Purchasing Team Lead

Miller Industries, LLC; Fenton (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Miller Industries, LLC is seeking a Purchasing Team Lead to guide the day-to-day operations of procurement across all locations in Michigan. You will lead Project Buyers and MRO Buyers, drive supplier performance, and ensure timely material availability to support production.

This role emphasizes developing talent, enforcing standardized purchasing processes, and aligning purchasing activities with company objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in purchasing, sourcing, supply chain, or procurement.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing purchasing professionals.
• Proven experience supervising buyers in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems.
• Experience supporting New Product Introductions, APQP processes, and production launches.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily purchasing operations to ensure continuity of supply across all locations.
• Ensure timely placement, confirmation, and management of purchase orders.
• Monitor material shortages and drive corrective action to support production schedules.
• Oversee procurement activities supporting manufacturing operations and customer requirements.
• Ensure purchasing transactions are accurately maintained within ERP/MRP systems.
• Drive adherence to purchasing policies, approval processes, and standard operating procedures.
• Coordinate purchasing activities across multiple locations to support consistent execution.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic sourcing

Negotiation

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management or related field

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Miller Industries - Purchasing Team Lead - Fenton, Michigan

Are you looking for a change to allow you to work for a rapidly growing company?

At Miller Industries, LLC we design, engineer, and manufacture custom products at our locations in Fenton, Michigan. The divisions of our business include Miller Fabricated Systems, Flex Air, Miller Industries Representatives, and Fusion Cooling. Together we have the capabilities to provide our customers with custom steel fabrication, custom commercial and industrial HVAC systems and applications, and modular equipment rooms for refrigeration. We have been primary suppliers to automotive, healthcare, and institutional customers worldwide. We take great pride in our family‑owned business built on hard work and passion for making quality products. We are committed to ensuring the needs of our employees are met and that they have the ability to grow and develop. As we continue to grow at a rapid pace, we are looking for skilled talent to join our team. If you believe this opportunity is right for you, we welcome you to apply today!

Position Summary

The Purchasing Team Lead is responsible for the day‑to‑day leadership, supervision, and performance management of the purchasing organization across all company locations. This position serves as the primary escalation point for purchasing‑related issues and provides direct leadership to Project Buyers and MRO Buyers. The Purchasing Team Lead ensures the timely procurement of direct and indirect materials, supports production schedules, drives supplier performance, manages purchasing metrics, and provides regular purchasing performance reporting to the Materials Manager. This role is responsible for developing purchasing talent, enforcing standard purchasing processes, and ensuring alignment between purchasing activities and company objectives. The successful candidate will possess strong leadership capabilities, extensive purchasing experience, and demonstrated success supporting new product introductions, production launches, project buying, supplier development, and talent development.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Management

• Provide direct supervision, coaching, mentoring, and development of all purchasing personnel.
• Establish department goals, priorities, and performance expectations.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and support employee development planning.
• Manage workload balancing and resource allocation across the purchasing team.
• Drive accountability, professionalism, and continuous improvement within the department.
• Act as the first point of contact for supplier, buyer, and cross‑functional purchasing escalations.
• Support succession planning and talent development initiatives.

Purchasing Operations

• Lead daily purchasing operations to ensure continuity of supply across all locations.
• Ensure timely placement, confirmation, and management of purchase orders.
• Monitor material shortages and drive corrective action to support production schedules.
• Oversee procurement activities supporting manufacturing operations and customer requirements.
• Ensure purchasing transactions are accurately maintained within ERP/MRP systems.
• Drive adherence to purchasing policies, approval processes, and standard operating procedures.
• Coordinate purchasing activities across multiple locations to support consistent execution.

Supplier Management

• Develop supplier performance management initiatives related to delivery, quality, cost, and responsiveness.
• Develop supplier scorecards and performance metrics with buyers and internal stakeholders.
• Support supplier negotiations, commercial discussions, and issue resolution.
• Drive supplier corrective actions for delivery, quality, service, and responsiveness concerns.
• Develop supplier partnerships that support long‑term business objectives.
• Identify, communicate, and mitigate supply chain risks.
• Support supplier capacity planning, escalation recovery, and continuity‑of‑supply actions.

New Product Introduction and Project Support

• Oversee purchasing support for product and customer projects.
• Ensure material receipts for production builds.
• Monitor project timelines, purchasing deliverables, and launch‑related supply risks.
• Participate in cross‑functional project reviews with Engineering, Project Management, Operations, and Quality.
• Escalate project‑related supply risks and develop recovery plans.
• Ensure successful sourcing and procurement execution for project milestones.

Performance Reporting and KPI Management

• Develop and maintain purchasing performance metrics and dashboards.
• Analyze purchasing trends and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Prepare and present purchasing performance updates to the Materials Manager.
• Lead department performance review discussions and drive corrective actions when metrics fall below expectations.
• Monitor and improve key purchasing metrics including supplier on‑time delivery, material shortages, purchase price variance, cost savings, supplier quality, purchase order cycle time, launch readiness, buyer productivity, and escalation resolution.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives within purchasing operations.
• Standardize purchasing processes across all locations.
• Identify cost reduction, cost avoidance, and efficiency improvement opportunities.
• Support ERP, MRP, and reporting system optimization initiatives.
• Develop and maintain purchasing standard operating procedures.
• Drive best‑practice implementation across the purchasing organization.

Education And Experience Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.

Experience

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in purchasing, sourcing, supply chain, or procurement roles.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing purchasing or supply chain professionals.
• Proven experience supervising buyers in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting New Product Introductions, APQP processes, and production launches.
• Experience managing project buying activities and cross‑functional program requirements.
• Experience with supplier negotiations, supplier development, and strategic sourcing initiatives.
• Experience working within ERP/MRP systems.
• Multi‑site purchasing management experience preferred.