Purchasing Manager

Company: Ulm Automotive

Department: Purchasing

Reports to: General Manager / Chief Financial Officer

Location: Bogart, GA (on-site)

Employment type: Full-time, salaried, exempt; paid weekly

Direct reports: Inventory Specialist and Warehouse Associate

Position Summary

The Purchasing Manager makes sure every part for every vehicle is on the shelf, at the right price, before the build needs it. Ulm upfits new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans into luxury passenger vehicles and sells them wholesale to dealerships. Every vehicle is built from a released bill of material covering seating and climate systems, electrical components, trim and finishes, hardware, and outsourced services such as paint. Production is ramping now, and material has to arrive ahead of it.

This role owns the supplier base and the buy: it selects and qualifies suppliers, negotiates price and terms, turns the production schedule and the bill of material into purchase orders, and chases every late delivery until it lands. It

leads the Inventory Specialist and works daily with Production, Engineering, Quality, and Accounting. It suits a hands-on purchasing leader who knows the difference between a box price and a piece price and would rather prevent a shortage than expedite one.

Key Responsibilities

Supplier Selection and Performance

• Select and qualify suppliers on capability, quality history, delivery, price, and certifications, and keep the approved supplier list current for the Quality Manager's approval. Production parts are bought only from suppliers on the list.
• Negotiate pricing, volume breaks, lead times, payment and freight terms, and warranty support; put key suppliers on written agreements or blanket orders tied to planned volume.
• Qualify second sources for single-source and long-lead parts so no one supplier can stop the line.
• Collect compliance documentation and current installation instructions from suppliers of safety-related components (seating systems, seat belt assemblies, glazing, and fuel-fired heaters) for Engineering before the first receipt.
• Define outsourced work such as paint and fabrication in writing, with acceptance criteria, and confirm it is verified on return.
• Score suppliers on on-time delivery and incoming quality, review them quarterly with the Quality Manager, and replace any that keep missing after corrective action.

Purchase Orders and Material Planning

• Turn the production schedule, base vehicle arrival dates, and the released bill of material into a rolling purchasing forecast, and buy in release blocks so material lands ahead of each block without tying up cash in excess stock.
• Issue a purchase order under the company's standard terms and conditions for every purchase before the supplier ships: part number, quantity, unit of measure, price, revision level, and required date. No verbal orders.
• Check every price against the agreed basis before release: a box, roll, or pack price is never entered as a unit price, and order quantities match the supplier's pack.
• Buy production material only against the released bill of material; no part is added or substituted without an approved Engineering Change Order.
• Keep shop supplies and consumables (adhesives, abrasives, tape, cutting tools, and PPE) on par levels so the floor never waits.
• Expedite late orders before they become shortages, and report open orders, expected receipts, and shortages against the production schedule every morning.

Cost Control and Systems

• Keep item data accurate in Katana, the company's inventory and production management system, and in QuickBooks: part numbers, suppliers, units of measure, prices, lead times, and reorder points.
• Track material cost per vehicle against the bill of material standard monthly, explain every variance, and bring cost-reduction ideas to Engineering as change orders.
• Plan large commitments (blanket orders, deposits, and prepayments) with the Controller against the cash forecast, within the CFO's approval limits.
• Work with Accounting on new supplier setup (credit applications, W-9s, and payment terms) and on the three-way match of purchase order, receipt, and invoice; settle price and quantity differences before payment.
• Apply the company's sales tax position: materials that go into the vehicle are bought for resale under the supplier's copy of the resale certificate, which only the CFO signs; shop supplies, tools, and equipment are taxable unless the CFO directs otherwise.

Receiving and Inventory

• Lead the Inventory Specialist, and run receiving with Material Control so every delivery is checked against its purchase order and booked into inventory the same day.
• Quarantine damaged or nonconforming material under the nonconforming product procedure, and settle returns and credits with the supplier.
• Set reorder points and safety stock by part class, with the tightest control on high-value and safety-related parts, and support the Controller's cycle counts.
• Keep the stockroom organized, labeled, and secure, and flag slow-moving and obsolete stock for disposition.