Job Description
JOB SUMMARY: The Purchasing Manager is responsible for aligning our raw materials procurement strategy with our business goals and primarily handles the planning, sourcing, purchasing and delivery of the highest quality food-grade nutraceutical products and raw ingredients as well as the supplies needed to process and ship them. This requires managing the costs, existing vendor relationships, creating and tracking purchase orders to their timely conclusion, and maintaining communication with all the departments to support productions and stay on top of all timeframes for finished product orders. This role also completes administrative tasks to support quality documentation requirements in the department and manage ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) /MRP (Material Requirements Planning) data.
PRINCIPLE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Oversee and evaluate all activities of the procurement, material requirements for production and inventory to ensure goods are available for production and order fulfillment; provide timely purchasing recommendations to managers, executive leaders, and other stakeholders; adjust purchasing plan to support business needs based on forecast changes, product expiration, economic order quantity and formulation changes.
Review and analyze ERP/MRP data and purchase requisitions and convert them to purchase orders; enter and adjusts key milestones in the ERP system, such as vendor confirmation, anticipated ship date, and expected receipt date; regularly analyzes and recommends changes to ERP/MRP master data, such as lead time, planning methods, safety stock, order cover time, lot sizes.
Generate and adjust purchase orders and effectively communicate with production staff concerning proper quantities in inventory; track, monitor progress, and coordinate logistics for open purchase orders by doing a weekly review of an open purchase order report; continuously improve purchasing software and raw material buying process.
Computer entry of all related purchase order information into Batchmaster system.
Track all raw materials and finished goods and request warehouse inventory counts; Maintain stock out, expired, and discontinued product information and reporting; use analysis, software, and personal relationships to find creative ways to manage inventory to optimal levels
Negotiate with new vendors on price, quality, inventory, delivery, service, etc., and establish terms and conditions of business and credit; plan annual vendor reviews with existing vendors and negotiate pricing as needed.
Resolve problems and discrepancies with production, design, quality, and delivery as appropriate with vendors.
Manage and maintain supplier relationships, contracts, blanket orders, and spot buys for globally purchased materials; compare prices, specifications, and delivery dates in order to determine the best bid among potential suppliers; maintain costing sheets and keep them up to date.
Monitor incoming freight movement using various computer software applications; communicate closely with forwarders to change the order of containers and negotiate the actual date of arrival, if necessary; request transport rate quotes for incoming shipments.
Consult with production planning team to plan receiving for the next week if needed.
Collaborate with Accounting on inventory reconciliations, adjustments, monthly inventory closes, cashflow planning or unexpected price increases or decreases.
Maintain computer files for raw material item numbers and descriptions; enter/create new bulk inventory item numbers; process new formulas to system; create and review all related system reports for accuracy; provides ad hoc reporting to Supply Chain and Executive Management.
Supervise the procurement of new raw material samples and pricing for submission to the QA and QC Departments as requested by formulating team; manages pre-ship samples and associated documentation for inbound raw materials to ensure adequate time for testing and Quality Assurance approval; works directly with Quality Assurance team to guarantee all shipments meet specifications;
Process return authorization forms for raw materials.
Maintain Safety Data Sheets for in-house raw materials.
Submit raw material substitution request to Quality Control department.
Assist data entry with order processing and submit necessary QA paperwork for new items, new suppliers, and spec changes for existing items when requested.
Provides data for, and participates in, the annual budgeting process.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each principal responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
EDUCATION: High school graduate required. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business, Supply Chain, or related field preferred.
EXPERIENCE: 3-5 years of hands-on Procurement experience in nutraceuticals, herbal, dietary supplement, natural foods or other related industries. Exceptional negotiation ability. Demonstrated experience in international procurement and relationship building. Demonstrated proficiency with ERP and MRP software preferred. Familiarity with botanicals and herbs preferred.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Work requires ability to lift up to 20 pounds; standing, walking, bending and/or stooping for periods of five hours or more; moving and examining objects at high and low reach, and reading for periods of three hours or more. Position requires normal visual acuity.
ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Knowledge of cGMP standards to ensure the maintenance of the cGMP standard of quality.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance work instructions, procedure manuals and SDS sheets. Must have the ability to communicate effectively orally and in written form.
Must be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals.
Must understand and use simple statistical methods.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagram form. Must have ability to solve moderately complex problems involving multiple variables in standardized situations. Must have a deliberate and acute sense of documentation of all activities while in the manufacturing environment.
Must be familiar with and be able to communicate via e-mail. Must be familiar with and be able to use computer software including word processors & spreadsheets (Microsoft Word, Excel, Access), and ERP System.
Proficient in oral and written communication skills.
Must be able to communicate effectively in a cross functional team environment to complete work tasks as instructed
Ability to work either independently or cooperatively with others to achieve shared goals, showing diplomacy and flexibility when there are conflicting opinions.
Demonstrated attention to detail and thoroughness are critical.
Must have sound judgment and decision-making skills.
VITAL HEALTH AMERICA, LLC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Company Description
Vital Health America is committed to manufacturing nutraceutical products of the best quality and features by adopting innovation in design and technology with the end target in mind. We can offer our clients a wide range of standard formulas to choose from or they can design their own unique supplement line. Our scale-up and industrialization experience means that the finished product is ready for large-scale production and commercialization, saving our clients both time and money.