Buyer

Benchmade Knife Company - Oregon City, OR

Full-time - Mid Level

Oregon City, OR

Fishing, Hunting and Trapping

About the position

The Buyer at Benchmade Knife Company is responsible for the timely procurement of materials and supplies essential for the business operations. This role involves reviewing requisitions, negotiating purchase order terms, collaborating with vendors, and managing vendor relationships to ensure quality and cost-effectiveness. The Buyer plays a crucial role in supporting production scheduling and inventory management while driving continuous improvement initiatives within the procurement function.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the timely procurement of materials and supplies to meet requirements of the business.
• Reviews all requisitions for accuracy and necessity and ensures proper authorized spending limits.
• Prepares RFQs and obtains competitive bids to assure best price and availability from multiple sources.
• Negotiate PO terms including pricing, delivery, lead-time, and credit terms with vendors.
• Collaborate with strategic sourcing to identify new vendors and participate in the vendor certification process.
• Provide performance feedback to the Strategic Sourcing Specialist on vendor quality and delivery performance.
• Work closely with the Supply Chain Quality Engineer to process parts through the RTV process.
• Assist the factory and production scheduling team through effective communication of supply variation and risk mitigation.
• Assist in resolving quality problems with vendor supplied materials and coordinate any material return for rework or credit.
• Manage vendor relationships and act as the focal point for external vendor communication.
• Responsible for constant cost reductions and fulfillment of supplier obligations.
• Support Sr. Buyer Lead to negotiate and manage vendor replenishment agreements to minimize buy quantities and inventory investment.
• Support the purchase of company-wide supplies based on approved purchase order requests.
• Coordinate the transfer of supplier communications to the requisitioner.
• Support the development and ongoing reporting of key performance metrics.
• Initiate improvement projects to continuously reduce cost and raise performance within the function.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain or other Business related degree.
• 5-6 years of experience as a Buyer in a manufacturing environment.
• APICS certification is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to use MRP system for planning, purchasing, and inventory management.
• Strong understanding of MRP logic.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Strong math and analytical skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, balancing conflicting priorities and resource constraints.
• Excellent organization skills and ability to manage multiple tasks.
• Basic understanding of accounting principles for inventory valuation.
• Solid understanding of flow principles, including kanbans, daily rates, point of use material, cycle time, replenishment systems, line balancing, backflush, etc.
• Excellent PC skills: ability to use word processing, spreadsheets, and e-mail.

Nice-to-haves

• APICS certification
• Experience in a manufacturing environment

Benefits

• Profit sharing
• Paid jury duty
• AD&D insurance
• Disability insurance
• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee assistance program
• Vision insurance
• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Gym membership