Manager - Purchasing in W. Warwick, Rhode Island at AstroNova Inc
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Job Description
Position Summary/Objective
The Purchasing Manager is responsible for leading day-to-day purchasing and supplier management activities to support AstroNova’s manufacturing operations in West Warwick. This role ensures timely, cost-effective procurement of materials and services while maintaining high standards for quality, delivery, and compliance.
Reporting to the Director of Supply Chain, the Purchasing Manager works closely with Planning, Operations, Quality, Engineering, and Finance to align purchasing execution with production schedules, inventory objectives, and overall business priorities.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Manage all purchasing activities required to support production, repair, and aftermarket demand at the West Warwick site.
- Translate MRP and production requirements into timely purchase orders to meet schedule and customer commitments.
- Ensure material availability while balancing inventory levels, lead times, and cash objectives.
- Own supplier performance for on time delivery, quality, responsiveness, and cost.
- Conduct regular supplier reviews and drive corrective actions when performance gaps exist.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with key suppliers to improve reliability and continuity of supply.
- Identify and onboard alternate or secondary suppliers to mitigate risk.
- Support negotiations for pricing, terms, and lead times in alignment with supply chain and financial targets.
- Identify and implement cost reduction opportunities without compromising quality or delivery.
- Monitor and manage purchase price variance (PPV) and escalation risks.
- Partner with Planning to align purchasing actions with forecasts, MRP signals, and production priorities.
- Work closely with Operations and Quality to resolve material shortages, quality issues, and supplier driven disruptions.
- Support Engineering with sourcing for ECOs, redesigns, and new product introductions (NPI).
- Execute purchasing transactions accurately and consistently within ERP.
- Maintain data integrity for part setup, supplier records, pricing, and lead times.
- Track and report against key supply chain KPIs, including supplier OTD, material shortages, inventory impact, and cost savings.
- Drive continuous improvement in purchasing processes, standard work, and supplier communication.
- Lead, coach, and develop Buyers and/or Buyer Planners within the Purchasing team.
- Establish clear priorities, accountability, and performance expectations.
- Foster a collaborative, solution oriented culture within the Supply Chain organization.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions. Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- Participate in the hiring and training of departmental employees.
- Organizes and oversees the work of departmental employees.
- Conducts performance evaluations that are timely and constructive.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Required Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or related field.
- 5+ years of progressive purchasing or supply chain experience in a manufacturing environment.
- Prior experience managing suppliers and executing purchasing in an MRP/ERP‑driven environment.
- Strong understanding of material planning, lead times, and inventory dynamics.
- Demonstrated ability to work cross‑functionally and resolve issues in a fast‑paced operation.
- Proficiency with ERP systems.
Additional Preferred Skills, Experience, and Certifications
- NetSuite ERP.
- Experience in aerospace, electronics, or regulated manufacturing environments.
- Previous people‑leadership or supervisory experience.
- Experience supporting NPI, ECOs, or production ramp‑ups.
- Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement exposure.
Physical Requirements
This position is comprised of mostly sedentary work; viewing a computer terminal and the ability to inspect goods; extensive reading; periods of mobility requiring the ability to walk through manufacturing plants. The role may also exert up to 15 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.