Intercompany Materials Liaison - Centralia, MO

Job Overview

The Intercompany Planner–Buyer is responsible for coordinating material planning, purchasing, and production alignment between the Centralia campus and assigned sister facilities. Because this role works closely with teams across multiple locations (including Spanish‑speaking teams), fluency in both English and Spanish is required. The candidate must be able to communicate planning requirements, schedule changes, issues, and priorities clearly in both languages.

The position requires strong communication, disciplined follow‑up, and proactive issue escalation to keep both plants aligned. This role serves as the primary liaison between sites, ensuring demand, supply, and priorities are understood and executed effectively.

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A Day In The Life

Planning & Scheduling

• Review intercompany demand and create accurate production and purchase plans.
• Maintain valid schedules and priorities in SAP for assigned product lines.
• Monitor past‑due orders, ATP changes, and material availability to prevent delays.
• Coordinate availability, lead times, shortages, and constraints with sister facilities.
• Translate and relay planning priorities accurately between English‑speaking and Spanish‑speaking teams.

 Procurement & Materials Management

• Create purchase orders for intercompany demand and ensure timely confirmations.
• Track open orders, expedite where needed, and prevent material gaps.
• Validate that supply commitments match production needs at both sending and receiving sites.
• Work with suppliers and internal teams to resolve discrepancies, late shipments, or quantity issues.
• Support intercompany suppliers, planners, and operators across language barriers to ensure accurate understanding of requirements.

Cross-Site Communication & Issue Resolution

• Communicate planning requirements, schedule updates, discrepancies, and issue escalations clearly in both English and Spanish to support cross‑site alignment.
• Act as the day‑to‑day point of contact for the sister plant regarding schedule, changes, priorities, and issues.
• Provide clear communication of changes and constraints to avoid surprises.
• Escalate risks early, ensuring visibility for both facilities.
• Coordinate with Operations, Materials, Engineering, and Customer Service as needed.

System Accuracy & Data Integrity

• Maintain accurate master data: lead times, min/max levels, lot sizes, and planned dates.
• Ensure SAP signals (MRP, ATP, exception messages) are aligned with real planning intent.
• Validate that demand is correctly consumed and forecast is behaving as expected.
• Identify and correct systemic gaps that cause misleading dates or supply signals.

 Continuous Improvement & Process Discipline

• Support improvements in planning accuracy, supplier performance, and material flow.
• Recommend changes to planning parameters to enhance stability and performance.
• Document standard work for planning and purchasing activities across sister plants.
• Actively identify process failures and propose data‑driven solutions.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved alignment between Centralia and sister facilities, reducing confusion and urgent escalations.
• Stable and realistic planning signals that represent true plant capability.
• Fewer material shortages and reduced past‑due orders.
• Clear communication flow preventing rework, surprises, and firefighting.
• Stronger execution discipline in both planning and purchasing functions.

What will help you thrive in this role?

• 2–5 years of experience in planning, buying, scheduling, or materials management.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred (plus would be able to read, write, speak, and translate between both languages in a professional manufacturing environment).
• Strong understanding of MRP, production planning, and procurement processes
• Proficient with SAP or another ERP system.
• Strong communication and coordination skills; able to influence without authority.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret system data and planning signals.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and follow through on open issues.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.