Corona Millworks is seeking an experienced Lead Purchasing & Operations Coordinator to oversee company-wide purchasing while providing critical operational and sales-order support to our manufacturing organization.

This position will have primary responsibility for purchasing decorative panels, veneer, MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, other engineered wood substrates, edge tape, and related cabinet manufacturing materials, as well as lumber, factory supplies, maintenance supplies, office supplies, and other operational materials.

The ideal candidate will have strong industry knowledge of decorative panels, veneer products, panel construction, MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, and other engineered wood substrates, combined with hands-on purchasing, inventory management, vendor management, and analytical experience.

This position requires someone who understands how material specifications, construction, quality, availability, pricing, lead times, inventory levels, and manufacturing capabilities impact customer orders and production.

In addition to purchasing, this position will use ARDIS to optimize sales orders, improve sheet utilization, generate and print cut lists, and manage order dates. The individual will also develop a comprehensive understanding of Corona Millworks' products and manufacturing capabilities so they can review customer sales orders and identify orders, specifications, or configurations that may not be manufacturable before they reach production.

The Lead Purchasing & Operations Coordinator will work closely with Customer Service, Production, Operations, Sales, Accounting, vendors, and Management to ensure materials are available, customer orders are accurate and manufacturable, production dates are realistic, and purchasing and operational decisions are based on accurate information.

Purchasing & Procurement

• Manage company-wide purchasing activities for production, manufacturing, maintenance, and office needs.
• Purchase decorative panels, veneer, MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, engineered wood substrates, edge tape, lumber, factory supplies, maintenance supplies, office supplies, and other materials as assigned.
• Review material requirements and determine appropriate purchasing quantities based on inventory, usage, customer orders, production schedules, and vendor lead times.
• Create, issue, and manage purchase orders from placement through delivery.
• Monitor open purchase orders and proactively follow up on outstanding, delayed, backordered, or partially fulfilled orders.
• Obtain and evaluate vendor quotes based on pricing, quality, availability, lead time, freight, and purchasing terms.
• Negotiate pricing, minimum order quantities, freight, payment terms, and delivery schedules where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to consolidate purchases, negotiate volume pricing, reduce costs, and improve purchasing efficiency.
• Maintain accurate vendor, product, pricing, and purchasing information within the company's ERP and purchasing systems.
• Monitor material pricing and communicate significant price changes to management and affected departments.
• Identify alternative suppliers or materials when products are unavailable, discontinued, or experiencing extended lead times.
• Ensure purchasing decisions support customer commitments and production requirements
• Work alongside accounting to manage any returns, credit memos, RMAs, and/or any pricing discrepancies that occur. 

ARDIS & Sales Order Optimization

This is a key component of the Operations Support function.

• Utilize ARDIS to optimize customer sales orders and maximize sheet material utilization.
• Review sales orders in ARDIS to determine the most efficient use of sheet goods and panel materials.
• Optimize sheet counts and cutting layouts to reduce material waste and improve production efficiency.
• Generate and print cut lists and other production documentation from ARDIS.
• Manage and update sales order dates based on material availability, purchasing lead times, production requirements, and customer commitments.
• Monitor sales orders to ensure material availability and required dates remain aligned with production schedules.
• Identify potential material shortages, purchasing issues, or lead-time concerns before they affect production or customer commitments.
• Maintain accurate information within ARDIS and related systems.
• Develop a strong working understanding of how customer orders translate into material requirements and production needs.

Decorative Panel & Veneer Purchasing

This will be a primary area of responsibility for the position.

• Manage purchasing of decorative panels, veneer, MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, veneer-core, and other engineered wood substrates along with edge tape requirements used in cabinet manufacturing.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of decorative panel and veneer construction and material specifications.
• Understand differences between panel cores, including MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, veneer-core, and other engineered substrates.
• Understand veneer species, construction, thicknesses, grades, finishes, backers, and other relevant material specifications.
• Evaluate materials based on appearance, construction, quality, performance, availability, cost, and customer requirements.
• Monitor vendor availability, product changes, new products, discontinued materials, and changes in lead times.
• Work with vendors to identify suitable alternative materials when specified products are unavailable.
• Evaluate proposed material substitutions to ensure they meet customer, production, appearance, and quality requirements.
• Maintain accurate product specifications, vendor information, pricing, and lead-time information.
• Monitor decorative panel and veneer pricing trends and communicate significant changes to management.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key decorative panel, veneer, and material suppliers.
• Stay informed about new products, product changes, discontinued materials, and supplier changes that may affect Corona Millworks.

Sales Order Review & Product/Manufacturing Support

A major responsibility of this role will be developing a strong understanding of what Corona Millworks produces and how those products are manufactured.

