Purchasing Specialist I

About the role

Under the direction of the Procurement Manager, the Purchasing Specialist I executes day-to-day procurement activities that support uninterrupted material availability while maintaining purchasing data integrity, supplier communications, and operational excellence. The Purchasing Specialist I supports procurement and manufacturing by executing purchase orders, following up with suppliers, maintaining ERP systems, and coordinating cross-functionally to improve material availability, inventory accuracy, operational efficiency, and overall customer satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Review MRP recommendations and create purchase orders to support production and inventory requirements
• Maintain purchase orders including revisions, cancellations, quantity changes, and delivery schedule updates
• Obtain supplier order acknowledgments and verify pricing, quantities, lead times, and promised delivery dates
• Monitor open purchase orders, expedite critical materials, and communicate delivery status to internal stakeholders
• Support material availability by identifying potential shortages and escalating supply risks to the leadership
• Maintain supplier purchasing data, including pricing, lead times, order parameters, and ERP purchasing records
• Coordinate with Suppliers, Manufacturing, Inventory Control, Receiving, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to resolve purchasing-related issues
• Assist with inventory replenishment activities, purchasing investigations, and inventory discrepancy resolution
• Support ERP implementations, system testing, data cleanup, and purchasing process compliance initiatives
• Utilize Microsoft Excel, ERP systems, and purchasing reports to support procurement visibility and decision-making
• Identify and recommend continuous improvement opportunities that improve purchasing efficiency, data accuracy, and supplier responsiveness
• Provide project-based purchasing, reporting, analytics, and administrative support for the Inventory and Procurement leadership
• Develop professional working relationships with suppliers while providing excellent internal customer service
• Perform additional duties as assigned in support of Procurement and manufacturing operations

Experience and education

• 0–2 years of experience in purchasing, manufacturing, inventory, customer service, or another operations-related environment
• A bachelor's degree is preferred in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, or another area dealing with data or numbers
• Ability to analyze and solve problems
• Ability to prepare routine administrative paperwork
• Clerical work, high level of computer literacy, including Word, Excel, and Outlook