Abrasive Factory Hiring: What to Do When Production Manager Doubles as Purchaser, Causing Delayed Material Follow-up

We already have one order-follower, who is mainly responsible for orders from the boss and the boss's wife, as well as purchasing statistics for packaging materials.

For the newly-recruited order-follower, I plan to assign part of the procurement work to this position. Within the procurement module are two raw materials: iron rings and mesh fabric, which I expect him to take full charge of.

Currently, procurement is handled by my husband, who also manages workshop production. Procurement tasks are often not followed up in a timely manner, resulting in material shortages. This role requires a dedicated person; it is not ideal for one employee to take on too many concurrent responsibilities.

Eighty to ninety percent of our customized products are for export. The lead time for custom orders is approximately one month. Even for our own-brand foreign-trade orders, the turnaround is relatively long, mostly more than two weeks. Production rescheduling will be required if material shortages occur.

Iron rings and mesh fabric need to be entered into the system. Our product structure is simple, yet we have to build the BOM (Bill of Materials) ourselves, which is not highly complicated.

Our PMC (Production Material Control) function is not yet fully professional, and the whole process is still in the running-in phase. That said, as a small-scale factory, we have our advantage: we can flexibly adjust production scheduling even when mold changes create extra workload.

Here is our compensation package. The base salary for our existing order-follower is [...], with commission calculated at one-thousandth of sales revenue.

Employees are eligible for an accommodation subsidy: 200 RMB per month for those with 1-5 years of service, and 300 RMB per month for over 5 years of service. Lunch is provided for office staff.

Working hours: work ends at 17:30 all year round. Work starts at 8:00 a.m. in summer and 8:30 a.m. in winter, with a lunch break ranging from one hour to one and a half hours.

Social security is available. Contribution ratios such as 3:7 or 7:3 can be negotiated according to seniority. Office staff, including order-followers, work a single-day-off weekly schedule.

I have a clear understanding of all the above information, and I believe I am competent for this position.

Where is your hometown?

Jiangsu Province.

I worked in the thermos-cup industry for more than one year. That company went through three different managers within a single year. It originally manufactured baby products and later transitioned to thermos-cup production. Lacking relevant experience in the new business, it had no complete set of standardized collaboration processes.

Having worked in this industry for many years, I value a pleasant working environment. The first manager offered to confirm me as a full-time employee, but I declined immediate regularization and chose to keep working on probation. The two subsequent managers never knew I was still under probation.

I started out as a warehouse keeper, then transferred to outsourced-order follow-up, and was promoted to procurement this year.

We originally agreed on one day off per week. After the management changed, the policy shifted to only two days off per month, and I frequently worked overtime until 10 or 11 p.m. When the two-day-per-month-off rule was formally enforced, I could not accept it and decided to look for a new job. I have never been confirmed as a full-time employee, so my resignation formalities can be completed within three days.

Let me tell you about our company. Our annual output value is around 50 million RMB, and we are smaller in scale than your previous employer. Nevertheless, our internal communication and feedback are simpler and more efficient than those of large factories. There are inherent differences between large and small enterprises. If our company expands in the future, I cannot guarantee that we will not encounter similar management problems you experienced. For now, we are making every effort to achieve smooth internal communication and collaboration.

Alright, I have no further questions.