Purchasing Assistant

Max Distributing•Little Rock, AR

About The Position

The Purchasing Assistant supports purchasing, inventory management, vendor coordination, and internal sales operations. The role includes submitting purchase orders, monitoring inventory and open orders, coordinating with vendors and the warehouse, maintaining product information in the company ERP system, and supporting sales, marketing, IT, and call center teams. The position also supports product merchandising, tradeshows, and other special projects. The ideal candidate is organized, detail-oriented, proactive, adaptable, and able to communicate professionally while managing multiple priorities.

Requirements

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to engage professionally with internal teams and external vendors.
Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities.
Proficiency in Excel or willingness to learn quickly.
Confident, adaptable, and comfortable taking on multiple kinds of work.
Ability to negotiate effectively when required.
Proactive mindset and positive, team-oriented attitude.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting sales teams and/or operations in a fast-paced environment.
Willingness to collaborate with Sales, Marketing, IT, and Warehouse Operations.
Flexibility to travel up to 20% to support tradeshows and customer events.

Responsibilities

Submit purchase orders for identified products on the daily watch list.
Conduct warehouse walk-throughs or review potential product distributions before submitting purchase orders.
Pull daily inventory and open purchase order reports from the company ERP software.
Submit orders received through Distribution Forms.
Review, document, and report daily issues affecting inventory levels or order fulfillment.
Contact vendors daily to obtain Bills of Lading and tracking information.
Provide open purchase order status updates to the sales team on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Process vendor setup documentation for new vendor opportunities.
Communicate vendor out-of-stock notifications to key stakeholders weekly.
Manage vendor credits for expired or out-of-code products.
Manage product setup and maintenance in the company ERP software.
Ship product samples to sales teams or customers as requested.
Coordinate new item communications with sales teams and vendors.
Work with the warehouse to resolve receiving discrepancies and confirm daily product receipts.
Update the product catalog monthly with Marketing and IT to ensure website accuracy.
Review sales trends across key categories using internal reporting tools.
Support planogram development by sourcing required products or materials.
Coordinate shipment of products and support materials for tradeshows and events.
Travel to and support up to two industry tradeshows annually.
Provide the call center with timely product and inventory updates as needed.
Assist with product force-outs and special projects as required.