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Buyer/Planner II - Supply Chain

Catalent · Madison, WI · Full time

Posted Sep 28, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you prevented a stockout. How did you see it coming?

What they are checking: Whether they watch inventory and demand proactively instead of reacting when material runs out.

Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult supplier to get an order delivered on time.

What they are checking: Whether they can follow up firmly and professionally to get results from suppliers.

How do you prioritize when you have many open orders and several people asking for updates?

What they are checking: Whether they stay organized and communicate clearly when the workload is heavy.

What would you do

A material arrives but is held in quarantine waiting for QC release, and the batch starts in two days. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they understand GMP release and work with Quality to prioritize without pressuring them to skip steps.

The production schedule changes and a batch moves up by two weeks. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Whether they quickly check what materials are at risk and work with suppliers to pull orders in.

You notice a material is about to expire in the warehouse. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they act to use, extend or dispose of it properly and learn from why it was overbought.

About the work

This role makes sure materials are bought and planned in time to meet production schedules. What ERP or MRP systems have you used?

What they are checking: Whether they can work with planning systems to turn a production schedule into timely purchase orders.

Walk me through how you would plan materials for a manufacturing batch scheduled in three months.

What they are checking: Whether they think through bills of materials, lead times, inventory and quality release time.

How do you set reorder points or safety stock for materials with long and variable lead times?

What they are checking: Whether they understand basic inventory planning and adjust for lead time risk.

How do you keep your purchase orders and inventory records accurate in the system?

What they are checking: Whether they keep clean data, since bad system data leads to wrong planning and missed batches.

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The full job description

As published by Catalent.

Buyer/Planner II - Supply Chain About Site Catalent’s Madison, Wisconsin site is a state‑of‑the‑art biologics development and manufacturing facility supporting customers from research through early‑ and mid‑stage clinical production. Located at 726 Heartland Trail in Madison, the approximately 102,700‑square‑foot GMP facility specializes in mammalian cell line engineering, drug substance biomanufacturing, and biopharmaceutical development, utilizing flexible single‑use systems to enable rapid scale‑up and customization. The site is home to Catalent’s proprietary GPEx® and GPEx® Lightning technologies, which are used to generate high‑yielding mammalian cell lines for biologic therapies, and supports production scales ranging from 50 to 4,000 liters for clinical manufacturing. Following a $45 million expansion announced in 2025, the Madison site has significantly increased capacity, added new equipment, and created approximately 200 highly skilled biohealth jobs, further strengthening its role within Catalent’s global biologics network and Wisconsin’s growing life sciences ecosystem. Position Summary We have an opportunity for a Buyer/Planner II - Supply Chain to join our team and play a key role in supporting production operations. This position ensures timely procurement of materials and effective planning to meet production schedules. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and suppliers to maintain inventory accuracy and optimize scheduling. This role is essential to achieving on-time delivery and supporting the growth of our biologics business. Shift: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Location: Madison, WI 100% Onsite The Role • Procure materials from approved suppliers, monitor receipts, and resolve material shortages to support on-time production. • Maintain accurate purchasing and planning master data, including item setups, lead times, and restocking levels. • Track, analyze, and report purchasing and inventory performance metrics such as supplier performance, aging inventory, and overdue orders. • Develop and maintain the production schedule by analyzing customer requirements, material availability, equipment capacity, and optimal sequencing. • Create, update, and monitor manufacturing work orders, parts lists, and inventory system changes, ensuring alignment with schedule needs. • Communicate schedule updates, material risks, and special requirements across cross-functional teams through daily and weekly planning meetings. • Support new product introductions, bill of material updates, and quality system requirements related to planning and purchasing processes. • Collaborate with internal teams and external suppliers to improve processes and maintain reports for departmental and site-level performance tracking. • Other duties as assigned. The Candidate Minimum Requirements • Bachelor’s Degree required (Master’s preferred) in Business, Supply Chain, or related field. • 3+ years of experience required in supply chain, inventory management, procurement, or related fields. • Proven ability to collaborate effectively with internal teams, external clients, and suppliers. • Proficient in inventory and enterprise resource planning systems (JD Edwards) and materials management systems. • Individual must be able to see, hear, read, and write clear English. Frequent sitting, standing, walking, reading of written documents and use of computer monitor screen, reaching with hands and arms, talking, writing, listening. Occasional stooping, kneeling, crouching, bending, carrying, grasping. Frequent lifting and/or moving up to 10 pounds and occasional lifting and/or moving up to 50 pounds. Must comply with Environmental Health and Safety responsibilities. Preferred Skills & Background • Experience in a cGMP-regulated environment preferred. • ASCM or ISM certification preferred. Why You Should Join Catalent • Defined career path and annual performance review and feedback process. • Diverse, inclusive culture. • Potential for career growth on an expanding team within an organization dedicated to preserving and bettering lives. • Competitive paid time off plus 8 paid holidays. • Community engagement and green initiatives. • Medical, dental, and vision benefits effective day one of employment. • Tuition reimbursement. Catalent offers rewarding opportunities to further your career! Join the global drug development and delivery leader and help us bring over 7,000 life-saving and life-enhancing products to patients around the world. Catalent is an exciting and growing international company where employees work directly with pharma, biopharma and consumer health companies of all sizes to advance new medicines from early development to clinical trials and to the market. Catalent produces more than 70 billion doses per year, and each one will be used by someone who is counting on us. Join us in making a difference. personal initiative. dynamic pace. meaningful work. Visit Catalent Careers to explore career opportunities. Catalent is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and veterans. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process due to a disability, you may submit your request by sending an email, and confirming your request for an accommodation and include the job number, title and location to DisabilityAccommodations@catalent.com . This option is reserved for individuals who require accommodation due to a disability. Information received will be processed by a U.S. Catalent employee and then routed to a local recruiter who will provide assistance to ensure appropriate consideration in the application or hiring process. Notice to Agency and Search Firm Representatives: Catalent Pharma Solutions (Catalent) is not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies and/or search firms for this job posting. Resumes submitted to any Catalent employee by a third party agency and/or search firm without a valid written & signed search agreement, will become the sole property of Catalent. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired for this position as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral. Thank you. Important Security Notice to U.S. Job Seekers: Catalent NEVER asks candidates to provide any type of payment, bank details, photocopies of identification, social security number or other highly sensitive personal information during the offer process, and we NEVER do so via email or social media. If you receive any such request, DO NOT respond— it is a fraudulent request. Please forward such requests to spam@catalent.com for us to investigate with local authorities. California Job Seekers can find our California Job Applicant Notice HERE . Volunteer Work Disclosure: Applicants for employment in Massachusetts may include in their employment history any verified work performed on a volunteer basis. Massachusetts Lie Detector Test Notice: 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 may be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Consistent with Massachusetts law, Catalent does not require or administer lie detector tests as a condition of employment or continued employment.

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