Buyer

Job Description

Job Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

MRO Buying

• Source and purchase MRO items: spare parts, tooling, fasteners, bearings, filters, lubricants, PPE, janitorial and facility supplies, and contracted repair services.

• Process purchase requisitions from Maintenance and Production, confirming specifications, part numbers, quantities and need-by dates before ordering.

• Obtain quotes, compare price, lead time and quality, and negotiate pricing, terms and freight with suppliers and distributors.

• Maintain approved-supplier relationships, including OEM, distributor and local vendors, and qualify alternates for critical spares.

• Work with Maintenance to set min/max levels, reorder points and critical-spares lists for the storeroom, and flag slow-moving or obsolete stock.

• Manage emergency and line-down buys, including after-hours coordination and expedited freight when needed.

• Pursue cost reduction through consolidation, blanket orders, vendor-managed inventory, vending programs and standardization of parts.

• Manage repair-and-return and warranty claims, and process supplier credits and returns.

Intercompany Purchasing and Expediting

• Place and maintain purchase orders and transfer orders with sister plants and other company business units for raw materials, components and finished goods.

• Track intercompany orders from release through shipment and receipt, and keep delivery dates current in the ERP system.

• Expedite late or at-risk intercompany shipments by contacting sister-plant planners, schedulers and logistics, and escalate shortages that threaten production.

• Confirm intercompany pricing, transfer-price agreements, units of measure and lead times, and resolve discrepancies with the sending plant and Finance.

• Coordinate carrier selection, freight scheduling and inbound transportation for intercompany loads, and consolidate shipments where it saves cost.

• Reconcile intercompany receipts and invoices with Receiving and Accounts Payable, and help close open items and variances at month end.

• Communicate order status, delays and recovery plans to Planning, Production and plant leadership.

• Review open-order and past-due reports daily and publish an intercompany expedite list.

General Buyer Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate item, supplier and pricing records in the ERP system.

• Resolve invoice, receiving and price variances (three-way match issues) with Accounts Payable and Receiving.

• Follow company purchasing policy, approval limits, safety, environmental and ethics requirements.

• Track and report purchasing KPIs such as on-time delivery, price variance, spend savings and past-due lines.

• Support continuous improvement projects, supplier scorecards and audits.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; associate or bachelor's degree in supply chain, business or a related field preferred.

• 2–4 years of purchasing, buying or expediting experience in a manufacturing environment.

• Working knowledge of MRO categories and maintenance terminology, or the ability to learn it quickly.

• Proficiency with an ERP/MRP system (purchase orders, requisitions, receiving, inventory) and Microsoft Excel.

• Strong negotiation, follow-up and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize many open orders at once.

• Clear written and verbal communication with suppliers, plant staff and sister-plant teams.

Preferred

• Experience with intercompany or multi-plant transfers and transfer pricing.

• Experience with a storeroom, CMMS or vendor-managed inventory program.

• Familiarity with freight, Incoterms and basic customs or hazmat shipping requirements.

• APICS (CPIM) or ISM (CPSM) certification, or progress toward one.

• Experience in a chemical, coatings or process-manufacturing plant.

Performance Measures, Working Conditions and EEO

Performance measures

• On-time delivery of MRO and intercompany orders, and number of line-down events caused by a missing part.

• Purchase price variance and documented cost savings.

• Past-due lines on the intercompany expedite list, and days to clear them.

• Storeroom service level and accuracy of reorder points and lead times in the ERP.

• Timely, clean invoice matching and intercompany reconciliation at month end.

Working conditions and physical requirements

• Office role with regular walks through the plant, storeroom and shipping and receiving areas; safety glasses are required in those areas.

• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs occasionally and to sit or work at a computer for extended periods.

• Occasional after-hours availability for emergency buys and line-down situations.

\nCompany Description

With over 30 years of industry experience and a footprint spanning 10 United States locations, Creative Liquid Coatings is a powerhouse in integrated manufacturing. We bridge the gap between complex plastic injection molding and world-class automated finishing, utilizing a fleet of over 150 machines ranging from 85 to 5,000 tons. Our versatile paint lines accommodate a wide range of component sizes, providing a seamless, end-to-end production solution that combines massive scale with precision engineering for the most demanding industrial applications.

Company Description

With over 30 years of industry experience and a footprint spanning 10 United States locations, Creative Liquid Coatings is a powerhouse in integrated manufacturing. We bridge the gap between complex plastic injection molding and world-class automated finishing, utilizing a fleet of over 150 machines ranging from 85 to 5,000 tons. Our versatile paint lines accommodate a wide range of component sizes, providing a seamless, end-to-end production solution that combines massive scale with precision engineering for the most demanding industrial applications.