As Technical Procurement & Supply Chain Manager at Planeteers, your job is to make our new project buildable in the real world: the right components, the right suppliers, the right terms — delivered on time, at the required quality, and at a price that keeps the project scalable.
You sit at the interface of Engineering, suppliers, and project delivery. You understand technical requirements well enough to challenge quotes intelligently, and you own the commercial side strongly enough to negotiate outcomes that protect schedule and budget.
What you will do
1) Build and execute the procurement strategy
- Define and continuously improve our procurement strategy for the new project (make-vs-buy inputs, preferred supplier approach, long-lead planning, dual-sourcing where needed).
- Create category plans and sourcing roadmaps across:
- Reactor / process equipment (skids, vessels, piping, valves)
- Instrumentation & controls (sensors, PLCs, cabinets)
- Construction & installation services (EPC partners, contractors)
- Consumables & spare parts
- Logistics, freight, customs (as relevant)
- Set up lightweight but scalable procurement routines (RFQ templates, bid comparisons, approval flows, basic KPIs) that work in a fast-moving build phase.
2) Build a strong supplier base (supplier sourcing, qualification, onboarding)
- Build and maintain a structured supplier database (qualified vendors, capabilities, lead times, commercial terms, quality requirements, documentation standards).
- Identify, evaluate, and onboard suppliers in Germany/EU and beyond; run supplier assessments and align on expectations early (quality, documentation, responsiveness, capacity).
- Establish preferred supplier relationships and clear escalation paths for execution.
3) Own day-to-day procurement execution
- Translate engineering inputs (BOMs, drawings, datasheets, specifications) into clear RFQs and supplier-ready scopes.
- Compare and validate offers for technical and commercial completeness (scope, assumptions, lead times, documentation, certifications) and drive clarifications to closure.
- Lead negotiations (price, delivery, payment terms, warranties, service support, penalties/LDs where applicable) and finalize POs/contracts.
- Manage purchasing end-to-end: PO placement, order confirmations, change orders, partial deliveries, invoice checks (as applicable), and close-out.
4) Track orders, manage risks, and ensure parts arrive “build-ready”
- Run order tracking and expediting: maintain clear visibility on supplier milestones and proactively prevent delays on critical path items.
- Own supply risk management (availability, volatility, single sourcing, quality risks) and implement mitigation plans (alternatives, buffer, redesign triggers with Engineering).
- Coordinate incoming inspection expectations with Engineering/QA (what “OK” means for critical parts), ensure correct documentation is delivered (certificates, manuals, test reports where required), and manage NCRs/returns with suppliers when needed.
5) Develop material flow and warehouse basics (as we scale)
- Establish a pragmatic approach to goods receipt, labeling, and storage so that parts can be found, verified, and issued to builds without chaos.
- Coordinate inventory basics for spares/consumables (min/max levels, reorder points), and support warehouse set-up and organization as the team grows.