Buyer

SUMMARY

Coordinates activities involved with procuring and replenishing inventory goods based on assigned product/vendor groups for the organization in order to achieve inventory and customer service objectives by performing the following duties.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Other duties may be assigned)

• Responsible for monitoring and evaluating inventory levels and initiating purchase orders for assigned product/vendor groups to maximize profitability by balancing carrying cost, ordering cost and transportation cost.
• Maintains computer-based procurement records including costs, buying multiples, carton quantities, vendor minimums, load factors (includes weights and measures), service level objectives, forecasts, and lead times.
• Maintains procurement records such as items purchased, costs, delivery performance, product quality or performance, and inventories, utilizing spreadsheets, graphics, word processing, and/or presentation computer software.
• As a member of the Buyer/Product Manager team, meets with vendor representatives to gain an understanding of product changes, lead time, service and quality issues.
• Participates in Supplier Performance reviews.
• Works closely with Product Managers, Operations personnel, vendors and others to determine root cause and initiate corrective action for defective or unacceptable goods.
• Monitors and reports damaged/dead/overstocked inventory in order to expedite the handling of this material via the sales department, vendor returns, transfers and /or scrapping.
• Interfaces with Accounts Payable to approve disputed invoices for payment. This may involve contacting the vendor to correct invoice pricing vs. quoted pricing.
• Travels as necessary for meetings with vendors, branch sales staff and training.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

None required.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree from four-year college or university; or 1-2 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

CERTIFICATION, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

After a training period of six months a buyer should be able to satisfactorily complete Level I of the purchasing software advanced Buyer certification testing. With the next 12 months Level II and III certification testing should be successfully completed.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. As well as, the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Must have the ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages and volume. As well as the ability to calculate ratio, rate, markup and margins and to generate and interpret bar/pie charts.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

COMPUTER SKILLS

Proficient computer skills with a solid understanding of Microsoft office, especially spreadsheets and reporting tools.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Work involves standing and walking for brief periods of time, but most duties are performed from a seated position. There is potential for eye strain from reading detailed materials and looking at a computer screen. Work normally requires finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination to operate computer keyboards at a moderate skill level. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.