Buyer/Planner - KAO : Job Details

Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people's lives with our high quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all - a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment.

As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values we pride ourselves to be listed among the World's Most Ethical Companies since 16 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do - acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation and treating each other with trust and respect.

The Role:

In this position you will order raw/packaging materials to support finished good production at Kao plants or Contract Manufacturers, and creating finished good production plans for products produced at Contract Manufacturers. Reporting to the Production Planning Lead, the primary goals of the Buyer/Planner position include optimizing inventory, ensuring high customer order fill rate, minimizing obsolete and slow moving, and ensuring cohesive and collaborative internal and external partnerships.

At Kao, we offer amazing benefits that are available to you on your first day of employment (healthcare, 401(k) plus company match, etc.), 36 total days off (vacation + holidays + sick) and a reasonable salary range of $60,000 - $75,000. We also offer a hybrid work schedule.

What you will do:

* Develop daily, weekly, or monthly ordering plans by reviewing forecast streams, demands for promotions, production schedules, and inventory positions at the SKU level. Balance orders against vendor capability and continuously optimize inventory to support KPTs (Key performance targets).

* Place and monitor purchase orders to support production plans with consideration to minimum order requirements, lead times, cost effectiveness, batch splits, seasonality, as well as any upcoming restages, product changes and new product launches.

* Contribute to cross functional teams, including NPD (new product development), Consensus/Forecasting, Obsolete, Critical Sku Information reviews, Scheduling meetings, and others as required.

* Proactively identify potential stock issues and communicate to cross functional groups to support effective prioritization and decision making in production scheduling or customer order fulfillment.

* Identify potential slow-moving or obsolete inventory and communicate to drive disposition and appropriate decision making. Prevent and/or minimize by facilitating cross functional discussions when appropriate.

* Lead vendor calls, supporting collaborative partnerships with domestic and international suppliers and affiliates.

* Track performance against Key Performance Targets (KPTs) and other objectives. This includes creating, updating, and distributing reports from SAP, Excel, BI, Word, and PowerPoint.

What you will need:

* Bachelor's degree in Operations or Supply Chain Management.

* 1+ years of experience in Supply Chain or Operations.

* Knowledge and understanding of MRP (Material Requirements Planning) concepts and processes.

* Effectively uses BI/SAP and other relevant systems; can make connection between day to day planning activities and impact to Planning KPTs (Key performance targets).

* Recognize and action exceptions to prevent over or under stocks, and proactively communicating risks to appropriate members.

How we work: Having been selected among the Worlds Most Ethical Companies for 18 consecutive years, we are a company with a purpose and strong corporate values. We never compromise on quality and create our products with care for the consumer and the environment. At Kao, each employee can actively shape their job and their career. We work collaboratively to achieve our common goals, always aiming to deliver the best for our customers.

What we offer: A friendly and flexible work environment with great compensation packages, benefits package, ongoing development and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward thinking and new ideas.

Hiring Process: Kao embraces the diversity and the individual personalities of its people because we believe it is diversity that makes us strong. This is why we welcome applications from all areas of the global community.

Want to learn more: If you feel you are as unique as our products and want to find out why 33,000 people across the globe opted for a career with us please visit our Americas website (

Kao USA is an equal opportunity employer, including disability/vets.

#LI-Hybrid

Job Title Buyer/Planner

Category Supply Chain

Location Cincinnati

Posted On October 22, 2024

Job Type Regular