Procurement Business Partner

Position: Procurement Business Partner

Reports to: Director of Operations

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Our Purpose: Making It Better Together … We believe in building lifelong partnerships, providing high performing equipment and value-added solutions. We empower and trust our employees to take initiative and make decisions that drive our business forward. We strive to make a positive impact on the world around us.

Position Summary: The Procurement Business Partner works collaboratively to identify opportunities for cost savings, manage supplier relationships, and contribute to long term success through risk mitigation and innovation. The position acts as a liaison between procurement and other business units, facilitating effective communication and driving value through strategic procurement initiatives.

Essential Functions:

• Manage supplier relationships by supporting supplier qualification and approval, conducting site visits as needed, evaluating new products and sourcing opportunities, monitoring performance, and resolving quality, delivery, pricing, or service issues.
• Source materials, supplies, and services that meet CMD’s quality, delivery, and cost requirements; evaluate total value when selecting suppliers and purchasing options.
• Leverage data analytics and AI-driven insights to make informed, data-based purchasing decisions.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to align purchasing activities with project requirements, communicate priorities, and meet established deadlines.
• Negotiate price and order quantities and use appropriate purchasing techniques to optimize lead times and cost.

• Enter purchase orders into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool and contact suppliers to place orders; amend purchase orders as needed.

• Spot potential risks and proactively mitigate to ensure continuity of operations.
• Analyze supplier pricing, market conditions, and cost drivers to evaluate price-increase requests and identify opportunities to mitigate cost increases.
• Seek opportunities to reduce waste throughout the entire supply chain.
• Collaborate with supply chain, engineering, production, and suppliers to identify and implement cost-reduction opportunities while maintaining quality and delivery requirements.
• Resolve pricing discrepancies between quoted and invoiced prices.

• Maintain accurate purchased part information such as manufacturer’s part number, lead time, pricing, and price breaks.
• Return questionable or unsuitable items to supplier and follow through disposition.
• Monitor back orders through shortage reports and expedite, as necessary.

• Partner with Inventory Control and Receiving to resolve inventory and receiving issues, including incomplete documentation and part-number discrepancies.
• Support continuous improvement activities; participate in rapid improvement events.

• Own responsibility for safety; practice only safe habits and follow safety rules; responsible for keeping the area clean and organized to ensure safe working conditions.

Other Duties : Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to use technology and data to analyze purchasing activity, support sound decisions, and improve procurement processes.
• Skilled at competitive negotiation, stakeholder management, and relationship building.

• Adaptability and commitment to continuous improvement, cost reduction, and process efficiency.

• Ability to prioritize competing requirements and respond promptly to shortages, supplier issues, and changing production needs; proactive mindset.
• Ability to perform purchasing-related calculations, analyze data, maintain accurate records, and verify work for completeness and accuracy.
• Ability to learn and use CMD’s Enterprise Resource Planning tool with expertise; O365 proficiency.

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain management, economics, procurement/logistics, or a related field preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered.
• Relevant purchasing, supply chain, supplier-management, parts, or sales experience in a manufacturing environment preferred.
• Experience with ERP (Epicor) is desirable but not required.

Additional Requirements: Possess a valid driver’s license.

Travel: Minimal travel is required.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this position, the employee may be regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, reach, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and other routine office and manufacturing equipment.
• Specific vision abilities required include close and distance vision, depth perception, and the ability to visually inspect equipment, components, and work areas, as well as perform computer-based tasks.
• Ability to wear and properly use required personal protective equipment (PPE), including safety glasses, hearing protection, hard hats, and other protective equipment as required by the work environment.
• Ability to work in a manufacturing environment with exposure to moderate levels of noise, vibration, odors, dust, and varying temperatures.
• Ability to follow all applicable health, safety, and environmental requirements, including established safety procedures, PPE requirements, and emergency response protocols.
• Regular and predictable attendance is an essential function of the position.

Status: Full-time, exempt.

Work Environment: CMD operates a campus in Appleton, WI. Our three facilities operate by secure entry, are well lit, air temperature controlled for comfort, and clean with low noise. Safety is our top priority. Our culture is centered around mutual respect, clarity of communication, and employee wellbeing.

Work Authorization/Security Clearance/Confidentiality: Must be authorized to work in the United States and adhere to CMD’s confidentiality agreement(s).

EEO Statement: CMD Corporation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, parental status, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.