Buyer - Manufacturing

Labconco; Fort Scott (KS); On-site; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO & holidays

Health benefits

HSA / FSA

Dental & Vision

401k (Traditional and Roth)

Company paid life insurance

LTD & STD

Job summary

Labconco in Fort Scott, Kansas is seeking a Buyer to secure materials, services, and tooling for manufacturing. You’ll partner with production, scheduling, engineering, and suppliers to ensure on-time delivery and quality, while maintaining cost efficiency.

The role requires autonomous work ethic, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to adapt to changing priorities. Occasional travel to Kansas City HQ and supplier sites is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or 3–5 years of purchasing experience or equivalent
• Ability to work autonomously and manage priorities with limited supervision
• Experience using ERP systems and Kanban replenishment concepts
• Experience managing high SKU volume in low-volume, high-mix manufacturing
• Strong negotiation, pricing analysis, and supplier evaluation skills
• Analytical and problem-solving mindset with adaptable priorities
• Excellent planning and organizational skills
• Strong communication and supplier relationship-building skills
• Valid driver’s license and occasional travel to Kansas City and supplier sites

Responsibilities

• Create and manage purchase orders for parts, services, tooling, and other manufacturing needs
• Partner with Schedulers and Operations to keep materials flowing and production on track
• Request and analyze supplier quotes and negotiate pricing, terms, quality, and delivery
• Identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers based on capabilities and needs
• Build strong relationships with current and prospective suppliers and drive performance
• Coordinate with suppliers on quality concerns, ECOs, and changes
• Monitor purchasing and material needs; respond quickly to production or supply chain issues
• Support annual physical inventory activities
• Travel to Labconco headquarters in Kansas City and supplier locations as needed
• Take on additional projects as business needs evolve

Skills

Autonomy

ERP systems

Kanban

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Planning

Communication

Mathematics

Blueprint reading

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree or 3–5 years purchasing experience

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Description

Labconco is looking for a Buyer to join our team in Fort Scott, Kansas and play an important role in keeping our manufacturing operations moving.

If you enjoy building supplier relationships, negotiating a great deal, solving supply challenges, and seeing the direct impact of your work on production, this could be a great fit. You’ll serve as a key purchasing resource for our Fort Scott operation, working closely with production, scheduling, engineering, suppliers, and the broader Labconco team.

Because you’ll be supporting our Fort Scott location, we’re looking for someone who is comfortable working independently, taking ownership, making sound decisions, and keeping priorities moving without constant direction.

What You’ll Do

As our Buyer, you’ll help ensure the materials, services, and tooling our teams need are available at the right time, cost, and quality. You’ll:

• Create and manage purchase orders for parts, services, tooling, and other manufacturing needs.
• Partner closely with Schedulers and Operations to keep materials flowing and production on track.
• Request and analyze supplier quotes and negotiate competitive pricing, terms, quality, and delivery.
• Identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers based on capabilities and business needs.
• Build strong relationships with current and prospective suppliers and help drive continued supplier performance.
• Coordinate with suppliers on quality concerns, engineering changes, rejected materials, and other issues.
• Implement Engineering Change Order (ECO) revisions affecting purchased materials.
• Monitor purchasing and material needs, quickly responding when unexpected production or supply chain challenges arise.
• Support annual physical inventory activities.
• Visit suppliers as needed and travel periodically to Labconco headquarters in Kansas City, MO for meetings, collaboration, and other business needs.
• Take on additional projects and responsibilities as business needs evolve.

Requirements

What You’ll Bring

We’re looking for someone who can balance the details of purchasing and inventory planning with the relationship-building and problem-solving that make a strong Buyer successful.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• A bachelor’s degree or 3–5 years of related purchasing, procurement, supply chain, or manufacturing experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• The ability to work autonomously, take initiative, exercise sound judgment, and manage priorities with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Experience using ERP systems and material replenishment concepts such as Kanban.
• Experience managing a high volume of SKUs and/or working in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment.
• Strong negotiation skills and confidence evaluating supplier pricing, quality, capabilities, and delivery terms.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to adjust quickly as production priorities change.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills with the ability to juggle multiple priorities.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to develop productive relationships with suppliers and internal teams.
• Solid mathematical skills for pricing, discounts, percentages, and cost analysis.
• The ability to read and interpret technical documents and blueprints is a plus.
• A proactive approach and sense of urgency when responding to production or supply chain issues.
• A valid driver’s license and ability to travel occasionally to our Kansas City headquarters, supplier locations, and other Company locations as needed.

Ready to put your purchasing skills to work and make a direct impact on manufacturing operations? We’d

Benefits

• PTO, 9 paid holidays, Medical, HSA, FSA, Dental, Vision, 401k (Traditional and Roth), Company paid life insurance, LTD & STD.

EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled