Procurement Specialist

We are seeking an experienced detail-oriented Procurement Specialist to manage tactical and operational purchasing activities for our manufacturing operations in West Chicago IL. In this role you will lead the end-to-end procurement of direct and indirect materials manage supplier delivery and quality performance negotiate favorable commercial terms and collaborate closely with operations planning and engineering to maintain production continuity.

The ideal candidate brings a proven background in engineered manufacturing environments strong MRP/ERP proficiency (SAP/Oracle) and sharp negotiation skills to optimize costs and minimize supply chain risks.

Key Responsibilities

• Purchase Order Execution & Management: Issue confirm and expedite purchase orders for raw materials machined components castings hardware and shop supplies based on MRP demands and project schedules.
• Supplier Performance & Relationship Management: Monitor supplier on-time delivery (OTD) lead times and quality conformance (PPM). Resolve non-conformance reports (NCRs) and invoice discrepancies directly with vendors.
• Cost Optimization & Negotiation: Conduct RFQs/RFPs benchmark supplier pricing and negotiate price payment terms and delivery schedules to achieve annual purchase price variance (PPV) and cost-out targets.
• Supply Chain Continuity: Identify supply chain bottlenecks and single-source vulnerabilities. Source evaluate and qualify alternate suppliers in alignment with quality and engineering specifications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Production Planning Inventory Control and Engineering to support BOM updates engineering change orders (ECOs) and inventory turn objectives.
• ERP Data Maintenance: Maintain accurate purchasing master data within the ERP system including lead times minimum order quantities (MOQs) safety stock levels and vendor info records.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education: Bachelors degree in Supply Chain Management Business Administration Operations Engineering or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Experience: 3 years of procurement tactical purchasing or buyer experience in a discrete manufacturing industrial machinery or engineered-to-order (ETO) facility.
• ERP Systems: Demonstrated proficiency executing purchasing transactions within major ERP platforms (e.g. SAP Oracle JD Edwards).
• Technical Acumen: Ability to interpret engineering drawings bills of materials (BOMs) and technical specifications when sourcing mechanical or electrical components.
• Analytical Skills: Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (VLOOKUPs Pivot Tables data analysis) for spending analysis and inventory tracking.