Materials Buyer

At Tenneco, we don’t follow industry standards; we set them, and we don’t settle for being best-in-class because we hustle to be better than best-in-class. Whether it’s our Core Values – radical candor, simplify, organizational velocity, tenacious execution and win – or our Get Stuff Done (GSD) mindset, we’re determined to become the most trusted partner and best manufacturer and distributor to the transportation industry.

With a product portfolio as expansive as it is innovative, an obsessive commitment to quality and excellence, and a global presence, we’re all about getting stuff done, so we can win.

How do we make it happen? Through the Tenneco Way. Fueled by our Core Values, a winning mindset and a relentless commitment to excellence, the Tenneco Way is how we win. It’s what keeps Team Tenneco bold, driven, and unapologetically focused on pushing past limits and redefining success.

Here, you’ll work alongside a team of relentless problem-solvers who are committed to making a tangible impact. If you’re ready to break boundaries, deliver results, and enjoy the ride along the way, you’ll thrive here.

Materials Buyer

Location: Greenville, MI

About Us:

At Tenneco, we’re on a mission. Guided by our Core Values and a winning mindset, we are committed to becoming the most trusted partner, manufacturer, and distributor in the transportation industry. What drives us? Our people are passionate changemakers who bring energy, dedication, and innovation to everything they do.

In this role, you will own the plant system that converts production demand into reliable supplier requirements, material availability, and controlled raw-material inventory. You will establish disciplined MRP execution, resolve exceptions before they disrupt production, coordinate inbound schedules, and lead supplier recovery using the P3 Integrated Supply Chain standards. Your work will connect Planning, Procurement, Logistics, Customs, Production, and Finance through one visible operating rhythm.

Who are you?

• Inbound Planning Expert: Translate demand into executable supplier requirements using MRP, governed ERP parameters, lead times, MOQs, safety stock, coverage, and supplier schedules without uncontrolled offline workarounds.
• Material Availability Owner: Maintain fact-based shortage and critical-material risk visibility; identify constraints early, define containment and recovery, assign owners and due dates, and escalate before production or delivery is affected.
• Inventory and Working-Capital Operator: Balance service, risk, and cash; set and challenge raw-material targets, optimize safety stock and order policies, reduce excess and obsolete inventory, and avoid reductions that create supply exposure.
• Supplier Execution Partner: Establish a clear cadence for capacity, commitments, ASN discipline, OTD/OTIF, corrective actions, and recovery across external and intercompany suppliers.
• Data-Driven Problem Solver: Use MRP exceptions, inventory coverage, supplier performance, schedule adherence, and premium freight signals to identify root causes and drive permanent countermeasures.

Who will you set to win, and how will you do that?

• Production and Customer Planning: Provide a credible material plan, clear shortage visibility, and recovery decisions aligned to the production schedule and customer priorities.
• Procurement and Supplier Development: Provide accurate supplier requirements, performance evidence, capacity risks, and structured escalation needed to improve supplier execution.
• Transportation and Customs: Align pickup schedules, carrier capacity, routes, documentation, and clearance priorities to protect inbound material flow.
• Finance and Plant Leadership: Deliver transparent inventory, risk, and recovery information that supports working-capital and operational decisions.
• Suppliers: Provide stable schedules, clear expectations, timely escalation, and disciplined follow-through.

What’s going to be your legacy?

• Reliable Material Availability: A plant where shortages are identified early, recovery is owned, and production is protected through disciplined planning rather than recurring firefighting.
• MRP as the Operating Standard: A sustained process where planning parameters are governed, MRP runs on cadence, exceptions are closed daily, and system outputs drive action.
• Healthy Raw-Material Inventory: Lower excess and obsolescence while maintaining the coverage required to support production and customer service.
• Accountable Supplier Performance: A visible supplier-management model with OTD/OTIF, risk, actions, and escalation connected to business impact.
• P3 Certification Readiness: Clear evidence of planning routines, standards, KPI reviews, corrective actions, trained backups, and sustained execution.

Experience:

• Supply Planning and MRP: Hands-on experience with supplier scheduling, MRP, parameter governance, exception management, shortages, and recovery planning in a manufacturing environment.
• Inventory Optimization: Proven ability to manage coverage, safety stock, MOQ, lot size, lead time, excess, obsolescence, and working-capital tradeoffs.
• Supplier Performance: Experience managing commitments, capacity, OTD/OTIF, corrective actions, and escalation across external and intercompany suppliers.
• Cross-Functional Execution: Demonstrated ability to align Production, Procurement, Logistics, Customs, Finance, and Customer Planning around one material plan.
• Continuous Improvement: Experience using root cause analysis, standard work, visual management, and KPI routines to improve planning reliability.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, operations, engineering, business, or a related field.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP, Excel, and planning or BI tools.
• APICS CPIM/CSCP, Lean, or Six Sigma certification is preferred.
• Ability to communicate risk clearly, make fact-based decisions, and drive action under pressure.
• Fluent in English and the local plant language, as required.

What we Offer:

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package designed to support your well-being.
• Opportunity to work and learn in a fast-paced manufacturing environment while shaping the P3 Integrated Supply Chain operating system.
• Hands-on exposure to Lean, ERP, analytics, cross-functional problem solving, and plant transformation.
• Culture committed to operational excellence, simplicity, accountability, and becoming best-in-class.

Equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities