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Materials operations manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Karen Kus,

Nina Woodard

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical materials operations manager skills. We ranked the top skills for materials operations managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.1% of materials operations manager resumes contained logistics as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a materials operations manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 materials operations manager skills for your resume and career

1. Logistics

Logistics is a complete organization and implementation of a problem. Logistics are often considered in a complex business operation, as some works need detailed plannings. Logistics are also used in military action.

Here's how materials operations managers use logistics:

Developed and implemented a revised logistics strategy reducing transportation cost by 37%.
Established a Global Logistics network supporting the global engineering development process.

2. Asphalt

Here's how materials operations managers use asphalt:

Asphalt testing (Density, VMA, AC, Hamburg Wheel) Gradations Soil testing

3. Chain Operations

Here's how materials operations managers use chain operations:

Prepare schedule for the onsite OR Supply Chain Operations.
Assess daily supply chain operations; implement appropriate changes to improve effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency.

4. Materials Management

Materials management refers to the process of monitoring and controlling the inventory and use of materials, often within a manufacturing plant. This management may also require shipping and delivery of the materials depending on the material product, price, and customer demand.

Here's how materials operations managers use materials management:

Develop and implement processes and procedures to maintain effective cost savings and materials management practices.
Adhere Materials Management and Purchasing departmental policies and procedures.

5. Safety Procedures

Safety procedures are a set of standardized procedures, that ensures minimal to no risk to people, resources, and the work environment. A company follows the step-by-step safety procedures as it they not only keep the customers and the employees safe, but also help in avoiding legal claims.

Here's how materials operations managers use safety procedures:

Followed prescribed safety procedures, and compiled with federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.
Developed, reviewed, and updated training records, plans for organization, and health and safety procedures.

6. Inventory Management

Here's how materials operations managers use inventory management:

Project Manager on a replenishment program which included centralized planning and inventory management.
Sourced in-house C-item inventory management to external supplier, realizing productivity improvements.

7. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how materials operations managers use data entry:

Experienced in data entry, micro soft word, office, and excel.

8. GMP

GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice. It is a system that ensures that all products like food, beverages, and medicinal drugs that are produced comply with the quality standards. It helps in minimizing the risks and hazards that cannot be eliminated after the testing of final products.

Here's how materials operations managers use gmp:

Experienced with inventory control to deal with all Hazardous material, controlled substances and GMP manufactured products.
Used lotus notes, ISO9000 system, and followed sop procedures and did GMP.

9. Inventory Control

Here's how materials operations managers use inventory control:

Prioritized procurement activities for architectural engineers and support departments including purchasing, expediting, inventory control, receiving and quality control.
Managed purchasing, shipping/receiving, inventory control, manufacturing and customer service departments.

10. Shipping Receiving

Here's how materials operations managers use shipping receiving:

Managed purchasing, production/inventory control, Shipping receiving and warehouse departments for two separate manufacturing locations.
Managed raw material warehouse and shipping receiving department.

11. Production Control

Production control is the component of management that directs, plans, and controls the supply and processing of raw material. Any enterprise does this so that specific products get produced by a stipulated approach to convene an authorized sales programme. Production control is often executed from a control or operations room.

Here's how materials operations managers use production control:

Implemented Best Practice Standards for Materials, Inventory and Production Control and Manufacturing Operation activities.
Monitor, analyze & report performance statistics to schedule production support activities utilizing information derived from material and production control systems.

12. Quality Standards

Quality standards are a specific level of standards of products that are set by the companies for the customers that have to be met and maintained throughout the process until the time of delivery. Quality standards are information that includes the customer's requirements, guidelines, and characteristics for the needed final product or service.

Here's how materials operations managers use quality standards:

Supervised receipt and QC inspection of incoming materials for adherence to quality standards and stringent engineering specifications for assembly line operations.
Work with quality assurance personnel in updating quality standards, problem solving and communicating conditions that affect quality in purchasing.

13. On-Time Delivery

On-Time Delivery, or OTD, is a metric that measures the rate at which finished goods and deliveries are completed on time. This rate is measured by the overall number of units shipped within a specified time frame agreed upon by the consumer and supplier. On-Time Delivery allows suppliers' compliance with delivery deadlines, and hence their consistency, to be assessed using a continuous and collaborative development approach.

Here's how materials operations managers use on-time delivery:

Worked in tandem with OCC Regional Directors to determine printing needs and coordinate on-time delivery for international and domestic shipping.
Ensured on-time delivery of orders exceeding $10 million for major customers such as Intel, Samsung and LG.

