Senior Category Buyer

General Description:

The Senior Category Buyer leads strategic category management and procurement for assigned commodities, including steel, raw materials, consumables and third-party components. Under the guidance of the Production Planning Manager, the role develops category strategies, analyzes spend and commodity-price trends, implements cost models and negotiates supplier agreements to improve total cost of ownership, payment terms and supply continuity. The role partners with Finance, Engineering, Quality, Production and Planning to optimize inventory, manage product lifecycles and develop qualified sourcing alternatives while meeting corporate objectives for material waste reduction, inventory verification, data tracking and utilization, quality and on-time delivery.

Skill Requirements:

• Strong communication skills.
• Strategic category management and commodity sourcing in manufacturing.
• Category spend analysis, supplier segmentation and sourcing-strategy development.
• Cost modeling, total-cost-of-ownership analysis and commodity-price trend analysis.
• Proven commercial negotiation skills
• Demonstrated procurement and process expertise in metal scrap recycling
• Experience with statistical analysis and in-depth market research
• High degree of initiative with a capacity to achieve goals under minimal supervision
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Power BI, with working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suit

Responsibilities:

• Category strategy and spend management:
  Develop and execute short- and long-term sourcing strategies for assigned commodity categories using market research and forecasts. Analyze spend by category, supplier and item to identify highest-spend suppliers, supplier concentration, consolidation opportunities and cost-reduction priorities.
• Payment terms and working capital:
  Partner with Finance and Accounts Payable to review supplier payment terms and the company’s payment history. Identify opportunities to negotiate improved terms with suppliers for which the company has an impeccable payment record or more than three months of consistent on-time payments, subject to Finance approval and consideration of total cost and supply continuity.
• Product lifecycle and Kanban optimization:
  Regularly review consumables and components on Kanban to identify obsolete, inactive, duplicate, superseded or end-of-life items. Coordinate approved removal or replacement with Engineering, Planning, Production and Quality, confirming remaining demand and service requirements before implementation. Establish and maintain MIN/MAX inventory levels across the assigned portfolio.
• Design alternatives and multiple sourcing:
  Identify uniquely designed or single-source products and work with Engineering and Quality to determine whether alternative designs or specifications are permissible. Develop additional sourcing options only after required technical, quality and customer approvals.
• International sourcing and market development:
  Assess sourcing opportunities in South America, Europe, India and China. Evaluate materials, products and potential vendors and distributors based on capability, quality, capacity, lead times, logistics, landed cost, applicable trade requirements, and material safety and environmental considerations to support sourcing recommendations and supplier qualification.
• Cost modeling and commodity-price analysis:
  Develop and maintain cost models covering raw materials, conversion or processing, labour, overhead, packaging, freight, duties and other relevant cost drivers. Track commodity indices and supplier-price movements to identify trends, validate proposed price changes and inform negotiations.
• Negotiation and results tracking:
  Lead fact-based negotiations using spend analysis, competitive quotations, cost models and market intelligence. Track negotiated outcomes, implemented savings, payment-term improvements and sourcing-risk reduction using agreed baselines validated with Finance.
• Purchasing execution and material replenishment:
  Develop and follow up on material replenishment plans for raw materials and third-party components. Review requisitions, issue requests for quotation and purchase orders, and coordinate supplier deliveries and lead times. Monitor daily production rates, resolve back orders and supplier production issues, and expedite open orders to maintain supply continuity. Identify transaction-efficiency improvements and support related procurement projects. Coordinate with Production and Planning on material availability and production requirements.
• Supplier performance and development:
  Monitor and analyze supplier quality and delivery performance and develop and maintain a capable supplier base to meet business requirements. Work with Sales, Planning and Supplier Quality Assurance on new product requirements.

Working Conditions:

• Office Environment; computer and phone use
• Manufacturing environment; limited warehouse and shipping yard
• Exposure to heat and cold environments

8:00am-5:00p.m MST
40 hours/week (Full-Time)