Buyer II
Mueller Water Products

The Mueller Company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and manufactures valves for water and gas systems, including iron gate, butterfly, tapping, check, plug, and ball valves, as well as dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants; pipe repair products, such as clamps and couplings used to repair leaks, as well as municipal castings, including manhole covers and street drain grates; and residential and commercial water meter products and systems. It also offers metering, leak detection, pipe condition assessment, and other products and services for the water infrastructure industry, as well as provides installation, replacement, and maintenance services on new and existing valves, fire hydrants, and service lines.

Job Description:

• Responsible for coordinating daily production material activities to support internal manufacturing.
• Demonstrate close understanding and practical knowledge of a company's manufacturing processes and equipment capabilities.
• Develop materials storage, inventory levels, and delivery processes supportive of manufacturing operations.
• Dedication to internal customer and external supply base requirements and deadlines.
• Daily execution and creation of work orders and purchase orders.
• Prevent material shortages; expediting as necessary to ensure material availability.
• Collaborate with suppliers and other departments as needed to ensure uninterrupted material flow and leverage relationships and KPI's.
• Resolve material and resource conflicts as they arrive.
• Support other buyers in payable resolutions and drive efficiency within our spend and payables processes
• Manage all price discrepancies in our payables system and report out stats to support continuously improving in buyer review billings
• Maintain and develop a high-level cycle counting process of key components to avoid shortages and runouts
• Assist manufacturing with process improvement and lean initiatives.
• Responsible for purchasing and negotiating materials, equipment, and supplies from suppliers.
• Maintain day to day communication with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery and ordering parameters for individual materials.
• Maintains ideal inventory levels to ensure on-time deliveries, while maximizing turns, and minimizing carrying costs.
• Ability to create and follow Standard Work processes on a daily basis.
• Operate with a sense of urgency, and distribute time sensitive and accurate data
• Strong time management and organizing skills.
• Identify road blocks in material/information flow; ability to manage exceptions.
• Foster and drive cost savings initiatives to the materials team on a routine basis

Required Skills:

• BS/BA Degree in Management, Sourcing or related field; MBA strongly preferred. Extensive knowledge and practical experience with application of lean sigma principles and practices, proven experience in leading a materials team.
• Three (3) to five (5) years materials experience in purchasing, planning, in a heavy manufacturing. Proven track record of material flow optimization through tools such as Lean, Visual Management, and Supplier Value Stream Mapping.
• Experience with ERP/MRP/Visual Management software for supply chain/inventory management.
• Experience in lean manufacturing and other world class manufacturing/purchasing practices required.
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work in teams.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft software, i.e., powerpoint and excel

Required Experience:

• Possess basic knowledge of supply chain activities, including the transformation of raw materials and components into a finished product.
• 3+ years Supply Chain experience
• 2 years of minimum experience in making materials flow
• Supply Chain experience in union and/or mfg. environment
• Exposure to LEAN methodology and LEAN manufacturing environment
• Enterprise-sourcing purchasing and production planning systems
• Advanced computer skills and proficient with Excel, Access and ERP systems
• Good experience with excel and powerpoint and data anaytics

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other category protected by law.

---