Buyer

Daikin•Seattle, WA

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 materials, and maintains records relating to cost, delivery, supplier performance, and inventory. It manages assigned commodities and supplier relationships, supports purchasing activities across production locations, and may direct staff in certain purchasing activities. The position operates independently with limited supervision, manages projects and processes, and coaches and reviews the work of lower-level professionals. People management is not part of the role. The Buyer works with internal functions including Finance, Materials, Logistics, Operations, Sales, and Marketing, as well as vendors and purchasing and sales personnel. The role may involve domestic and foreign travel, estimated at 15%.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in a high-volume environment, including 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 with both foreign and domestic sourcing and strong negotiating skills.
Good working knowledge of ERP systems.
Effective communication and negotiation skills suited to a global market and supply base.
Ability to build and maintain positive relationships with internal customers, vendors, and employees.
Effective organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.
Ability to interact day to day with personnel in sales, retail, and operations, and with functions across the business.
Strong analytical and deductive reasoning skills and quantitative and mathematical abilities.
Must be able 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

Experience with Epicor or SAP ERP systems; preferred but not required.
Familiarity with EDI/ERP implementation.
Inventory or quality management training or certification, such as APICS, Six Sigma, or CSCP; helpful but not required.

Responsibilities

Acquire materials, supplies, and services, and place purchase orders for goods.
Review requisitions and vendor proposals and negotiate contracts.
Evaluate new supply sources and the suitability of offered materials.
Maintain records on cost, delivery, supplier performance, and inventory levels.
Manage assigned commodities and tactical and strategic commodity responsibilities across multiple production locations.
Develop suppliers and maintain positive supplier relationships, including supplier certification and development processes and lead-time reduction.
Direct staff in certain purchasing activities, as applicable.
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 and support engineering or program changes.
Use computers to organize and locate inventory and operate spreadsheet and word processing software.
Negotiate prices, discount terms, and transportation arrangements.
Confer with sales and purchasing personnel to understand customer needs and preferences.
Select, order, and purchase merchandise at favorable prices while meeting quality, quantity, specification, and other requirements.
Monitor and analyze sales records, trends, and economic conditions to anticipate buying patterns and determine sales and inventory needs.
Authorize invoice payments or merchandise returns.
Interview and work closely with vendors to obtain and develop desired products, as applicable.
Manage projects and processes independently with limited supervision, and coach and review lower-level professionals' work.