Supply Chain & Purchasing Manager

Supply Chain & Purchasing Manager

Location: Columbus, OH

Job Type: Direct Hire

Starting Salary: From $100,000 per year (higher compensation may be available based on experience)

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Supply Chain & Purchasing Manager to oversee procurement operations for a manufacturing environment. This leadership role is responsible for sourcing materials, managing supplier relationships, supporting production schedules, and driving purchasing strategies that improve cost, quality, and delivery performance.

The ideal candidate has experience supporting custom manufacturing, fabrication, or engineer-to-order (ETO) operations and enjoys collaborating with cross-functional teams to keep production running efficiently.

Primary Responsibilities

Purchasing & Supply Chain Leadership

• Develop and implement purchasing strategies that support business goals and manufacturing requirements.
• Establish supplier qualification, evaluation, and performance management processes.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve supplier performance, and strengthen the supply chain.
• Build long-term relationships with suppliers while maintaining expectations for quality, pricing, and delivery.
• Partner with engineering and operations teams to support make-versus-buy decisions.

Materials Planning

• Ensure raw materials, fabricated components, hardware, and purchased parts are available to support production schedules.
• Coordinate purchasing activities with manufacturing, planning, and project requirements.
• Monitor lead times, supply shortages, and delivery risks that could affect operations.
• Implement strategies to minimize stockouts, expedite costs, and production delays.
• Support inventory planning initiatives that balance material availability with inventory costs.

Supplier Performance

• Manage supplier relationships through regular evaluations and business reviews.
• Lead supplier negotiations involving pricing, contracts, and service expectations.
• Partner with engineering and quality teams to resolve supplier-related issues and corrective actions.
• Develop alternate sourcing strategies to reduce supply chain risk.
• Monitor supplier performance using quality, delivery, responsiveness, and cost metrics.

Cost & Process Improvement

• Drive cost-reduction initiatives across purchased materials and components.
• Analyze purchasing trends and identify opportunities for greater efficiency.
• Monitor commodity markets and material pricing to support informed purchasing decisions.
• Assist with procurement forecasting and annual budgeting activities.
• Maintain accurate purchasing, inventory, and supplier data within ERP/MRP systems.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across procurement and supply chain operations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with production, engineering, planning, project management, and quality teams to ensure material readiness.
• Support purchase order execution, approvals, and issue resolution.
• Address material shortages and supply concerns before they impact production schedules.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Five to ten years of procurement, purchasing, or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting custom manufacturing, fabrication, engineer-to-order (ETO), or make-to-order operations.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing materials, purchased components, and supply chain best practices.
• Experience working with ERP/MRP systems.
• Excellent negotiation, analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within fabrication, industrial manufacturing, electrical equipment, or similar industries.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing principles and inventory optimization strategies.
• Experience managing supplier performance programs and supplier corrective actions.
• Exposure to commodity purchasing involving metals and industrial materials.
• Experience supporting ETO or make-to-order manufacturing environments.

What You'll Bring

• Ability to reduce material shortages and improve supply chain reliability.
• Experience improving supplier quality and on-time delivery.
• A track record of identifying cost-saving opportunities and procurement efficiencies.
• Strong focus on inventory accuracy and effective material planning.
• Ability to align purchasing activities with production schedules and operational priorities.

Why Join Us?

This is an exciting opportunity to lead procurement and supply chain initiatives within a growing manufacturing organization. You'll play a key role in optimizing supplier performance, driving operational efficiency, and supporting long-term business growth.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans.

If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.