BUYER

AirReps•Seattle, WA

4d•$80,168 - $95,000

About The Position

The Buyer acquires materials, supplies, and services and places purchase orders for goods with established standard costs and quoted discounts. The role reviews requisitions and vendor proposals, negotiates contracts, evaluates new supply sources and offered materials, and maintains records of cost, delivery, supplier performance, and inventory levels. The Buyer manages assigned commodities across multiple production locations, supports supplier development, and may direct staff in certain purchasing activities. The position applies advanced knowledge, manages projects and processes independently with limited supervision, and coaches and reviews the work of lower-level professionals. The Buyer works with sales, purchasing, and other business functions to understand customer needs and preferences, select and procure merchandise consistent with price, quality, quantity, and specifications, and anticipate buying patterns and inventory needs. The role handles delivery and inventory management, purchasing costs and savings initiatives, supplier maintenance, engineering and program changes, invoice authorization or merchandise returns, and related supplier and purchasing issues. Limited domestic or foreign travel may be involved, estimated at 15%.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in a high-volume environment, particularly high-volume, low-cost purchasing.
Experience in a manufacturing environment and with MRP.
Bachelor’s degree in Materials Management, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field.
Experience in both foreign and domestic sourcing, with strong logical and negotiation skills.
Good working knowledge of ERP systems; Epicor or SAP preferred but not required.
Effective communication and negotiation skills suited to global markets and supply bases.
Ability to build and maintain positive relationships with internal customers, vendors, and employees.
Effective organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.
Ability to interact day to day with personnel in sales, retail, and operations, and with Finance, Materials, Logistics, Operations, Sales, and Marketing.
Strong analytical and deductive reasoning skills, and quantitative and mathematical abilities.
Ability to manage multiple suppliers with more than 10,000 SKUs.
Ability to perform essential responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodations.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer-sponsored work authorization.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with EDI/ERP implementation.
Inventory or quality management training or certification, such as APICS, Six Sigma, or CSCP.
Experience with Epicor or SAP ERP systems.

Responsibilities

Manage tactical and strategic commodity responsibilities across multiple production locations.
Develop suppliers and support supplier certification, development, and lead-time reduction.
Direct staff in certain purchasing activities.
Manage delivery and inventory, including inventory goals, long lead-time supplier programs, and obsolescence.
Address purchasing costs, purchase orders, accounts payable issues, supplier reduction, and savings initiatives.
Maintain accurate supplier system and file data.
Support engineering and program changes.
Use computers to organize and locate inventory and operate spreadsheet and word-processing software.
Negotiate prices, discount terms, and transportation arrangements for merchandise.
Manage assigned commodities and multiple suppliers.
Confer with sales and purchasing personnel to obtain information about customer needs and preferences.
Examine, select, order, and purchase merchandise at favorable prices while considering quality, quantity, specifications, and other factors.
Monitor and analyze sales records, trends, and economic conditions to anticipate buying patterns and determine merchandise and inventory needs.
Authorize invoice payments or merchandise returns.
Interview and work closely with vendors to obtain and develop desired products, as applicable.
Maintain records related to cost, delivery, supplier performance, and inventory levels.
Manage projects and processes independently with limited supervision, and coach and review lower-level professionals.
Travel domestically or internationally as needed; travel is estimated at 15%.