MRO Buyer & Planner
Location: La Porte, Texas
Department: Procurement
Reports to: IMS Global Manager
Position Overview
Seeking an experienced MRO Buyer to support the strategic and tactical procurement of indirect materials, with a primary focus on Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO), contracted services, and capital equipment.
This position is responsible for sourcing products and services domestically and internationally, negotiating commercial terms, developing long-term supplier agreements, and managing short-term and spot-market purchasing requirements. The MRO Buyer will also coordinate purchasing and planning activities within SAP to ensure materials, tools, equipment, and services are available when needed for planned maintenance and operational work.
The successful candidate will evaluate supplier performance and develop strategies that improve total cost, quality, delivery, inventory management, and overall purchasing effectiveness.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Sourcing and Procurement
- Develop and execute purchasing strategies and acquisition plans for assigned MRO, indirect-spend, service, and capital-equipment categories.
- Source materials, equipment, and services from domestic and international suppliers.
- Negotiate pricing, payment terms, delivery requirements, service levels, and other commercial terms.
- Establish and manage long-term supplier agreements for key materials and services.
- Manage short-term and spot-market purchasing needs while minimizing cost and supply risk.
- Participate in and, when appropriate, lead cross-functional sourcing teams.
- Communicate sourcing strategies, project status, pricing trends, and purchasing risks to senior management.
- Promote the use of preferred suppliers and established pricing agreements across the organization.
- Identify year-over-year cost savings and cost-avoidance opportunities.
MRO Planning and SAP Coordination
- Support the planning and coordination of scheduled maintenance work in SAP.
- Research material, service, tool, and equipment requirements for planned work.
- Assist with defining scopes of work for suppliers and contractors.
- Create, modify, and manage purchase orders associated with planned maintenance and operational requirements.
- Coordinate the availability and delivery of materials, equipment, tools, and services.
- Work closely with Operations, Purchasing, Materials Management, Maintenance personnel, and Maintenance Management to ensure work requirements are properly planned and supported.
- Maintain accurate purchasing and planning information within SAP and other applicable systems.
Supplier Management and Purchasing Excellence
- Identify, evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers using established organizational standards.
- Manage supplier transitions and support regional supplier consolidation initiatives.
- Develop supplier performance measures and track results against established targets.
- Monitor supplier performance in the areas of cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, and contractual compliance.
- Apply the non-conformance process and work with suppliers to resolve quality or delivery issues.
- Build productive relationships with suppliers, internal stakeholders, and end users.
- Identify opportunities to improve Ingenia’s purchasing performance and escalate significant concerns when appropriate.
- Apply advanced purchasing, sourcing, and negotiation tools in day-to-day activities.
Budgeting, Cost Control, and Reporting
- Monitor price movements and market trends related to indirect materials, MRO supplies, services, and equipment.
- Recommend actions to reduce cost exposure and supply-chain risk.
- Provide capital-equipment cost estimates to support the annual budgeting process.
- Track purchasing performance and provide quarterly verbal and written reports to management.
- Monitor and report on key performance indicators, including:
- Year-over-year cost savings and cost avoidance
- Days Sales Outstanding and Days Payable Outstanding gap
- Inventory turns
- Total number of suppliers
- Number of preferred suppliers
- Supplier delivery performance
- Percentage of spend under contract
Policies, Compliance, and Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve purchasing systems, work methods, and overall process efficiency.
- Recommend process changes that strengthen data accuracy and integrity.
- Participate in purchasing-process and program assessments.
- Review procedures and recommend changes to support compliance with applicable requirements, including SOX, UCC, ISO, and Responsible Care.
- Follow and help others apply Responsible Care procedures relevant to their work.
- Support internal and external audits and provide information to consultants or regulatory representatives when required.
Working Relationships
Internal
- Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Materials Management, Finance, and other departments to ensure effective coordination and timely execution of purchasing activities.
- Participate in or lead cross-functional sourcing teams.
- Communicate preferred-supplier agreements, pricing, and commercial terms to internal requestors.
- Assist and mentor team members in achieving individual and departmental objectives.
External
- Develop and maintain professional relationships with suppliers, contractors, and service providers.
- Coordinate with auditors, consultants, and representatives of external regulatory bodies as required.
Decision-Making Authority
The MRO Buyer is authorized to negotiate procurement pricing and commercial terms within established company guidelines. Final contracts and commitments requiring senior-level authorization must be presented to management for review and approval.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field.
- A recognized procurement or supply-chain designation is preferred, including APP, CPM, CPP, CPPM, or an equivalent certification.
- Three to five years of procurement experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment, along with continued professional development; or an equivalent combination of post-secondary education and seven to nine years of relevant experience.
- Experience purchasing MRO materials, indirect goods, contracted services, and capital equipment is strongly preferred.
- Experience using SAP or another MRP/ERP system.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, and other Microsoft Office applications.
Knowledge and Skills
- Strong knowledge of purchasing and supply-chain policies, procedures, and best practices.
- Understanding of applicable regulatory, quality, and financial-control requirements.
- Strong sourcing, procurement, and supplier-negotiation capabilities.
- Ability to read and analyze market, industry, supplier, and pricing data.
- Ability to recognize cost-saving and business-improvement opportunities and make sound recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all organizational levels.
- Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
- Results-driven, highly organized, and detail-oriented.
- Strong interpersonal and relationship-management skills.
- Advanced ability to navigate spreadsheets, word-processing, email, presentation, project-management, and ERP applications.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with internal teams and external suppliers.
Pay: $50,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Referral program
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
