Materials Manager

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

Position Summary

• The Materials Manager is a key member of the Hanover site leadership team, responsible for developing and leading the factory's end-to-end materials strategy. This role owns materials planning, purchasing, inventory control, warehousing, receiving, internal material flow, shipping, and logistics coordination.
• A critical priority will be leading the site's transition to a disciplined MRP-driven operating model. The Materials Manager will take full ownership of this transformation, including evaluating system requirements, improving master data and planning processes, establishing operating standards, coordinating training, and ensuring the organization consistently uses the system to make timely and accurate decisions.
• This leader will build the materials organization and infrastructure required to support Forgent's continued growth over the next two to three years. The successful candidate will combine strong operational execution with strategic leadership, lean thinking, systems knowledge, and the ability to develop people. This role is intended for a high-potential leader capable of growing into broader operations.

Key Responsibilities

Materials Strategy and Leadership

• Develop and execute the site's materials strategy to support safety, quality, delivery, cost, and growth objectives.
• Lead all plant materials and logistics functions, including purchasing, materials planning, MRP, inventory control, warehousing, receiving, shipping, and internal material movement.
• Build a scalable materials organization with clear responsibilities, standard work, performance expectations, and succession plans.
• Develop, coach, and hold the materials team accountable for operational results and continuous improvement.
• Serve as an active member of the site leadership team and contribute to overall factory strategy, capacity planning, and business decisions.
• Establish strong working relationships across Operations, Fabrication, Assembly, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Project Management, and other Forgent facilities.

MRP and Planning-System Transformation

• Own the implementation and adoption of an effective MRP-driven materials planning process for the Hanover site.
• Assess current systems, processes, data quality, and organizational capabilities; identify the software, resources, and training required.
• Lead cross-functional implementation activities, including system configuration, master-data readiness, testing, training, launch, and sustainment.
• Establish accurate bills of material, routings, lead times, safety stocks, order policies, inventory parameters, and planning standards.
• Ensure planners, buyers, supervisors, and other users are properly trained and consistently follow the defined planning processes.
• Develop planning disciplines that provide clear visibility to shortages, priorities, capacity constraints, supplier risks, and customer requirements.
• Create governance and accountability to maintain system accuracy after implementation.

Material Availability and Customer Delivery

• Ensure materials and fabricated parts are available at the correct location, quantity, quality, and time to support the production schedule.
• Establish a proactive shortage-management and escalation process that protects assembly flow and customer delivery commitments.
• Partner with Production Planning and Operations to translate customer demand into actionable purchasing, fabrication, material, and logistics requirements.
• Coordinate priorities and material transfers with other Forgent facilities when additional capacity supply support is required.
• Identify risks early and lead cross-functional recovery plans before they affect production or customers.
• Support S&OP and production-planning processes by providing accurate information regarding inventory, material availability, supplier capacity, and constraints.

Purchasing and Supplier Performance

• Provide leadership and direction to the site purchasing organization.
• Ensure purchase orders, supplier commitments, delivery dates, and system records are accurate and actively managed.
• Establish effective supplier performance management focused on delivery, quality, responsiveness, lead time, and cost.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Quality teams to resolve supplier issues and develop sustainable corrective actions.
• Develop sourcing and contingency strategies for critical materials and supply risks.
• Balance availability, inventory investment, lead time, and total cost when making purchasing decisions.

Inventory and Warehouse Management

• Establish inventory-control processes that improve accuracy, visibility, traceability, and material availability.
• Lead cycle-counting, physical-inventory, reconciliation, and root-cause activities.
• Optimize inventory levels while reducing shortages, excess inventory, obsolete material, and unnecessary handling.
• Create a structured process for identifying, dispositioning, and removing obsolete or slow-moving inventory.
• Improve warehouse layout, storage methods, location management, labeling, replenishment, and space utilization.
• Maintain disciplined receiving, inspection, put-away, picking, staging, and material-issue processes.
• Ensure material is protected, presented, and delivered to production in a manner that supports safety, quality, ergonomics, and efficient flow.

Internal Logistics, Shipping, and Receiving

• Own the performance of receiving, warehousing, material movement, finished-goods staging, and shipping.
• Ensure inbound materials are received accurately and made available to production without unnecessary delay.
• Develop reliable internal replenishment and point-of-use delivery systems for Assembly and Fabrication.
• Coordinate outbound shipments to meet customer commitments and documentation requirements.
• Partner with Project Management, Quality, and Operations to ensure products are released, packaged, and shipped on time.
• Improve dock scheduling, carrier coordination, freight utilization, shipment visibility, and logistics cost.
• Ensure shipping and receiving activities comply with safety, quality, customer, and regulatory requirements.

Lean Materials Flow and Continuous Improvement

• Lead continuous improvement across all materials and logistics processes using lean principles and structured problem solving.
• Improve the flow of materials from supplier receipt through fabrication, assembly, testing, and shipment.
• Develop pull systems, supermarkets, point-of-use storage, visual controls, standard work, replenishment routes, and right-sized delivery quantities where appropriate.
• Reduce material travel, searching, waiting, handling, congestion, shortages, and excess work-in-process.
• Improve parts presentation to production teams to support safety, productivity, quality, and ease of assembly.
• Partner with Operations to improve kitting strategies and transition from large batches or excess floor inventory toward controlled, consumption-based replenishment.
• Use data and direct floor observation to identify root causes and implement sustainable improvements.
• Build a culture in which problems are visible, addressed quickly, and prevented from recurring.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Engineering, Logistics, or a related discipline.
• Eight or more years of progressive experience in materials management, supply chain, planning, purchasing, logistics, or manufacturing operations.
• Five or more years of leadership experience with responsibility for multiple materials or logistics functions.
• Demonstrated experience with ERP/MRP systems and disciplined materials-planning processes.
• APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP) preferred.
• Experience managing inventory, purchasing, warehousing, shipping, receiving, and internal logistics in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of bills of material, production schedules, lead times, inventory parameters, capacity constraints, and supplier management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead significant process or system transformations across multiple functions.
• Strong lean-manufacturing mindset and practical experience improving material flow and eliminating waste.
• Proven ability to build teams, develop leaders, establish accountability, and manage organizational change.
• Strong analytical, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to balance immediate operational demands with longer-term organizational and systems development.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Ability to work in both office and manufacturing environments.
• Ability to regularly walk through production, warehouse, shipping, and receiving areas.
• Ability to stand, walk, sit, bend, and occasionally lift materials consistent with the requirements of the role.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment while in designated manufacturing areas.
• Occasional travel to suppliers, customers, or other Forgent locations may be required.