Materials Manager

cvgrp; Michigan City (IN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

cvgrp's Michigan City, IN plant is seeking a Materials Manager to lead planning, scheduling, inventory control, and supplier coordination. You will drive material readiness for launches, manage a materials team, and optimize replenishment strategies to balance cost and delivery performance.

The role requires a Bachelor's in a related field and 5+ years of leadership in materials or operations, with strong ERP/MRP proficiency and a track record of KPI-driven improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field required.
• 5+ years leadership in materials or operations.
• Strong ERP/MRP experience and data-driven decisions.
• Experience with inventory controls and scheduling.

Responsibilities

• Lead materials planning, scheduling, and production support to meet customer and plant requirements.
• Manage planners, schedulers, and related materials team members to maintain production flow.
• Review forecasts, EDI, demand changes, and schedules to identify risks and recovery actions.
• Coordinate material readiness for launches, engineering changes, line moves, and production changes.
• Set replenishment strategies that balance availability, inventory, space, and delivery needs.
• Improve inventory accuracy through audits, transaction discipline, root cause analysis, and follow-up.
• Improve turns, reduce excess and obsolete inventory, and support working capital goals.
• Use Kanban, pull systems, min/max levels, supermarkets, and visual controls where appropriate.
• Analyze slow, obsolete, excess, and high-risk inventory and lead reduction actions.
• Collaborate with the Shipping and Receiving Manger to
• Partner with Sourcing, Purchasing, Supplier Quality, and Supply Chain to resolve supplier issues.
• Monitor supplier delivery and lead escalation, recovery plans, and corrective actions.
• Ensure vendor releases, schedules, and purchase orders support production and delivery needs.
• Develop contingency plans for high-risk suppliers, constrained materials, and supply interruptions.
• Support supplier development focused on delivery, responsiveness, quality, and cost-effective supply.
• Collaborate with the Shipping and Receiving Manger to partner on inventory levels and turns.
• Champion Operational Excellence, lean practices, standard work, and daily management.
• Lead improvement projects in inventory, flow, productivity, and delivery.
• Use root cause analysis, PDCA, A3, Kaizen, 5S, value stream mapping, and visual management.
• Eliminate waste in planning, picking, staging, and reporting.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to improve line-side presentation, flow, replenishment, and handling productivity.
• Own materials KPIs, including inventory accuracy, turns, supplier and customer delivery, schedule adherence, premium freight, shortages, productivity, obsolete inventory, and variances.
• Set KPI targets and lead daily, weekly, and monthly performance reviews.
• Create KPI action plans with owners, due dates, and verified corrective actions.
• Use dashboards, accountability meetings, and visual management to drive focus.
• Convert KPI trends into actions that improve plant financial and operational performance.
• Use ERP/MRP for planning, inventory, procurement, receiving, shipping, and reporting.
• Drive transaction accuracy and master data discipline.
• Develop standard work and training for consistent ERP/MRP execution.

Skills

Leadership

Inventory control

ERP/MRP

Lean / continuous improvement

KPI management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Logistics, Engineering, or related field

APICS/ASCM CPIM/CSCP certification

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Position Summary

The Materials Manager leads the Michigan City plant's materials function, including planning, scheduling, inventory control, customer support, and material flow. This role ensures materials are available on time, in the right quantity, and at the best total cost to support customer delivery and plant goals.

Key Responsibilities

Materials Planning & Production Support

• Lead materials planning, scheduling, and production support to meet customer and plant requirements.
• Manage planners, schedulers, and related materials team members to maintain production flow.
• Review forecasts, EDI, demand changes, and schedules to identify risks and recovery actions.
• Coordinate material readiness for launches, engineering changes, line moves, and production changes.
• Set replenishment strategies that balance availability, inventory, space, and delivery needs.

Inventory Management & Control

• Improve inventory accuracy through audits, transaction discipline, root cause analysis, and follow-up.
• Improve turns, reduce excess and obsolete inventory, and support working capital goals.
• Use Kanban, pull systems, min/max levels, supermarkets, and visual controls where appropriate.
• Analyze slow, obsolete, excess, and high-risk inventory and lead reduction actions.
• Collaborate with the Shipping and Receiving Manger to

Supplier & Procurement Coordination

• Partner with Sourcing, Purchasing, Supplier Quality, and Supply Chain to resolve supplier issues.
• Monitor supplier delivery and lead escalation, recovery plans, and corrective actions.
• Ensure vendor releases, schedules, and purchase orders support production and delivery needs.
• Develop contingency plans for high-risk suppliers, constrained materials, and supply interruptions.
• Support supplier development focused on delivery, responsiveness, quality, and cost-effective supply.
• Collaborate with the Shipping and Receiving Manger to partner on inventory levels and turns.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Champion Operational Excellence, lean practices, standard work, and daily management.
• Lead improvement projects in inventory, flow, productivity, and delivery.
• Use root cause analysis, PDCA, A3, Kaizen, 5S, value stream mapping, and visual management.
• Eliminate waste in planning, picking, staging, and reporting.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to improve line-side presentation, flow, replenishment, and handling productivity.

KPI Management & Performance Improvement

• Own materials KPIs, including inventory accuracy, turns, supplier and customer delivery, schedule adherence, premium freight, shortages, productivity, obsolete inventory, and variances.
• Set KPI targets and lead daily, weekly, and monthly performance reviews.
• Create KPI action plans with owners, due dates, and verified corrective actions.
• Use dashboards, accountability meetings, and visual management to drive focus.
• Convert KPI trends into actions that improve plant financial and operational performance.

ERP Systems, Data Integrity & Materials Discipline

• Ensure effective ERP/MRP use for planning, inventory, procurement, receiving, shipping, and reporting.
• Drive transaction accuracy and master data discipline.
• Partner with IT, Finance, Operations, Shipping and Receiving, and Supply Chain to improve systems, reporting, and controls.
• Use data to support decisions, prioritize actions, and identify recurring issues.
• Develop standard work and training for consistent ERP/MRP execution.

Leadership, Culture & Talent Development

• Lead and develop the materials team with focus on accountability, collaboration, service, and continuous improvement.
• Set expectations, provide feedback, and support performance and development discussions.
• Build team capability in planning, inventory control, supplier follow-up, problem solving, ERP discipline, and KPI management.
• Promote a safe, respectful, inclusive, results-oriented culture aligned with CVG values.
• Collaborate with plant leadership and functional partners to meet customer, operational, financial, and people goals.

Education & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Logistics, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of progressive materials, supply chain, planning, logistics, or operations leadership experience in manufacturing.
• Inventory control, planning, scheduling, warehouse operations, shipping, receiving, and delivery performance experience.
• Strong ERP/MRP experience and ability to use data to manage performance and solve problems.
• 3+ Years proven team leadership and measurable KPI and operational improvement results.

Preferred

• APICS/ASCM certification, such as CPIM or CSCP, or equivalent.
• Automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy vehicle, industrial, metals, or Tier 1 manufacturing experience.
• Lean manufacturing, operational excellence, and continuous improvement experience.
• Experience with warehouse optimization, material flow redesign, inventory reduction, or