Purchasing Agent​/Buyer

Why This Role Matters

The Purchasing Agent / Buyer is the commercial backbone of Shepherd’s inventory engine. Every product that moves through our branches, every fill rate we achieve or miss, every vendor relationship that holds or frays — it traces back to how well this role executes. This is not a transactional purchasing job. This is the role responsible for managing supplier relationships, optimizing inventory investment, and keeping six branches stocked with the right products at the right cost.

You own the line, not just the order. You anticipate gaps before they become customer problems, negotiate with purpose, and make decisions grounded in data — Turns, GMROI, and lead times are your language. If you know electrical distribution, understand how buying decisions ripple through a company, and want to work where your work is felt by real customers on real jobsites — this role was built for you.

Your purchasing decisions determine whether our branches can fulfill sales commits. When a product is out of stock, backordered, or mispriced, customers feel it. Your job is to prevent that — through disciplined replenishment, vendor accountability, and proactive communication when exceptions arise.

The best buyers do not wait for problems — they surface trends in the data, challenge vendor terms, and constantly ask whether inventory is working as hard as it should. You bring curiosity and commercial instinct to every line you manage.

Purchasing does not operate in isolation. You work alongside sales, warehouse, and branch leadership — and your decisions affect all of them. You share what you know, flag what matters, and treat cross‑functional coordination as part of your responsibilities.

When a product fails, a rebate goes uncaptured, or a supplier misses a commitment — you do not pass it along. You investigate, you resolve, and you make sure it does not happen again. Ownership at this level means the business can count on you.

You anticipate stock gaps before they become missed orders. You find the better deal before pricing becomes a barrier. You understand our customers’ business well enough to stock what they will need before they know to ask.

Own procurement and inventory management across assigned product lines for all branch locations. Maintain appropriate stock levels that balance service levels against working capital — measured by Turns, GMROI, service levels and fill rates. Manage the full distribution lifecycle for stock and non‑stock products — from new product introductions through discontinuation. Monitor vendor lead times, identify gaps before they become outages, and take corrective action proactively.

Find solutions to inventory issues with cost‑competitive alternatives. Coordinate inbound freight flow with warehouse operations to ensure receiving accuracy and minimal disruption.

Develop and maintain productive working relationships with manufacturer representatives and vendor contacts. Negotiate pricing, payment terms, and program structures that improve Shepherd’s competitive position. Track, manage, and capture line‑specific rebate and program dollars — none should be left on the table. Evaluate new product offerings with discipline: not everything belongs in stock, and you gather the information to make the final decision.

Hold vendors accountable to commitments — on pricing, delivery, returns and program terms.

Maintain accurate product file data in Eclipse, SKU‑level detail, and warehouse quantity management. Use Turns, GMROI, and other performance metrics to guide restocking decisions and line reviews. Identify and correct pricing or cost discrepancies before they affect branch operations or customer invoicing. Support data integrity across the purchasing system — clean data is not someone else’s problem.

Partner with sales teams to respond to product inquiries, source specials, and support customer needs in real time.…