Category Buyer

Job Summary

Responsible for the procurement of raw materials, communication with vendors, and ensuring quality standards of raw materials. This position has the authority to act as a purchasing agent for the Company.

• Plan and execute raw material requirements for internal customers through ERP System.
• Reorder raw materials within lead time specifications as needed, enter purchase order with detail to quantity and cost, communicate purchase order to vendor, and confirm/update pricing as needed.
• Adherence to inventory levels based on usage, forecast, minimum and maximum inventory ranges.
• Monitor daily raw material orders/logistics to ensure on-time deliveries and efficient production.
• Contact vendors when orders do not meet our standards (Ex: out of spec, not on time, incorrect quantity)
• Maintain product reorder data including lead time, minimum order quantity, minimum and maximum inventory levels, primary and secondary vendor.
• Maintain Vendor Database with contact and ordering info for customer service and sales representatives.
• Negotiate with vendors for competitive pricing and review new products.
• Qualify new suppliers as business needs change for the organization.
• Develop and implement cost reduction programs.
• New Vendor and Product setup (price quotation and negation, raw material specs, data setup).
• Invoice approval and reconciliation by researching supplier information, invoice approval software, and ERP data.
• Maintain pricing information for the purpose of tracking and placing contracts.
• Attend weekly KPI meetings and action initiatives to improve quality, reduce cost and reduce inventory.
• Use internal Supplier Evaluation Program to monitor supplier performance.
• Assist Operations Team (Receiving/Warehouse/Production/Planning/Transport) with raw material issues, delivery and pickup times, and ensure customers and supplier are aligned.
• Work with QA to action expiring inventory, manage raw material rejections and returns, and other issues as needed.
• Due to 24-hour delivery schedules, after hours and weekend communication may be required when issues arise.
• Project Management – Develops Plans;
  Coordinates projects;
  Communicates changes and progress;
  Completes projects on time and budget.
• May preform other duties as required.

• Works with little supervision and work is not reviewed. Exercises discretion within areas of responsibility.
• Advises others within the organization on matters within area of expertise.
• Receive customer questions and responds within prescribed areas of knowledge.
• Position is directly responsible for generating revenue within product line or territory.
• Ineffective actions could result in significant loss of time, resources and/or could have moderate impact on the organization’s public image. Decisions or actions have a significant impact on the organization. Errors are difficult to detect and may be difficult and/or costly to correct. Decisions may have a significant impact on resources and organizational effectiveness; funding, productivity, service, quality, security of assets or external relationships may be adversely affected.

• Bachelor’s degree
• Requires one - three years of experience
• On-the-job training of 0-3 months.
• Must be proficient with MS Office programs, specifically Excel and Outlook.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Category Buyer encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• Work requires little or no physical effort.

• Work performed by this position requires a siginficant level of mental concentration to manage multiple complex tasks.
• Work requires frequent visual effort for extended periods of time.

• Employee typically works in a normal office environment free from noise and hazards with occasional exposure to heat and cold.
• This position has limited exposure to hazards that require the exercise of caution with the little likelihood of injury.
• Less than 10% travel is required for this position. Travel may be out-of-state and occasionally require…