Purchasing Assistant

SUMMARY: The Purchasing Assistant supports day-to-day procurement and inventory operations by sourcing materials, maintaining supplier relationships, and ensuring the timely and cost-effective acquisition of office, cleaning, dry goods, warehouse, and other supplies.  This position plays a key role in maintaining accurate inventory levels, resolving purchasing and delivery issues, and ensuring data integrity across systems.  Strongly collaborates with operations, receiving, accounting and vendors to reconcile orders, support new item launches, and maintain continuity of supply to support continuous operations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Obtain quotes, prices, delivery, and other information to assist buyers
• Purchase office, cleaning, dry goods, and warehouse supplies as per processes and guidelines
• Build positive and productive supplier relationships
• Monitor, communicate, and resolve purchase and delivery exceptions
• Take physical counts of inventory to verify systems data and adjust as needed
• Maintain target inventory levels and manage aged or discontinued inventory
• Work with vendors on material returnsAssist receiving and accounting to reconcile purchase orders and invoicing
• Employ system tools to analyze items and category performance to avoid disruptions
• Manage/maintain data, specification, and other records.  Produce reports
• Ensure cost accuracy on purchases and resolve invoice discrepancies
• Work cross functionally within the organization to successfully launch new items
• Actively engage in team and project meetings
• Distribute supplies to internal team members
• Special projects as assigned
• Various other administrative tasks and projects