Purchasing Specialist

Role Summary

Responsibilities And Skill Set Requirements

• Place purchase orders in a timely fashion and follow up on promise/delivery dates while clearly communicating Nivagen's needs to suppliers. Proactively internally communicate dates, concerns, and any callouts. Effectively manage reorders.
• Work with functional leads to plan appropriate inventory levels for MRO materials.
• + Create alternative sourcing plans for essential items.
• + Consolidate requirements and develop the most suitable purchasing method, such as spot purchase orders, contracts, blanket orders, and supplier stocking arrangements.
• + Advise management of market conditions and supplier base activity which could affect pricing and/or delivery.
• + Gain familiarity with the end use of commodities, leading to the identification of alternative sources for MRO items.
• Act as SAP purchasing SME:
• + Purchase requisition SME - provide training to all necessary departments on purchase requisitions creation, monitoring, and management.
• Update applicable SOPs/WIs, as appropriate.
• + Provide users with onboarding training for PO creation in SAP.
• Identify cost savings opportunities through data mining of internal data and spending trends.
• Manage documentation requests for R&D, Technical Services, and Project Management.
• Conduct request for quotations (RFQ) and negotiate MRO goods and services.
• Category Management:
• + Develop and maintain a category management strategy that will enable effective supplier management.
• The focus of the supplier management strategy will be to ensure high quality materials and services, improved lead times, and margin enhancing pricing.
• Vendor management:
• + Create contractual agreements with key suppliers such that supply requirements are fulfilled with high quality goods.
• + Perform vendor audits on existing approved vendors and potential new vendors for raw materials and packaging components.
• Develop and implement procedures and work instructions for the MRO planning/purchasing.
• Prepare and distribute spend metrics at predetermined intervals.
• Support Quality, R&D, Maintenance, and Operations by ordering samples for new products, choose and qualify suppliers. Maintain detailed records of the sourcing results.
• Support Materials Planner/Buyers with order management, placement and receipts, as needed.

Experience

• Minimum three (3) years of experience in a purchasing role.
• Good understanding of strategic sourcing and purchasing processes.
• Strong analytical, cost savings mindset.
• Experience working in an ERP system, preferably SAP.
• Ability to multi-task and work with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills

Education

• B.S. degree in Business Management or equivalent 3+ years related work experience.
• Certifications such as APICS CPIM or CSCP are a plus.