Materials & Inventory Control Mgr

Materials & Inventory Control Manager

Basic objective:

A Purchasing and Inventory Control Manager oversees the entire purchasing and inventory flow, from purchasing to managing stock levels, processing orders, and ensuring timely delivery, aiming to balance availability with cost efficiency through strategic planning, data analysis, and system optimization to prevent shortages/overstock while meeting business needs. Key duties involve vendor relations, purchase order management, inventory audits, reporting, and team leadership.

Key responsibilities:

• Purchasing:
  • Monitor supplier performance using KPIs (OTIF, quality, cost, responsiveness) and lead corrective actions when required.
  • Ensure purchasing master data is accurate, complete, and consistently kept up to date.
  • Lead, coach, and develop the purchasing team, setting clear objectives, monitoring performance, and ensuring alignment with company strategy and operational priorities.
  • Managing good collaboration between planning and purchasing team
  • Processes purchase orders (POs) and ensures accurate record-keeping.
• Inventory Control:
  • Monitors stock levels, conducts cycle counts, and reconciles discrepancies.
  • Designs and implements inventory tracking systems.
  • Monitor inventory performance and working capital impact, proactively adjusting purchasing strategies to prevent excess stock, shortages, and obsolescence.
  • Translate demand and planning signals into purchasing and inventory strategies, ensuring material availability while optimizing cash flow.
• Data & Reporting:
  • Analyses inventory data to forecast needs and identify trends.
  • Generates reports on inventory metrics, adjustments, and performance.
  • Identifies obsolete stock and recommends cost-effective alternatives.
• Collaboration & Leadership:
  • Works with internal departments (production, management, R&D, planning) to align supply with demand.
  • Trains and directs inventory/purchasing team members.

Key competences:

• Strong negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in business, economics, supply chain management, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience of 10+ years in a procurement or purchasing role, with at least 5+ years in a senior position handling complex inventory task.
• Proficiency with inventory management/ERP software (MS Dynamics AX is a plus) and excellent MS Office skills (Excel).
• Understanding of supply chain operations and financial impact.
• Excellent organizational, multitasking, and communication abilities.
• Experience in manufacturing or distribution environments, preferably with discrete or batch-based production rather than continuous process manufacturing.
• Language skills Dutch & English on professional level, French knowledge

We are the ASSA ABLOY Group
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As an employer, we value results – not titles, or backgrounds. We empower our people to build their career around their aspirations and our ambitions – supporting them with regular feedback, training, and development opportunities. Our colleagues think broadly about where they can make the most impact, and we encourage them to grow their role locally, regionally, or even internationally.

As we welcome new people on board, it’s important to us to have diverse, inclusive teams, and we value different perspectives and experiences.