About TRAIL-EZE
TRAIL-EZE is a family-owned trailer manufacturer that has been building quality trailers in Mitchell, South Dakota since 1963. We take pride in our people, our products, and the relationships we build with our customers and suppliers. We are looking for a Purchasing Manager to lead our purchasing activities, support production across our locations, and help ensure the right materials and components are available when they are needed.
Key Responsibilities
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Lead purchasing and supply management for steel, trailer components, welding consumables, paint supplies, and other production materials.
- Maintain accurate purchasing and inventory records, including SAP.
- Monitor material shortages, shipments, forecasts, production schedules, and status reports.
- Manage supplier relationships and negotiate pricing, availability, and delivery.
- Work closely with Engineering, Supply, Production, and the Parts Department to ensure materials and components support production needs.
- Maintain accurate BOMs, part numbers, purchasing procedures, and processes.
- Identify opportunities to improve purchasing, inventory control, efficiency, and cost savings.
- Inventory & Month-End / Year-End Responsibilities
- Monitor inventory levels and inventory controls.
- Coordinate month-end and year-end inventory preparation, organization, reconciliation, and reporting.
- Investigate discrepancies and maintain accurate inventory records.
- Leadership & Executive Management
- Lead and oversee the purchasing team and day-to-day purchasing activities.
- Work closely with company leadership and serve as a member of the TRAIL-EZE Executive Management Team.
- Participate in executive management meetings and help make decisions that affect the company as a whole.
- Represent TRAIL-EZE professionally with employees, suppliers, customers, and the community.
What We're Looking For
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7+ years of progressively responsible purchasing, procurement, or supply chain experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment.
- Strong purchasing and supplier-management experience, with the ability to independently manage purchasing activities and vendor relationships.
- Experience purchasing steel and trailer components.
- Experience with inventory control, production schedules, forecasting, and supplier relationships.
- Strong communication, organization, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
- Leadership or supervisory experience and the ability to work effectively across departments.
- Experience in trailer manufacturing or the industrial field is a major plus.
- Strong business judgment and the ability to make sound purchasing and operational decisions.
- The ability to protect confidential and proprietary company information and maintain strong supplier relationships.
Why This Position Matters
This position connects our suppliers, purchasing team, Parts Department, and production teams. The right person will help keep materials moving, control costs, improve efficiency, and make sure production has what it needs to keep building trailers.
At TRAIL-EZE, good ideas can come from anywhere. We want our management team and leaders to remain open to ideas and suggestions from every employee, regardless of their position within the company. We believe some of the best ideas come from the people who do the work every day. Their firsthand experience gives them valuable insight into what works well, what could be improved, and how we can continue to make TRAIL-EZE a better place to work.
Two questions we want our leaders to continually ask are:
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"What will make your job easier?"
- "What machinery or equipment could help increase production and improve ROI (return on investment)?"
Preferred Experience
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Manufacturing or industrial purchasing experience
- Steel and trailer component purchasing
- Inventory control and reconciliation
- Supplier management and negotiation
- Production planning and forecasting
- Leadership or supervisory experience
- Trailer manufacturing or industrial experience is a major plus
What TRAIL-EZE Offers
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Competitive salary based on experience
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Health Savings Account (HSA) option
- Company-paid basic life and AD&D insurance
- Company-paid Short-Term Disability
- Long-Term Disability insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan with company match and annual profit-sharing opportunity
- Supplemental Aflac insurance options, including accident, cancer, and hospital coverage
- Opportunities for professional growth and development
- Stable, family-owned company with more than 60 years of history in the community
- Opportunity to work directly with Executive Management and contribute to company-wide decisions
- Meaningful opportunity to impact purchasing, supplier relationships, inventory, cost control, production efficiency, and company growth
Equal Opportunity Employer
TRAIL-EZE, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Location: Mitchell, SD
Position: Full-Time, On-Site
Compensation: DOE, discussed during the interview process for selected candidates
