Buyer - Touring Coach

Job Description:
A Buyer is responsible for maintaining optimal inventory levels, with high quality products, at the right price, to support manufacturing operations.
Job Summary and Responsibilities:

As a Buyer at Airstream, you will work in the Supply Chain Dept., supporting material availability to production. You will serve as a cross-functional liaison between Supply Chain, Production, Engineering, and Quality. Buyers are responsible for sourcing via preferred sourcing models (VMI, consignment, stocking agreements, ect…) including a total cost of ownership evaluation. Duties include ordering materials and executing supply chain strategies to deliver quality products on time to meet production order start dates. You will also expedite material shortages as well as develop long-term solutions to mitigate such shortages. As a buyer, you will be responsible for achieving optimal inventory turns, initiating in cost savings projects, uninterrupted material availability, supplier delivery reliability, non-conforming good returns, incoming freight scheduling, ideal packaging, issue resolution regarding shipment and/or invoice discrepancies, purchase price changes, supplier development plans, etc.

Key job responsibilities:

• Previous experience in make or engineer to order environment
• Experience with order placement, order management, forecasting, and order follow up techniques
• Proven results with overall supplier management
• Must be familiar with supplier on-time delivery goals/metrics
• Experience with preferred sourcing models (suppliers stocking product to minimize lead time, consignment, VMI, etc)
• Complete understanding of inventory management and a perpetual inventory system
• Experience with the coordination of supplier workshops to improve upon performance gaps
• Familiar with negotiating pricing, logistics, and quality agreements
• Demonstrated ability to continuously improve processes
• Cross-functional collaboration with Quality, Engineering, and Manufacturing
• Familiar with NPI, supplier selection, and qualification processes
• Ability to work within highly integrated ERP systems

Qualifications & Requirements:

• 5 plus years’ experience in manufacturing environment
• Prior purchasing experience of minimum 5 years, BS degree preferred in supply chain, logistics, business, engineering but not required
• Familiarity with supply chain, inventory management systems, and physical inventory processes
• Data driven, analytical, solution minded
• Demonstrated ability to take on project management ownership and execute daily activities
• Detail and results oriented
• Excellent prioritization and time management skills
• Demonstrated sense of urgency, with a great understanding of internal customers
• Self-starting problem solver
• Proficient in MS Office, intermediate to advanced excel capabilities
• Familiar with Harris Lean System Green/Red book philosophies, 5 Why Root Cause Identification Methodology, and PDCA/A3 philosophies