Director of Procurement

Direct Hire | Benefits | Thomasville, GA area *relocation assistance available. Summary: The Director of Purchasing will lead raw materials procurement and planning for a fast-paced furniture manufacturing environment. This role will build a reliable, cost-effective supplier network, improve material availability and time to market, and reduce inventory and obsolete stock across the operation. The Director will manage and develop purchasing agents and buyers responsible for daily and repeat orders, while taking ownership of supplier negotiations, contracts, cost savings, backup sourcing, and broader purchasing strategy. The role will work closely with plant and executive leadership on supply chain performance and business priorities. Key responsibilities Lead raw materials planning to support production needs, inventory goals, and time-to-market targets. Develop and manage supplier relationships, including regular supplier visits, negotiations, contracts, and performance reviews. Establish qualified backup suppliers and sourcing options to reduce supply risk and improve continuity. Own purchasing cost savings and cost controls, tracking results and validating realized savings. Manage inventory levels, reorder points, excess materials, and obsolete inventory across manufacturing locations. Improve planning and replenishment for long-lead-time Asian supply chains, with a focus on reducing current five-to-six-month turnaround times. Identify opportunities to reduce lead times, improve material availability, and accelerate product time to market. Lead, coach, and develop purchasing agents and buyers responsible for daily and repeat purchasing activity. Improve purchasing processes, ERP data, supplier terms, and reporting to support better decisions and execution. Partner with operations, engineering, finance, and the executive team on purchasing priorities and business performance. Oversee supplier quality follow-up and corrective actions for defective or nonconforming materials. Lead cycle count and physical inventory practices, and use results to improve inventory accuracy. Qualifications 8+ years of progressive purchasing, procurement, or materials-planning experience in manufacturing, ideally in furniture manufacturing. Experience purchasing direct materials and managing suppliers, negotiations, contracts, and cost-reduction initiatives. Demonstrated success managing inventory, long lead times, excess or obsolete stock, and supply risk. Experience leading or developing buyers, purchasing agents, or planners. Strong analytical and ERP skills, including the ability to use Excel and purchasing data to guide decisions. Furniture, wood products, mattresses, foam, upholstery or related manufacturing experience is helpful. #J-18808-Ljbffr