Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Purchasing Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Assistant Purchasing Manager supports the Purchasing/Procurement Manager in executing end-to-end procurement activities to ensure uninterrupted supply of goods and services at optimal cost and quality. This role plays a hands-on part in supplier identification, negotiation, PO lifecycle management, inventory coordination, contract compliance and performance reporting while leveraging ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle) and procurement best practices to deliver measurable cost savings and risk mitigation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Purchasing Coordinator / Purchasing Assistant
Procurement Analyst / Buyer
Inventory Analyst / Materials Planner

Advancement To:

Purchasing Manager / Procurement Manager
Category Manager / Senior Buyer
Supply Chain Manager / Sourcing Manager

Lateral Moves:

Vendor Manager / Supplier Development Manager
Logistics Manager / Import-Export Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Assist the Purchasing Manager in developing and executing category sourcing strategies that reduce total cost of ownership, improve quality, and shorten lead times across direct and indirect spend categories.
Manage the full purchase order lifecycle from requisition validation and supplier selection to PO issuance, acknowledgement, expediting, receiving coordination, and invoice reconciliation to ensure on-time delivery and accurate records.
Source, evaluate and qualify new suppliers through RFI/RFQ/RFP processes including preparing bid documents, comparing quotations, leading supplier selection committees and documenting selection rationale.
Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, volume discounts and service levels with vendors to achieve target cost savings while preserving supplier relationships and mitigating supply risk.
Maintain and optimize vendor master data within ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), ensuring accurate lead times, pricing, MOQ, delivery terms and contract references.
Monitor supplier performance using KPIs (delivery on time, quality rejects, lead-time variance, cost-avoidance) and prepare monthly/quarterly supplier scorecards to drive continuous improvement.
Collaborate with planning, production, and operations teams to align procurement forecasts with demand plans, MRP runs and inventory targets to prevent stockouts and minimize excess inventory.
Conduct spend analysis and cost drivers analysis to identify consolidation opportunities, strategic sourcing candidates, and category-specific savings initiatives.
Administer contracts and purchase agreements including reviewing terms and conditions, ensuring compliance with corporate procurement policies, and coordinating amendments and renewals.
Lead supplier onboarding, including completing compliance checks (insurance, certifications), initiating quality agreements, and arranging site audits when required.
Manage expedited procurement and emergency buys, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders to prioritize production needs and minimize downtime.
Investigate and resolve supplier quality issues and non-conformances in coordination with Quality Assurance and Operations, driving corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
Support import/export procurement: coordinate with customs brokers, verify Incoterms, prepare shipping documentation, and manage duties and tariff classification to minimize cross-border delays and costs.
Prepare and present procurement reports and dashboards to management highlighting spend trends, savings realized, supplier risks, and action plans for improvement.
Implement and sustain procurement process improvements including e-procurement adoption, automation of repetitive tasks, and standard operating procedures to increase efficiency and control.
Participate in cross-functional negotiations for make vs. buy decisions, new product introductions (NPI) and supplier selection during product design and launch phases.
Maintain procurement budgets and support forecasting of purchase spend, tracking budget vs. actual and identifying variances.
Support risk management initiatives by identifying single-source dependencies, assessing supplier financial health, and developing contingency plans and dual-sourcing strategies.
Train, mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to junior buyers and purchasing assistants to build procurement capability across the team.
Ensure procurement activities comply with corporate policies, regulatory requirements and ethical sourcing standards, including sustainability and supplier code of conduct adherence.
Coordinate with Finance and Accounts Payable to resolve invoice discrepancies, early payment discounts, payment terms negotiations and working capital optimization.
Participate in supplier development and cost-reduction workshops, value engineering sessions and cross-functional Kaizen events to deliver measurable cost improvements.

Secondary Functions

Maintain accurate procurement documentation and archive supplier contracts, quotes and evaluation records for audit readiness.
Support ad-hoc spend analyses and provide data-driven insights for executive decision making and procurement strategy refinement.
Assist in supplier risk assessments, business continuity planning and monitoring external market indicators (commodity prices, lead time trends).
Help maintain and improve e-procurement catalogs, punch-out suppliers and standardized requisition templates to streamline purchasing.
Support corporate sustainability and diversity procurement initiatives by tracking supplier ESG metrics and reporting on diverse supplier spend.
Participate in supplier site visits and factory inspections as needed to verify capabilities and compliance with contractual requirements.
Contribute to cross-training programs so procurement knowledge is disseminated across operations and planning teams.
Assist with month-end and quarter-end procurement close activities and prepare supporting materials for internal and external audits.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong knowledge of procurement lifecycle: requisitioning, sourcing, PO creation, expediting, receiving and invoice reconciliation.
Proficiency with ERP systems such as SAP MM, Oracle Procurement Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics or comparable platforms for purchase order and vendor management.
Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUP, pivot tables, data modeling) for spend analysis, forecasting and reporting.
Experience creating and managing RFIs, RFQs and RFPs and evaluating supplier bids using total cost models.
Contract administration skills including reviewing legal terms, SLAs, and managing renewals and amendments.
Familiarity with MRP/forecasting processes and integration of procurement into production planning and inventory control.
Supplier performance management with KPI design, dashboarding (Power BI, Tableau) and root-cause analysis for quality and delivery issues.
Negotiation and commercial capability to secure favorable pricing, payment terms and delivery conditions.
Working knowledge of import/export documentation, Incoterms, customs clearance and trade compliance.
Experience with spend analysis tools, category management frameworks and strategic sourcing methodologies.
Basic understanding of quality systems (ISO, APQP) and supplier audits.
Familiarity with e-procurement solutions, punch-out catalogs and electronic supplier catalogs.

Soft Skills

Excellent negotiation and persuasive communication to influence suppliers and internal stakeholders.
Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving to interpret spend data and drive sourcing decisions.
Attention to detail and accuracy in contract terms, purchase orders and invoice matching.
Effective stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration across Operations, Finance and Quality.
Time management and prioritization skills to manage multiple open procurements and urgent requests.
Leadership and coaching ability to mentor junior buyers and build procurement capability.
Resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced, changing supply chain environment.
Ethical judgement and commitment to compliance, sustainability and fair supplier practices.
Customer-service orientation focused on internal customer satisfaction and on-time delivery.
Project management skills to run sourcing projects, supplier transitions and system implementations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Finance, Logistics, Industrial Engineering or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s plus procurement certification (CPSM, CIPS, CPM) or a Master’s degree in Supply Chain / MBA for senior roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management / Procurement
Business Administration / Finance
Industrial Engineering / Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3 to 7 years of progressive purchasing, procurement or sourcing experience; including exposure to supplier negotiation, contract management and ERP systems.

Preferred:

5+ years procurement experience in manufacturing, retail or distribution environments with hands-on SAP/Oracle experience, proven cost-savings track record, and experience managing direct material or complex indirect categories.