14. ISO

Here's how materials operations managers use iso:

Re-engineered customer service organization for increased customer service, electronic order systems and ISO compliance.
Process Engineering change orders (ECO) to maintain the database integrity to meet ISO certification.

15. HMS

Here's how materials operations managers use hms:

Learned and applied all applicable HMS processes to properly load bulk materials and interacts with the lab.

What skills help Materials Operations Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on materials operations manager resumes?

Karen Kus

Assistant Director of Career Services, SUNY Potsdam

Employers hiring candidates with a history degree are seeking transferable skills that can be applied in various roles and settings. These skills include writing, communication, research, organization, computer-based skills, and problem-solving. The best thing a candidate can do to increase marketability is to elaborate on how they obtained or utilized those skills, rather than simply listing them. Employers need to have an understanding of how you made use of your skill and what results came from your actions. Make these skills shine on your resume by giving them substance.

What materials operations manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Nina Woodard

Senior Career Development Specialist, Belmont University

For entertainment, digital marketing and content creation skills are critical. Even if a role isn't specifically connected to digital marketing, social media is almost always involved in most entry-level roles. We strongly encourage students and recent graduates to learn basic graphic design platforms, video editing and audio editing. Learning how to maximize impact on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok is also a worthy investment of time. There's a wide range of self-paced training resources online, many available for free or at reduced costs for students.

What type of skills will young materials operations managers need?

Adrian Tan

Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, Pennsylvania State University - New Kensington

The feedback from business leaders is that they wish to see a balanced mix of different skills in new graduates. An unexpected skill mentioned is the ability to use spreadsheets such as Excel. Companies do not expect to have to train new employees to use spreadsheets, though it turned out that spreadsheets are widely used (at varying levels of complexity) at all levels in organizations. An assumption here is that if a graduate already has good spreadsheet skills, then the graduate should also have the ability to quickly pick up on other more complex business IT skills required by the organization.
Businesses also need to know if their new employees can effectively interact with internal or external audiences. In this regard, excellent presentation skills are the minimum expectation from businesses. Presentation skills (both formal and informal) include the ability to read people, to communicate, and to covey information appropriately to the different types of audiences they may encounter - and these may sometimes include bored, skeptical, adversarial or even hostile audiences.
Every organization also requires graduates to show that they are good team-players. In addition to that, it is a big advantage if graduates can also demonstrate sound leadership skills in the context of teamwork. This is because new employees with leadership potential are viewed as those who are willing to go the extra mile, able to function with minimum supervision, can roll with the punches to jump back into the fray, and trusted to welcome (instead of to avoid) new assignments or challenges. Leadership skills are also seen as closely aligned with the possession of a corporate entrepreneurial mindset in that such employees are more willing to challenge the status quo, come up with out-of-the-box ideas, and help lead transformation efforts that can guide the organization in the future.

What technical skills for a materials operations manager stand out to employers?

Dr. Mary Kern Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College - City University of New York

- Clearly, the ability to use different forms of communication technology has become key, and as these forms evolve rapidly, employers are look for an ability to adapt, adopt, and teach them to their colleagues.

- Evidence-based management and decision-making are playing a much larger role in organizations, and thus the ability to work with quantitative data to understand situations and to help make decisions is crucial.

What soft skills should all materials operations managers possess?

Steven Bauer

Visiting Professor of Marketing, Pepperdine University, Seaver College

The new hybrid world will make leading teams more challenging. This reality will put a premium on interpersonal skills. When the NASA astronaut, Richard Arnold, spoke at Pepperdine in 2019, he mentioned that team building was the single most important ability undergraduates could develop to become a good astronaut. The same holds for graduates wanting to go into business, particularly in the post coronavirus era. As part of their skills in this area, graduates will also need to be able and committed to addressing issues in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Do you want to know more?

List of materials operations manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a materials operations manager resume and required skills for a materials operations manager to have include:

Logistics
Asphalt
Chain Operations
Materials Management
Safety Procedures
Inventory Management
Data Entry
GMP
Inventory Control
Shipping Receiving
Production Control
Quality Standards
On-Time Delivery
ISO
HMS

Continuous Improvement
ERP
KPI
Bulk Plant
Cost Reduction
Operations
Materials
Bulk Chemicals
Kanban
Sigma
Value Stream
MRP
Materials Handling
Material Flow
Kaizen

Assembly Line
Hazardous Materials
Purchase Orders
Cycle Counts
Inventory Accuracy
Production Lines
Inventory Reduction
OEM
Bulk Equipment
Direct Reports
MRO
Production Scheduling
Management System
Cost Savings
Warehouse Operations

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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