Purchasing Agent

Hutchinson Industries Inc•Trenton, NJ

88d•Onsite

About The Position

The Purchasing Agent is responsible for sourcing and procuring goods and services, including raw materials, consumables, and MRO supplies, while ensuring cost, quality, delivery, and compliance requirements are met. This role involves building and managing strong supplier relationships, reviewing and processing requisitions, negotiating with suppliers, and analyzing MRP recommendations. The position also requires maintaining accurate procurement records, addressing non-conforming goods or services, monitoring open purchase orders, and managing invoice reconciliation. Additionally, this role has elevated exposure to compliance risks and requires strict adherence to ethical standards and internal controls.

Requirements

Five to ten years of purchasing experience, including work with an ERP system.
Demonstrated strong public speaking, presentation, and negotiation skills.
Ability to work independently.
Demonstrated strength in decision-making, motivation, workload management, analytical thinking, and organizational skills.
Ability to effectively and professionally communicate with management, staff, and customers.
Demonstrated sound judgment/reasoning skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
Ability to read and interpret drawings and engineering documents.
Strict adherence to Hutchinson Internal Controls and ethical standards.
Active risk identification and timely reporting of any suspected misconduct.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.
A minimum of five years of experience in Purchasing or Supply Chain (if not meeting the 5-10 years requirement).

Responsibilities

Sourcing and procuring goods and services such as raw materials, consumables, and MRO supplies, ensuring cost, quality, delivery, and compliance requirements are met.
Building and managing strong supplier relationships by fostering open communication, monitoring performance, resolving issues promptly, and ensuring suppliers meet quality, delivery, and compliance expectations.
Reviewing and processing approved requisitions, verifying pricing accuracy and appropriate vendor selection.
Communicating with vendors to obtain product information, including pricing, availability, and delivery schedules.
Negotiating with suppliers to obtain competitive pricing, optimal terms, and overall best value for the organization.
Analyzing daily MRP recommendations to determine purchasing requirements and converting planned orders into firm purchase orders while maintaining optimal inventory levels and supporting production schedules.
Continuously monitoring current pricing against market benchmarks using three competitive quotes and ensuring compliance with corporate requirements.
Preparing purchase orders and requests for quotes, maintaining accurate records of all transactions and quotations.
Reviewing RFQ proposals to ensure costs comply with budgetary constraints and purchasing authority levels, escalating to the Purchasing Manager when appropriate.
Maintaining accurate manual and electronic procurement records, including services purchased, costs, delivery details, product quality or performance data, and purchase order files.
Addressing defective or non-conforming goods or services by collaborating with Quality Control, end users, vendors, and other stakeholders to identify root causes and implement corrective actions, ensuring prompt resolution and returns.
Monitoring open purchase orders and daily scheduled receipts to expedite deliveries, verify accuracy, and initiate corrections when required.
Reviewing and maintaining completed purchase order reports, ensuring timely closure of all applicable POs.
Managing invoice reconciliation by identifying and resolving billing errors, price variances, and shortages through direct coordination with vendors.
Adhering to all applicable environmental, health, and safety rules and procedures and immediately reporting all dangerous situations, near-misses, and injuries.
Applying compliance procedures, participating in mandatory ethics training, and ensuring proper due diligence in decision-making and interactions with third parties.