throughout the supply chain.

Key responsibilities include:

Inventory Reduction & Optimization

Develop and execute strategies to reduce raw material, packaging, finished goods, and MRO inventory.
Analyze inventory levels, usage patterns, demand forecasts, and purchasing history to identify opportunities for inventory reduction.
Identify and manage excess, obsolete, slow-moving, and non-moving inventory.
Establish and maintain appropriate safety stock, reorder points, and minimum/maximum inventory levels.
Review material purchasing practices to eliminate unnecessary purchases and excess inventory accumulation.
Improve inventory turns and reduce days inventory outstanding while protecting production requirements.
Partner with Production Planning to align purchasing decisions with actual production schedules and demand.

Procurement & Purchasing Analysis

Analyze purchase orders, supplier lead times, minimum order quantities (MOQs), and pricing structures.
Identify opportunities to consolidate purchases, reduce order quantities, and optimize purchasing frequency.
Evaluate supplier performance, delivery reliability, pricing, and payment terms.
Sourcing resin, components and packaging for potential new programs from existing and new suppliers.
Identify opportunities to reduce material costs without compromising quality or production requirements.
Support supplier negotiations using purchasing data, spend analysis, and market intelligence.
Monitor open purchase orders and expedite or adjust orders based on changing production needs.

Data Analysis & Reporting

Develop and maintain reports and dashboards to monitor key procurement and inventory metrics.
Track inventory turns, inventory value, excess and obsolete inventory, supplier performance, and purchasing trends.
Analyze material consumption patterns and identify discrepancies between forecasted and actual usage.
Provide regular reporting to management on inventory reduction initiatives and cost-saving opportunities.
Utilize ERP/MRP systems to improve purchasing accuracy and inventory visibility.
Identify root causes of inventory growth and recommend corrective actions.

Supplier & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work with suppliers to improve delivery schedules, lead times, order flexibility, and minimum order quantities.
Explore vendor-managed inventory (VMI), blanket purchase orders, scheduled releases, and consignment inventory programs.
Collaborate with Production, Scheduling, Warehouse, Quality, and Finance to improve material planning.
Work with suppliers to establish more frequent deliveries and smaller order quantities where economically feasible.
Communicate potential material shortages, excess inventory risks, and supply chain constraints.

Continuous Improvement

Identify and implement process improvements to reduce purchasing inefficiencies and excess inventory.
Develop and implement standardized procurement procedures and inventory management practices.
Support lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
Evaluate opportunities to reduce working capital tied up in inventory.
Monitor the effectiveness of inventory reduction initiatives and ensure improvements are sustained.

Reports to:

Director of Finance and Administration Chain

Requirements:

Qualifications & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.
3–5 years of experience in procurement, purchasing, inventory management, or supply chain analysis.
Manufacturing experience strongly preferred; plastics, injection molding, extrusion, or converting experience is a plus.
Experience working with raw materials such as resins, colorants, additives, packaging, and other production-related materials is highly desirable.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret large amounts of purchasing and inventory data.
Experience with ERP/MRP systems and inventory management tools.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, data analysis, and reporting.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Procurement Analyst will be measured on the following performance metrics:

Inventory Reduction: Reduction in total inventory dollars while maintaining production requirements.
Inventory Turns: Improvement in annual inventory turnover.
Excess & Obsolete Inventory: Reduction in slow-moving, excess, and obsolete materials.
Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO): Reduction in the number of days inventory is held.
Purchasing Efficiency: Reduction in unnecessary purchase orders, excess quantities, and inefficient buying practices.
Supplier Performance: Improvement in on-time delivery and supplier lead-time reliability.
Cost Savings: Documented purchasing savings and cost avoidance.
Material Availability: Maintaining production schedules without material-related interruptions.

Desired Skills & Competencies

Strong financial and analytical mindset.
Data-driven decision-making.
Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
Ability to identify trends, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Proactive approach to problem-solving.
Ability to balance inventory reduction with production continuity.
Understanding of manufacturing material flow and supply chain processes.

Measures of Success

Success in this position will be demonstrated by measurable reductions in inventory investment, improved inventory turns, reduced excess and obsolete materials, improved purchasing discipline, and stronger supplier performance. The Procurement Analyst will be expected to move beyond traditional purchasing support and become a key contributor to the organization’s working capital improvement and operational efficiency initiatives.