Materials Manager

Job Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent manufacturing materials experience may be considered.
• Five or more years of progressive experience in materials management, production planning, inventory control, purchasing, or supply chain within a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience with MRP/ERP systems, inventory transactions, bills of material, routings, item master data, and warehouse controls.
• Strong Excel and data-analysis skills, with the ability to convert inventory and planning data into clear actions and controls.
• Working knowledge of cycle counting, physical inventory, safety-stock methods, SLOB management, and root-cause problem solving.
• Strong communication, organization, and leadership skills, including the ability to drive accountability across functions.
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification and Lean manufacturing experience are preferred.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Maintain inventory accuracy and transaction discipline across raw materials, work-in-process, packaging, and finished goods.
• Own the site's safety-stock methodology and inventory targets, balancing production continuity, customer requirements, lead time, and working capital.
• Lead MRP analysis and exception management to identify shortages, excesses, timing risks, and master-data issues before they disrupt production.
• Optimize inventory levels and material flow across the site and relevant supply-chain partners, including Speed, TPC, Lamart, EIS, and other applicable sources or locations.
• Own the cycle-counting program and facilitate timely resolution of cycle-count variances and recurring root causes.
• Lead SLOB identification and disposition planning, including resale, return, rework, consumption, transfer, or approved write-off pathways.
• Provide clear materials metrics, risks, actions, and financial impacts through the site's operating review process.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Establish and maintain cycle-count frequencies based on item value, usage, risk, history, and business criticality; monitor completion and accuracy performance.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies by tracing physical movement, system transactions, scrap, rework, production reporting, unit-of-measure conversion, and location controls.
• Coordinate corrective actions for cycle-count and physical-inventory variances with Operations, Shipping, Finance, Quality, and Information Technology as needed.
• Review MRP messages, planned orders, purchase-order coverage, production demand, lead times, lot sizes, minimum order quantities, and inventory availability; escalate constraints with recommended actions.
• Maintain the integrity of materials master data, including lead times, safety stocks, planning parameters, order policies, lot sizes, units of measure, item status, storage locations, and related planning attributes.
• Develop and periodically validate safety-stock levels using demand variability, supplier reliability, replenishment lead time, customer requirements, and production risk.
• Set and manage inventory targets by material class and product family; explain gaps to target and create recovery plans for shortages, overages, and slow-moving inventory.
• Lead cross-functional reviews of SLOB and at-risk inventory; maintain action owners, financial exposure, disposition paths, and target completion dates.
• Support resale or transfer of surplus materials and finished goods when commercially and operationally appropriate, coordinating required Quality, Finance, Commercial, and customer approvals.
• Improve material flow, storage, identification, FIFO controls, staging, and point-of-use replenishment to reduce handling, searching, damage, shortages, and unplanned downtime.
• Partner with Production Planning and Supervisors to align material availability with the manufacturing schedule and communicate constraints before schedule execution.
• Partner with Purchasing and suppliers on shortages, expedites, lead-time changes, delivery performance, and recovery plans.
• Partner with Finance on inventory reconciliation, reserves, month-end controls, annual physical inventory, and disposition accounting.
• Support new-product introductions, engineering changes, product phase-outs, and customer transitions by developing material cut-in, cut-out, and depletion plans.
• Maintain standard work, training, and access controls for inventory transactions; coach employees on accurate receiving, issuing, backflushing, transfers, scrap, returns, and shipment confirmation.
• Lead or support Lean and continuous-improvement activities that reduce inventory, shorten replenishment lead time, improve flow, and increase schedule reliability.
• Ensure materials activities comply with site safety, quality, environmental, housekeeping, and material-handling requirements.
• Develop team capability, clarify responsibilities, and hold direct reports and process owners accountable for timely, accurate execution.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Inventory accuracy and cycle-count completion
• Inventory value and days on hand versus target
• Stockouts, production interruptions, and material-related schedule attainment
• SLOB value, aging, reserve exposure, and disposition progress
• Supplier delivery and shortage recovery performance
• MRP exception closure and master-data accuracy
• Premium freight, expedites, and avoidable material-handling cost

Compensation:

• $101,621.00 - $ 127,026.00 /annual

At Alkegen, we strive every day to help people - ALL PEOPLE - breathe easier, live greener and go further than ever before. We believe that diversity and inclusion is central to this mission and to our impact. Our diverse and inclusive culture drives our growth & innovation and we nurture it by actively embracing our differences and using our varied perspectives to solve the complex challenges facing our changing and diverse world.

Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, nation of origin, religion, color, gender identity and expression, age, disability, education, opinions, culture, languages spoken, veteran's status, or any other protected class.