Purchasing Specialist

The Purchasing Specialist is responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted flow of materials and services that support manufacturing and business operations. This role partners with suppliers and cross-functional teams to procure quality products at competitive costs, maintain inventory accuracy, support compliance requirements, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented professional who enjoys solving problems, managing priorities, and building effective supplier relationships.

Responsibilities:

The Purchasing Specialist will:

• Execute daily procurement activities, including purchase order creation, order placement, lead time verification, pricing validation, order acknowledgment review, rescheduling, and supplier follow-up.

• Support procurement strategies aligned with quality, cost, delivery, and inventory objectives.

• Build and maintain supplier relationships and participate in pricing, sourcing, and contract discussions.

• Monitor and evaluate supplier performance, including quality, delivery, reliability, responsiveness, and compliance.

• Identify and support the mitigation of supplier and supply chain risks.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to understand sourcing requirements and support supplier selection and qualification activities.

• Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier documentation, and system data.

• Investigate and resolve purchasing, supplier, inventory, receiving, and invoice-related issues in a timely manner.

• Track, analyze, and report purchasing metrics, including cost savings, supplier performance, delivery performance, and inventory trends.

• Recommend and support continuous improvement initiatives related to purchasing processes, inventory management, and supplier performance.

• Receive, stock, organize, and issue inventory to support operational needs.

• Participate in cycle counts and physical inventory activities to ensure inventory accuracy and resolve discrepancies.

• Follow applicable quality procedures and support compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and company policies.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

The successful candidate will possess:

• An Associate degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Two to five years of experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain, inventory management, manufacturing operations, or a related field.

• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and follow-through.

• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze data and support business decisions.

• Experience building supplier relationships and supporting pricing, sourcing, or negotiation activities.

• The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

• Proficiency with ERP systems and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.

• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and cost efficiency. The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a regulated manufacturing environment.

• Medical device industry experience.

• Experience using ERP systems, Ariba, Qlik, or similar procurement and analytics tools.

• Knowledge of inventory control, material planning, and supply chain best practices.

• Professional purchasing or supply chain certification, such as APICS, CPIM, CSCP, CPSM, or an equivalent credential.