Materials Buyer — Drive On-Time Production

Transco Railway Products, Inc.; Waterloo (IA); On-site; USD 53,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Life and disability insurance

Paid time off + holidays

Employee Assistance Program

Career growth opportunities

Job summary

Transco Rail Services is seeking a Materials Buyer to ensure timely procurement of materials and maintain inventory accuracy at our Waterloo, IA site. You will manage POs, supplier relationships, and cross-functional collaboration to keep production moving.

The role emphasizes data-driven procurement, cost savings, and continuous improvement within a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Benefits and career growth opportunities are offered through Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway companies.

Qualifications

• Associate’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 2-4 years of purchasing, procurement, or supply chain experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or operations environment.
• Experience creating and managing purchase orders through ERP/MRP systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to monitor inventory requirements and support demand planning activities.
• Experience communicating with suppliers and resolving delivery or quality issues.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and reporting skills.
• Excellent organizational and time-management abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining high accuracy and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Create and issue purchase orders to approved suppliers based on system demand.
• Maintain accurate purchase order information, pricing, and delivery dates within ERP/MRP systems.
• Coordinate material availability with site Materials Management and production teams.
• Monitor supplier delivery performance and address shortages or delivery concerns.
• Work with the Expediting team to resolve supplier issues and improve on-time delivery.
• Support inventory optimization by utilizing existing stock and reducing excess inventory.
• Challenge supplier lead times, cost increases, and delivery commitments when appropriate.
• Escalate supplier quality, cost, and delivery concerns to Category Management.
• Participate in cost savings and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Generate daily, weekly, and monthly purchasing and inventory-related reports.
• Assist with procurement audits and annual physical inventory activities.
• Support resolution of supplier discrepancies, return authorizations, and data integrity issues.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Organizational skills

Time management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Associate’s degree or equivalent experience

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, or related field

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Microsoft Excel

Reporting tools

Job description

Transco Rail Services is seeking a Materials Buyer to ensure timely procurement of materials and maintain inventory accuracy at our Waterloo, IA site. You will manage POs, supplier relationships, and cross-functional collaboration to keep production moving.

The role emphasizes data-driven procurement, cost savings, and continuous improvement within a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Benefits and career growth opportunities are offered through Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway companies.