Overview
We are looking for an organised and commercially minded Supply Chain Planner to join our team and play a key role in ensuring the availability of materials for UK manufacturing.
This is a hands-on, full-time office-based role covering demand and inventory planning, purchasing, supplier management, international logistics and material availability. You will work closely with suppliers, freight forwarders, logistics providers, manufacturing and internal stakeholders to ensure the right materials are available, in the right quantities, at the right time.
Key responsibilities
Demand & Inventory Planning
- Maintain demand forecasts and planning data.
- Review historical demand, forecast changes and customer requirements.
- Monitor inventory against agreed target stock cover.
- Identify and highlight potential shortages, excess and obsolete inventory.
- Escalate significant changes in demand or inventory requirements to the Supply Chain Manager.
- Support effective material planning to minimise disruption to manufacturing and customer fulfilment.
Purchasing
- Raise and manage purchase orders.
- Obtain and maintain accurate supplier confirmations.
- Ensure schedules, reviews and purchase orders reflect the latest supplier delivery information.
- Monitor outstanding purchase orders and proactively identify risks to customer fulfilment.
- Expedite late, delayed or critical orders.
- Communicate changes in requirements to suppliers.
- Resolve routine purchasing and supplier issues.
Supplier Management
- Monitor supplier performance and escalate recurring issues to the Supply Chain Manager.
- Support supplier performance reviews and improvement initiatives.
- Assist with supplier onboarding and qualification.
- Build effective working relationships with key suppliers.
Global Imports & Logistics
- Coordinate international shipments from supplier through to UK delivery.
- Liaise with freight forwarders and logistics providers.
- Track ETDs, ETAs and shipment status.
- Ensure required shipping and import documentation is available and accurate.
- Monitor customs and clearance issues and escalate delays where required.
- Maintain an accurate and up-to-date container status report.
Manufacturing Support
- Communicate changes to material availability and potential supply risks.
- Support investigations into material-related production disruptions.
- Work closely with manufacturing and internal teams to maintain continuity of supply.
Systems & Data
- Maintain accurate purchasing, planning and supplier master data.
- Ensure supplier lead times, MOQs, order quantities and other planning parameters remain accurate.
- Maintain accurate purchase-order information.
- Process purchase invoices accurately and resolve any discrepancies with the appropriate supplier or warehouse.
- Identify data and system issues that could affect planning accuracy.
Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve planning, purchasing and inventory processes.
- Reduce manual administration and reactive/emergency purchasing.
- Improve supplier delivery performance.
- Support cost-reduction initiatives.
- Assist with the implementation of new systems, processes and ways of working.
About you
We are looking for someone who is proactive, analytical and highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
You will ideally have:
- Experience in supply chain, purchasing, planning, procurement or manufacturing.
- A good understanding of inventory management and material planning.
- Experience managing purchase orders and suppliers.
- Experience or understanding of international purchasing and imports is highly desirable.
- Strong Excel and data-analysis skills.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Strong numerical and analytical ability.
- The ability to prioritise competing requirements and respond effectively to changing demands.
- Strong communication and supplier-management skills.
- A proactive approach to identifying and resolving supply issues.
- The ability to work collaboratively across purchasing, logistics, manufacturing and other internal teams.
Pay: From £30,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company pension
Work Location: In person
