Direct Buyer

Welcome to Ferro's External Career Site

Pursuing novel ways to solve challenges is what drives the people of Ferro. It’s what makes us a leading functional coatings and color solutions provider with worldwide reach. It’s what makes us a career destination for the brightest minds. And it’s why we’re trusted by customers to be a catalyst for achieving exceptional performance.

Our values center on customer focus, accountability, innovative thinking, and collaboration. These values are core to the way we operate around the world, and we believe they fuel our success.

We’re always looking for new associates to join our team of innovative thinkers, committed to delivering performance and helping us achieve our vision.

**Job Description**:
Responsible for a variety of contract administration, buying, and materials management activities to ensure flexible and fast response to internal customer needs. Owns purchasing process for assigned sites/categories. Purchases, negotiates and executes contracts in accordance with Ferro Supply Chain and Sourcing standards and processes. Additional responsibilities include building and maintaining strong working relationships with internal customers and key suppliers, focusing on cost savings and total cost of ownership (TCO), ensuring Ferro’s requirements for delivery, quality, cost and safety, are met and that Ferro’s Values are maintained throughout the supply base. Manages the local relationship with assigned Regional and/or local suppliers. Drives suppliers to continuously improve the value they deliver to Ferro Corporation. Assesses, manages, mitigates, and avoids risk throughout the supply chain for assigned locations.

Essential Responsibilities:

- Applies an in-depth knowledge of procurement and local plant operational requirements to achieve maximum benefit from supplier relationships for assigned locations.
- Drives value, cost savings, and joint process improvement initiatives for categories both regionally and locally. Works closely with Regional Sourcing Manager, Global Sourcing Director, Category Management and local stakeholders.
- Creates purchase orders from approved requisitions and place orders with vendors. Maintains purchase orders within SAP including all changes, revisions, and confirmations as received from suppliers and internal communications. Creates and edits info records and purchasing master data.
- Stays abreast of the economic, technological, capacity and related developments within assigned locations.
- Develops financial forecasts for assigned categories/sites locally. Resolves invoice discrepancies when they arise. Updates cost standards monthly. Reconciles and controls purchase price variances.
- Provides information to ensure that Ferro’s central supplier portfolio data base is current for all assigned categories and within assigned locations.
- Resolves all local quality, service, and financial issues for assigned categories within assigned locations.
- Participates in procurement councils and development of sourcing strategies in support of Ferro’s overall Global procurement initiatives.
- Assists in rating suppliers and handling of corrective actions for quality or delivery problems. Requests quality certificates when missing. Conducts vendor audits as requested by Quality.
- Develops supply agreements with input from appropriate regional and site personnel. Manages and monitors performance of suppliers under existing supply agreements. Obtains competitive bids on as many “non-existing supply agreement product” purchases as possible. Administers corporate agreements as instructed by corporate procurement.
- Interfaces and communicates with Supplier Representatives. Negotiates favorable pricing/payment terms/cost reductions for Ferro at assigned locations. Actively involved in finding and bringing value to Ferro from the supply base. Identifies and delivers continuous and sustainable cost savings. Records and documents financial benefit monthly.
- Supports strategic sourcing team initiatives and works with supply chain to manage inventory, working capital and other assigned initiatives.
- Participates in various project teams throughout the organization; may be required to provide updates and presentations to procurement management and/or site management.
- Support presentations of results and recommendations to various groups as directed by Regional Sourcing Manager.

Location

Mexico - Villagran
- It is the policy of Ferro to promote equal opportunity and access in all matters affecting employment with the Company. Ferro is committed to providing employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other category protected by applicable law. This policy shall be applied to each facility of the Company._