Procurement Planning Assistant / Specialist

Role Overview

Planning and Purchasing

• Develop procurement plans from business requirements, demand forecasts, inventory levels, and operational schedules.
• Prepare procurement schedules, purchasing plans, material requirement plans, and procurement forecasts.
• Review purchase requisitions and assist with converting approved requirements into purchase orders.
• Monitor purchase orders and delivery of materials, products, equipment, and services.

Supplier Coordination

• Request and evaluate supplier quotations, commercial proposals, specifications, delivery terms, and pricing.
• Support supplier selection, evaluation, price comparison, negotiation, and procurement decisions.
• Monitor supplier performance, delivery reliability, quality, lead times, and service levels.
• Follow up on delayed orders, shortages, backorders, incorrect quantities, quality issues, and delivery discrepancies.

Inventory and Analysis

• Coordinate with warehouse and inventory teams to monitor stock levels and replenishment requirements.
• Identify shortages, excess inventory, slow-moving items, supply risks, and opportunities to optimize inventory.
• Analyze procurement data, consumption patterns, supplier lead times, pricing trends, and purchasing requirements.
• Monitor procurement KPIs, cost savings, purchase-order cycle time, on-time delivery, and purchasing accuracy.

Reporting and Compliance

• Prepare procurement reports, purchasing forecasts, supplier-performance reports, spend analysis, order-status reports, and management summaries.
• Assist with procurement budgets, spend forecasting, cost analysis, expenditure monitoring, and cost-saving opportunities.
• Maintain procurement records, supplier information, contracts, quotations, orders, invoices, and transaction history.
• Update ERP, procurement, inventory, and supplier-management systems and support audits and compliance checks.

Qualifications

• Diploma or bachelor's degree in procurement, supply chain management, logistics, business administration, operations management, finance, or a related field.
• Previous procurement, purchasing, supply-chain planning, inventory management, or sourcing experience is preferred.
• Good understanding of procurement processes, purchasing cycles, inventory planning, demand forecasting, and supply-chain operations.
• Ability to manage multiple purchase requirements, suppliers, orders, deadlines, procurement plans, and stakeholders.

Skills and Systems

• Strong analytical, numerical, organizational, planning, problem-solving, communication, negotiation, and coordination skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Advanced Excel skills are advantageous, including data analysis, formulas, pivot tables, reporting, and procurement tracking.
• Familiarity with ERP, MRP, procurement-management, inventory-management, or supplier-management systems is advantageous.

Additional Knowledge