Supply Chain Operations Manager

Location: Marietta, OH
Employment Type: Full-Time | Direct Hire
Compensation: Starting at $95,000 annually, with higher compensation available based on experience
Travel Requirement: Up to 20% for supplier meetings, sourcing initiatives, industry events, and business-related travel

We are seeking an experienced Supply Chain Operations Manager to oversee all material planning, procurement, inventory management, and supplier performance activities within a manufacturing environment. This role serves as the primary link between supply chain operations and production, ensuring materials are available to support both short-cycle and complex custom manufacturing programs.

The successful candidate will provide leadership to purchasing and planning personnel while balancing operational execution with long-term supply chain strategy. This individual will collaborate closely with operations, project teams, sales, quality, engineering, and executive leadership to optimize inventory investments, improve supplier performance, and strengthen overall supply chain reliability.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Buyer Planners.
• Establish performance expectations and conduct coaching, development discussions, and performance reviews.
• Balance workloads across purchasing and planning portfolios to ensure effective coverage and execution.
• Promote strong ERP/MRP discipline and data-driven decision making.
• Identify training opportunities and support professional development initiatives.
• Maintain continuity plans to ensure uninterrupted coverage during employee absences and staffing transitions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Partner with project teams to align material plans with production schedules and customer commitments.
• Participate in project launch activities to evaluate bills of materials, identify long-lead components, and assess supply risks.
• Monitor material availability and proactively address shortages that may impact project timelines.
• Coordinate cross-functional responses to supply disruptions and delivery concerns.
• Review active project portfolios on a routine basis to ensure critical materials remain aligned with production priorities.
• Support rapid-turnaround and configure-to-order programs through effective inventory planning and material positioning.

• Provide supply chain guidance during the quoting and opportunity evaluation process.
• Offer realistic lead-time assessments based on supplier capacity, market conditions, and inventory availability.
• Participate in demand planning and forecasting discussions to support business growth.
• Utilize pipeline visibility to anticipate future material requirements and sourcing needs.
• Support customer service objectives through accurate and timely supply chain information.
• Assist with inventory programs, blanket agreements, and stocking strategies that improve responsiveness.

• Identify materials that present elevated risk due to long lead times, limited sourcing options, price volatility, or operational impact.
• Develop inventory strategies that support production continuity while controlling working capital.
• Evaluate sourcing risks and recommend mitigation plans including alternate suppliers, safety stock programs, and long-term agreements.
• Support implementation of supplier and commodity strategies across the facility.
• Participate in make-versus-buy evaluations and sourcing optimization initiatives.
• Monitor market conditions, supply constraints, tariffs, and industry trends that could affect material availability or cost.

• Manage facility-wide inventory performance, including inventory turns, excess inventory reduction, and working capital utilization.
• Lead initiatives focused on improving inventory velocity while maintaining production readiness.
• Oversee periodic reviews of excess and obsolete inventory and coordinate corrective actions.
• Establish inventory policies related to safety stock, replenishment methods, reorder points, and cycle counting.
• Direct annual physical inventory activities and related reconciliation efforts.
• Use data analytics and performance metrics to support inventory investment decisions.

• Drive supplier performance improvements through measurement, reporting, and regular business reviews.
• Monitor key supplier metrics including delivery reliability, quality performance, responsiveness, and lead-time accuracy.
• Manage supplier escalations and corrective action initiatives.
• Collaborate with quality teams on supplier qualification and improvement efforts.
• Support onboarding and evaluation of new suppliers.
• Lead or support negotiations involving pricing agreements, long-term contracts, and strategic purchasing arrangements.

• Ensure accuracy of item master data, planning parameters, supplier information, and bills of materials.
• Promote disciplined use of ERP and MRP systems throughout the purchasing and planning process.
• Review planning outputs and address systemic issues affecting material availability or inventory performance.
• Partner with internal technology teams to improve system functionality and reporting capabilities.
• Champion data integrity as a critical component of operational excellence.

• Develop and present supply chain performance reports to leadership.
• Analyze trends and identify opportunities for operational improvement.
• Lead initiatives focused on inventory optimization, lead-time reduction, warehouse efficiency, and process improvement.
• Support Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement efforts throughout the facility.
• Benchmark performance against industry standards and implement improvement roadmaps where appropriate.

This position is fully on-site and requires daily interaction with manufacturing, warehouse, and receiving operations. Candidates should be comfortable working in an industrial environment and spending time on the production floor to support operational objectives.

Travel of up to 20% is expected for supplier visits, sourcing activities, industry conferences, and occasional business-related meetings. Availability outside standard business hours may occasionally be required to support urgent supply chain issues impacting production continuity.