Manuel Thomas
Auckland
Summary
Supply chain professional with 3 years experience across multiple roles in the field. I want to continue developing my knowledge in the manufacturing industry but also eager on looking outward to FMCG and other industries. Seeking to gain a well-rounded understanding of the end-to-end supply chain process and learn from the guidance from an experienced mentor.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Material Planner 2 / Buyer
Rocket Lab
05.2025 - Current
- Same as previous roles but with increased scope and responsibilities , becoming the first Planner-Buyer within the company
- Responsible for distribution among four New Zealand sites and three U.S. sites via a hub and spoke model.
- Specialized in implementing Kanban systems, travelling to multiple sites within New Zealand and the U.S to do so
Material Planner
Rocket Lab
08.2023 - 05.2025
- Responsible for demand, supply, and fulfillment planning within MRP.
- Accountable for ensuring part master data within MRP is accurate and for the development and ongoing maintenance of order parameters which ensure manufacturing, commercial and engineering requirements are considered
- Responsible for releasing purchase planning messages to Procurement, work orders to Production, and kit requests to the warehouse.
- Responsible for manually planning long lead time components required by production balancing yield, scrap, cash flow, engineering change and manufacturing requirements.
- Responsible for acquiring and maintaining in-depth knowledge of production processes, supplier landscape and capabilities – both in house and externally. Understand material demand and accuracy of configuration
- Conducted a material supply review which identified $200,000 potential annual savings.
Buyer
Rocket Lab
10.2022 - 07.2023
- Accountable for converting purchase requisitions into purchase orders after appropriately evaluating vendor capability, price, delivery needs, and vendor performance
- Accountable for on-time-delivery of purchased parts from vendors to Rocket Lab
- Responsible for owning the business relationship with assigned suppliers
- Work with Accounts to resolve any supplier payment issues
- Assist in supplier onboarding process
- Tightly integrate with Engineering teams to meet their procurement requirements and act as primary contact for R&D order status
- Supplier negotiations and consolidation which resulted in $120,000 savings annually.
Purchasing Coordinator
Rocket Lab
05.2022 - 10.2022
- Follow up with suppliers regarding purchase order deliveries, expediting as required and maintaining ERP system integrity by updating delivery dates
- Proactively work with Buyers and Planners to ensure that supplier delivery dates meet key production and or project milestones
- Resolving inwards goods non-conformances (such as undersupply or incorrect part shipped) to ensure purchase orders can be receipted in a timely manner
- Resolving overdue invoices for payment to ensure timely compliance with agreed supplier payment terms
- Worked with Legal to onboard new suppliers
Economic Research Assistant
Wigram Capital Advisors
08.2018 - 11.2019
- Collect data from financial reports as well as search for relevant reports not readily available
- Identify, report, and discuss irregular data changes
- Improve data collation where possible
- Understand the research context and discuss with staff members to enhance understanding.
Education
Bachelor of Commerce - Economics & International Business
University of Auckland
Auckland, NZ01-2021
International Baccalaureate -
Western Academy of Beijing
Beijing, China01-2017
Skills
- Materials requirement planning
- Warehouse operations
- Supplier negotiation
- SQL
Timeline
Material Planner 2 / Buyer
Rocket Lab
05.2025 - Current
Material Planner
Rocket Lab
08.2023 - 05.2025
Buyer
Rocket Lab
10.2022 - 07.2023
Purchasing Coordinator
Rocket Lab
05.2022 - 10.2022
Economic Research Assistant
Wigram Capital Advisors
08.2018 - 11.2019
Bachelor of Commerce - Economics & International Business
University of Auckland
International Baccalaureate -
Western Academy of Beijing
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