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of Corona Millworks' products, materials, manufacturing processes, specifications, and capabilities.
• Review customer sales orders to verify that products, materials, dimensions, specifications, and configurations ordered by the customer can be successfully manufactured.
• Identify sales orders containing incorrect, incomplete, unusual, or potentially unmanufacturable specifications before the order enters production.
• Review orders for material requirements and confirm that specified materials are available or can be sourced within the required timeframe.
• Identify discrepancies between customer requirements, product specifications, available materials, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Work with Customer Service to clarify order requirements and resolve discrepancies before production begins.
• Communicate material, product, or manufacturing concerns to Customer Service and Operations in a timely manner.
• Assist Customer Service in determining realistic material lead times and production dates.
• Help identify potential issues before they result in production delays, remakes, material waste, or customer dissatisfaction.
• Provide feedback to management regarding recurring sales-order or product-specification issues.
• Assist in developing processes to improve sales-order accuracy and manufacturability.

Customer Service & Date Management

• Work closely with Customer Service to support accurate customer commitments.
• Provide accurate material availability and lead-time information for customer quotes.
• Communicate material delays, shortages, discontinued products, substitutions, and other purchasing-related issues.
• Manage sales order dates based on current material availability, purchasing lead times, production requirements, and customer commitments.
• Communicate changes to expected dates when material or purchasing issues affect customer orders.
• Help Customer Service establish realistic expectations for customer delivery dates.
• Proactively identify orders at risk of missing their required dates.
• Work with Customer Service and Operations to develop solutions when orders are at risk.
• Maintain accurate date information in applicable systems.

Inventory Management

• Manage inventory levels for raw materials, production materials, and operational supplies.
• Establish and maintain appropriate stock levels based on usage, demand, lead times, production requirements, and customer commitments.
• Monitor inventory to identify shortages, excess inventory, slow-moving materials, obsolete inventory, and discontinued products.
• Review inventory trends and recommend adjustments to stocking levels and purchasing quantities.
• Monitor minimum and maximum stock levels and make recommendations for adjustments.
• Assist with monthly physical inventory counts.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and work with appropriate departments to identify and correct variances.
• Coordinate with Receiving and Operations to ensure purchased materials are accurately received and recorded.
• Maintain accurate inventory information within the ERP system.
• Identify opportunities to reduce excess inventory while protecting production continuity.
• Monitor inventory levels of critical materials and proactively communicate potential shortages.

Vendor Management

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key vendors, manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for purchasing-related vendor communication.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, freight, payment terms, and other purchasing conditions.
• Monitor vendor performance related to pricing, quality, availability, accuracy, and delivery.
• Address vendor performance issues and work toward timely resolution.
• Identify and qualify new vendors when needed.
• Maintain alternative suppliers for critical materials where appropriate.
• Communicate forecasted demand and changing material requirements to key suppliers.
• Monitor vendor lead times and proactively communicate potential supply disruptions.
• Maintain accurate vendor information and purchasing terms.

Reporting & Analysis

The Lead Purchasing & Operations Coordinator will be responsible for providing management with monthly purchasing and material analysis.

• Prepare monthly reports on material spending by category and/or department.
• Track material pricing changes and identify significant increases or decreases.
• Report on purchasing trends and changes in material costs.
• Track discontinued, obsolete, and at-risk materials.
• Track remake and replacement material spending.
• Identify trends in remake materials and recurring material-related issues.
• Analyze purchasing and inventory trends to identify opportunities for cost savings and improved inventory management.
• Report on vendor performance, lead-time issues, material shortages, and purchasing concerns.
• Monitor purchasing against historical spending and usage trends.
• Provide management with recommendations based on purchasing, inventory, and material-spending data.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records and supporting documentation.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3+ years of purchasing, procurement, materials management, or inventory management experience within cabinet manufacturing, millwork, woodworking, architectural products, building materials, or a related industry.
• Strong working knowledge of veneer and decorative panel products used in cabinet and millwork manufacturing.
• Knowledge of MDF, particleboard/PB core, plywood, veneer-core, and other engineered wood substrates.
• Ability to understand and evaluate panel construction, veneer species, thicknesses, grades, finishes, backers, cores, and other material specifications.
• Experience purchasing or managing decorative panels, veneer products, sheet goods, substrates, edge tape, or related cabinet manufacturing materials.
• Understanding of how material specifications and construction affect quality, appearance, machining, finishing, production, and end-product performance.
• Demonstrated experience managing purchase orders from placement through delivery.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and communicating directly with suppliers.
• Experience monitoring inventory levels and purchasing based on usage, demand, production requirements, and lead times.
• Ability to evaluate pricing, availability, lead times, minimum order quantities, and supplier performance.
• Ability to identify appropriate material alternatives when products are unavailable, discontinued, or experiencing extended lead times.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of the purchasing function.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office.
• Experience using an ERP, purchasing, inventory management, or manufacturing software system.

Schedule

• Monday to Friday
• Day shift, 8 – 10 hours
• Overtime as required

Benefits

• Health Insurance
• Dental/Vision Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• 401(k) with company matching
• Paid Time Off