Purchasing Coordinator

The Purchasing Coordinator is a key link between purchasing, sales, and operations, ensuring that supplier delays, stock shortages, and purchasing inefficiencies don't hold back customer commitments. This role will focus on expediting purchase orders (POs), resolving supplier delays, proactively managing inventory risks, and providing real-time updates that allow the sales team to give customers accurate and confident delivery estimates.

This is not just a purchasing support role, this position directly impacts customer satisfaction by ensuring sales have the information and reliability needed to close deals and fulfill orders without disruptions.

Key Responsibilities:

Expediting & Sales Support (40%)

• Track and proactively follow up on open purchase orders to ensure suppliers meet expected delivery dates.

• Identify at-risk orders and work with suppliers to find solutions before they cause delays for our customers.

• Communicate real-time updates to the Sales team consistently, to help provide customers with accurate delivery timelines.

• Develop a priority escalation system for high-impact POs affecting key customer orders.

• Build a proactive "due date confidence" process to give sales and operations more accurate lead times.

Inventory & Purchasing Process Improvement (25%)

• Conduct regular stock checks to identify potential supply issues before they disrupt orders.

• Work with suppliers to adjust orders, expedite shipments, or find alternative sources when delays occur.

• Enter supplier RMA's / RGA's for product returns where necessary.

• Support Purchasing team by gathering competitive quotes to improve lead times and cost efficiency.

• Maintain accurate stock levels and supplier lead times to help sales set proper customer expectations.

• Assist in identifying potential in-house substitutes for back-ordered items during purchasing process.

• Communicate with branches on inventory needs to support centralized purchasing efforts with selected product lines.

S/Continuous Improvements/Records/Human Resources/Job Descriptions Last Printed 11/14/2025

Supplier Communication & Data Organization (25%)

• Establish and maintain clear and structured follow-up routines with suppliers to reduce late shipments.

• Maintain a supplier performance database, tracking on-time delivery and responsiveness.

• Work within Epicor P21 and Rubber Tree to keep purchasing data clean, organized, and actionable.

• Support ongoing efforts to align purchasing, production, and sales data, ensuring everyone operates with the same information.

• Report delays to the purchaser and sales-order takers about PO developments affecting customer's needs.

• Daily follow ups on POs sent to suppliers to ensure acknowledgment including expected delivery date.

Other Duties as Assigned (10%)

Requirements

• Experience in purchasing, supply chain, or sales support (preferred but not required)

• Strong organizational and follow-up skills to track multiple POs and supplier communications.

• Ability to work with ERP Systems (Epicor P21 experience a plus)

• Must be proficient in Microsoft Excel

• Strong communication skills to interact with suppliers, sales, and internal teams.

• Detail-oriented, proactive, and able to anticipate and resolve the purchasing bottlenecks before they affect sales.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities effectively.