Purchasing Assistant

Salary: £30,000 per annum
Working Hours: 8:00am-4:15pm (Monday to Thursday), 8:00am-3:00pm (Friday)
Contract: Permanent
Location: Upper Heyford

Equation Recruitment are looking for an experienced purchasing assistant. The Purchasing Assistant is responsible for monitoring and maintaining stock levels to ensure that they fit with current requirements and lead times. The purchasing assistant is also accountable for building relationships with suppliers, expediting updates on orders and understanding how relationships can be improved to benefit the business.

Duties and responsibilities:

Supplier Management:
* Build effective supplier relationships and support the senior purchaser to develop these further by assisting on supplier visits and attending exhibitions.
* Work with suppliers, identifying works that can be subcontracted in terms of assemblies and box builds and notifying the senior purchase of such opportunities.
* Proactively expedite suppliers for updates on orders, looking at overdue orders plus those that are due in within the coming week.
* Identify and inform the senior purchaser of any supplier poor performance issues or any other supplier concerns
* Understand suppliers manufacturing processes and how they affect the business, as well as how they can be improved.
* Support the senior purchaser (as directed) with negotiations with new and existing suppliers.
* Look for and identify opportunities for cost reductions on stock.

Purchasing and stock management:
* Monitor stock levels to avoid over stocking and ensure that they tie in with current requirements, taking lead-times and the demands of our customers into consideration.
* Monitor and support Kanban/floor stock as required.
* Monitor end of life products and obsolescence, raising any concerns.
* Raise purchase orders on time and in line with MRP requirements, analysing data to ensure that it reflects actual, historical, current, and future requirements.
* Keep lead times updated in line with actual lead times provided from suppliers.
* Understand how costings affect the business and ensure that standard costings accurately reflect the actual costings.
* Update monthly purchasing metrics and produce month-end reports to include critical parts, supplier OTIF, supplier quality and recording stock turns.
* Ensure the quality of supplier returns, replacement and repairs.
* Manage the Purchasing email inbox, working with other Purchasing team members to ensure emails and issues are allocated, resolved, and filed for reference.

Operations Planning:
* Monitor and update the system on a weekly basis to understand what is outstanding and taking appropriate actions.
* Support the senior purchaser on effective operations planning
* Deputise for the senior purchaser during times of absence to ensure continuity of effective operations planning.

Experience:
* Challenging current procedures to identify new ways of working to improve effectiveness. Also ensure that processes and internal systems are compliant.
* Is a self-starter with a resourceful attitude. They will have a forward-thinking approach to being ahead of time and managing their workload efficiently.
* Able to identify threats and takes appropriate action before problems arise. Forward planner to ensure supplies arrive sufficiently in advance of need.
* Can communicate information concisely to internal stakeholders regarding late delivery of components, understands the related commercial implications, and offers mitigation strategies where possible.
* Enjoys working on own and collaboratively, with people inside and outside the Purchasing and Stores team.
* Must have prior experience of purchasing and managing stock to avoid excess surpluses and make effective use of existing stock.
* Confirming sales acknowledgements, updating price and lead times, chasing overdue orders for delivery, and coordinating supplier quality issues and returns.
* Must have previous experience of working in a manufacturing environment.
* Understands how bill of materials and subassemblies work to build electronics-based products.
* Can effectively use an MRP system to plan the resources of manufacturing and coordinate the arrival of component materials.
* Good experience of Microsoft Office, specifically Outlook for managing a group inbox, and Excel for calculations and communicating ordering plans.

If this position sounds like one you would be interested in, we would love to see your CV. Apply now!

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