Planning and Purchasing Assistant in Winsford

Job Description

• Job Details
• To support the effective planning and when required purchasing of materials, components and services required to meet production and customer demand.
• The role will work cross functionally with Planning, Purchasing, Production, Quality, Engineering, Finance and when required suppliers, responsible for scheduling manufacturing processes to align with customer demand and material availability, when required placing and managing purchase orders, monitoring material availability and supporting the delivery of products to the required quality, cost and manufacturing and delivery schedules.
• The role is an important link between customer demand, production requirements and the supplier base, helping to ensure continuity of supply and adherence to the production plan.

What will this role involve?

• Support the preparation and maintenance of production and material plans.
• Review demand, forecasts, stock levels and production requirements to identify material requirements.
• Monitor material availability against the production schedule.
• Identify potential shortages, delays and supply constraints and escalate issues appropriately.
• Maintain planning parameters including lead times, minimum order quantities, safety stocks and order quantities.
• Support the Planning team with schedule changes, expediting requirements and prioritisation of materials.
• Monitor inventory levels and highlight excess, obsolete and slow-moving stock.
• Assist with maintaining accurate ERP/MRP system data.
• Support investigations into planning issues and contribute to continuous improvement activities.
• Raise purchase orders in accordance with approved requirements and agreed commercial terms.
• Ensure purchase orders are placed within required lead times.
• Monitor supplier acknowledgements and confirm delivery dates.
• Expedite overdue or critical purchase orders to protect production requirements.
• Maintain accurate supplier and purchasing information within the ERP system.
• Liaise with suppliers regarding delivery dates, quantities, pricing and order queries.
• Support the Purchasing team with supplier performance monitoring where required.
• Obtain quotations and assist with price comparisons where required.
• Escalate significant price, supply or quality issues to the relevant team member.
• Assist with supplier onboarding and maintenance of approved supplier information where required.

What we're looking for?

• Experience in manufacturing, purchasing, supply chain, production planning, materials planning or a similar environment.
• Understanding of manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain processes.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills with good attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Confident communication skills with ability to manage competing priorities and work to deadlines.
• Good Microsoft Excel skills and experience using an ERP/MRP system.
• Experience within a manufacturing or supply chain environment.
• Experience of MRP/ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, Sage or similar.
• Understanding of inventory management principles.
• Understanding of purchasing
• Understanding of production planning and scheduling.
• CIPS or APICS/ASCM qualification or willingness to undertake relevant training.
• Proactive, organised and methodical.
• Comfortable working with data and systems.
• Confident challenging when required.
• Able to communicate effectively at all levels.
• A strong team player.
• Comfortable with change and manufacturing environment.
• Focused on problem solving and continuous improvement.
• Array