About this role
Supply Chain Manager
Location: Dunlap, TN Employment Type: Full-Time Travel: Domestic & International Travel Required
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Position Summary
The Supply Chain Manager is responsible for leading Purchasing, Material Planning, Production Planning, and Customer Service functions. This role aligns customer demand, supplier commitments, material availability, and production priorities to ensure strong delivery performance, inventory control, supply continuity, and cost competitiveness. The position partners closely with Sales, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and executive leadership to drive operational excellence and customer satisfaction.
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Key Responsibilities
Supply Chain Leadership
- Develop and implement integrated supply chain strategies across Purchasing, Planning, and Customer Service.
- Translate business objectives and customer demand into sourcing and planning priorities.
- Balance customer service, inventory, production stability, cost, and supply risk.
- Provide recommendations regarding capacity constraints, supply disruptions, customer commitments, and recovery plans.
Purchasing & Supplier Management
- Lead sourcing, supplier selection, negotiations, contract management, onboarding, and supplier performance initiatives.
- Manage direct materials, indirect materials, and capital expenditure purchasing activities.
- Develop strategic supplier relationships and drive continuous improvement.
- Monitor supplier quality, delivery performance, capacity, responsiveness, and commercial stability.
- Align supplier commitments, lead times, and recovery plans with production requirements.
- Maintain accurate purchasing data, pricing, supplier records, and planning master data.
Demand, Material & Production Planning
- Lead demand forecasting, material planning, and production planning processes.
- Establish production priorities based on customer demand, capacity, and material availability.
- Identify supply, capacity, and scheduling constraints and implement recovery plans.
- Monitor: Schedule adherence
- Inventory exposure
- Material availability
- Customer backlog
- Customer delivery readiness
Customer Service & Customer Interface
- Lead Customer Service as the operational interface between customers and internal teams.
- Oversee order management, acknowledgements, delivery commitments, and customer communications.
- Coordinate responses to schedule changes, shortages, delays, and priority requests.
- Ensure customer commitments align with approved and achievable supply plans.
Process Improvement & Digitalization
- Drive standardization, simplification, and digitalization initiatives across Purchasing, Planning, and Customer Service.
- Improve order processing, planning discipline, supplier follow-up, reporting, and workflow efficiencies.
- Promote data-driven decision making and ERP/MRP utilization.
- Track and improve key performance indicators, including: On-Time Delivery (OTD)
- Schedule Adherence
- Material Availability
- Inventory Exposure
- Backlog
- Supplier Performance
- Purchasing Savings
- Order Confirmation Accuracy
Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Lead, coach, and develop Purchasing, Planning, and Customer Service teams.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
- Serve as a business partner to Sales, Production, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and executive leadership.
- Coordinate effectively with Warehouse, Logistics, and Shipping functions.
Compliance & Quality
- Ensure compliance with company policies, contractual requirements, legal regulations, and ethical standards.
- Support ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and other applicable quality standards.
- Maintain accurate and auditable planning, sourcing, supplier, and customer documentation.
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Required Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
Experience
- 7+ years of progressive supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.
- Experience leading or supporting: Purchasing
- Material Planning
- Production Planning
- Customer Order Management
- 3+ years of leadership or management experience.
Commercial Expertise
- Strategic Sourcing
- Supplier Negotiations
- Contract Management
- Cost Analysis
- Supplier Development
- Supply Continuity Management
Operations Expertise
- Demand Planning
- Production Planning
- Inventory Management
- Manufacturing Operations
- Supply Risk Management
- Supplier Quality Collaboration
Systems
- ERP/MRP systems experience required.
- SAP or comparable manufacturing ERP experience preferred.
- Microsoft Office proficiency.
Additional Requirements
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
- Fluent English required.
- Additional language skills are a plus.
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Core Competencies
Primary Skills
- Supply Chain Leadership
- Supply Chain Management
- Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
- Supplier Relationship Management
- Demand Planning
- Material Planning
- Production Planning
- Manufacturing Operations
- ERP/MRP Systems (SAP Preferred)
- Inventory Management
- Order Management
- Team Leadership
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
Secondary Skills
- Customer Service Leadership
- Contract Negotiations
- Cost Reduction Initiatives
- KPI Management & Reporting
- Data Analysis
- Process Improvement
- Continuous Improvement
- Supply Chain Digitalization
- Risk Management
- ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 Compliance
- Stakeholder Communication
- Logistics Coordination
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Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field.
- CSCP, CPIM, CPSM, or similar industry certification.
- International or matrixed manufacturing experience.
- Experience leading Purchasing, Planning, and Customer Service functions.
- Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) experience.
- Supplier Development Programs.
- Supply Chain Transformation Initiatives.
- Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VA/VE).
- Experience within automotive, rail, mobility, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
- German language skills a plus.
Experience Level
Expert-Level Supply Chain Leadership in a Manufacturing Environment
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Dunlap, TN.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $95000.00 - $110000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Up to 5 full-time employees in the reporting structure.
Bonuses: potential of a 10% target agreement bonus
PTO: 3 weeks accrued bi-weekly (rollover of 80 annually and potential for PTO cash out)
Bonus PTO: Eligible to earn an extra week of vacation
Full Benefit Packages offered and effective at the first of the month following hire date.
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Dunlap,TN.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 2, 2026.
About Aston Carter
Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.
The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.