Foreign Purchasing Specialist - Alexandria

Purchasing Supplies

• The most recognizable and position-specific role of a Purchasing Specialist is to find and purchase necessary supplies; sometimes in very large companies, this position may take part in deciding whether to make the item in-house versus purchasing it.
• In general, purchasing departments work with product development teams to order materials and determine costs of a particular product. A Purchasing Specialist sometimes uses trade publications or can go straight to the manufacturer of the product to find the most relevant and cost-effective option.
• The most challenging part if this duty is finding the right item at the right price.

Record Keeping

• An effective Purchasing Specialist has to be able to adhere to very strict record keeping.
• Depending on the company, records are kept in many different ways; paper files, computer databases or both.
• Purchasing Specialists will work with specific software to maintain and access records, such as invoices, purchase orders and bidding contracts, to make sure they are up to date.
• Besides keeping accurate records, a Purchasing Specialist will usually prepare reports for appropriate individuals within the company of the items ordered, prices as well as need.

Bidding

• Depending on what industry and company these workers are employed in, there might be items needed in bulk, or specialty items.
• The Purchasing Specialist will have to bid and choose the best vendor to partner with.
• The Purchasing Specialist is responsible for all aspects of the bidding process, which can involve writing detailed instructions, accepting vendors for the approved list of bidders, handling bidding funds, reading bids publicly and making a recommendation on which bid is the best for the company.

Maintaining Vendor Contacts

• A very large part of the Purchasing Specialist’s job is to maintain regular contact with vendors and suppliers.
• Oftentimes, a good business relationship with a vendor will result in lower prices or better service; as such, this employee is tasked with building these types of relationships for the good of the business.
• If financial issues arise, the Purchasing Specialist will be the one to work with the vendor to resolve any issues.