Description Why you should join Fluke At Fluke, the material planning team is recognized as one of the central pillars of the organization’s overall performance. Operating with suppliers based nationally and internationally along with Fluke’s market leading positions globally, a buyer / planner will have direct impact to enhance Fluke’s performance by elevating supplier performance for Norwich and EMEA region and to work with a diverse stakeholder group across all functions. The role includes possible visits to supplier locations in the undertake of activities also. Responsibilities To work closely with planning and production teams to ensure purchase orders for direct and indirect materials are placed onto suppliers according to lead time in accordance to production plan while supporting inventory control improvements for benefit of working capital Protect the business by working closely with suppliers to avoid / chase late PO lines and missing delivery dates where they exist To attend stand up daily management meetings conducted with all stakeholder teams To work closely with goods in & warehouse teams to enhance performance of supplier deliveries to support an efficient booking in transaction & shipping process including partial delivery avoidance, delivery documents availability & freight provider escalations With management team and Procurement, attend regular review meetings with suppliers using Quality, Delivery, Cost performance format (occasional travel also) Work with finance team based in EMEA to process invoice query holds, working day to day to ensure these are minimized and cleared Use customer demand planning process to generate monthly forecasts and send to appropriate raw material suppliers Action requests and replacements for quality returns to suppliers by way of Fluke’s SCAR process (supplier corrective action reports), supporting quality team accordingly with this process Experience At least 8-10 years’ experience managing the purchase of materials in a manufacturing / consumer finished goods environment, using MRP, Kanban and VMI related methods Broad experience of managing supplier performance and developing / sustaining supplier relationships Experience of creating and maintaining stock agreements and efficient stock management practices Experience of supplier visits and attending supplier review meetings Experience of kaizen related continuous improvement activities Personal Skills Ability to hold difficult conversations with internal and external stakeholders with proven excellent all-round communication skills. Ability to always maintain professional relationship and communication with suppliers. PC Literate including excellent Microsoft Excel skills, and preferably (but not essential) Oracle operating system experience Excellent organizational skills Ability to be conducive to environment, respectful of different cultures and varying working practices within a global supply base and team