Buyer

SUMMARY OF POSITION:

This position is accountable for the procurement of materials and services used in the manufacturing operation at McKenzie Valve & Machining LLC.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

This position reports to the Operations Manager – McKenzie Valve & Machining, along with the Controller, the Operations Manager, the Valve Engineer, the Quality Engineer, and the Sr. Customer Order Processor.

The main function of the Purchasing Department is to achieve the lowest total cost while providing control over required materials and services necessary for efficient company operations. Utilization of Lean principles such as Kanban, visible pull system, VMI, and Consignment are all important aspects of the position.

This position is responsible for purchasing materials for valve and fittings production, maintenance items, consumable welding supplies, bottled gases, office supplies, as well as, negotiating maintenance contracts.

Production materials include such items as castings, plate, bar stock, valve components, and other production items. Maintenance items include all materials necessary to support production to maintain plant operations.  He/she is also responsible for negotiating and issuing purchase orders or contracts for lawn and office building maintenance and refuse and garbage scheduled pickups and other services as required.

Vendors range in size from very small to major corporations and are located in all parts of the globe.  The incumbent reviews bills of material, KanBan cards or requisitions to ensure accuracy and that company personnel signing the requisitions are so authorized to commit company dollars.  He/she sends out inquiries to several vendors asking for quotes prior to order placement or writes purchase orders from historical information based on frequent rebuys, contracts or blanket orders.  The incumbent negotiates with vendors concerning price, service, quality and delivery.  In addition, he/she processes claims, as required, for defective materials.

This position is in frequent contact with personnel outside the company (vendors).  Within the company, frequent contact is maintained by personnel from Engineering, Accounting, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Production Control, Inventory Control, Shipping, Receiving, and Maintenance.

The position is responsible for ensuring that suppliers are selected in the best interest of McKenzie Valve with regard to price, delivery, service, and quality, as well as establishing and continually promoting a positive relationship between the incumbent and supplier(s) to gain the company a favored position. 

The incumbent works to meet internal and external customer expectations at all times by fully applying oneself to the task involved, preventing errors, and developing and implementing personal quality improvement projects.  In addition, the incumbent is required to understand the Responsible Care Management System and actively participate in the activities outlined therein.

In order to perform the essential functions of the job, the incumbent must possess, at a minimum, the following skills and abilities:

• Willingness and ability to wear safety equipment such as, but not limited to safety shoes, safety glasses, and ear plugs.
• Ability to see and hear the visual and audio safety warnings in the plant.
• Have vision correctable to 20/20 for inspection activities.
• Ability to travel outside of the normal place of work via car, train and/or airplane.
• Possess communication skills (hearing and speech) to answer the telephone and take and give messages and orders in a clear and understandable manner.
• Ability to operate a computer to access and maintain purchasing information on the computerized purchasing system.
• Possess written and verbal communication skills to give instructions in a clear and understandable manner to co-workers and suppliers.
• Strong negotiation skills are necessary to work with vendors to ensure the best pricing, quality and
• delivery.