Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
All the products people use in their daily lives are manufactured in factories, which is why factories are among the most important institutions in any country in the world. A factory is a place or building that houses a number of workers working in specific departments to manufacture a product that people need, using machinery designed for that purpose. Every factory has a manager responsible for everything that happens in it, along with supervisors overseeing the different departments. Among the most important people hired within any factory are purchasing agents, because they're the ones who handle buying the machinery the factory needs, as well as purchasing the raw materials needed to manufacture any product. Purchasing agents don't just work in factories, though — they can also work at many institutions that need someone to handle purchasing their external supplies, such as hospitals that need someone to handle buying medical devices and equipment.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
- Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
- Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history.
- Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
- Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
- Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives.
- Monitor shipments to ensure that goods come in on time, and resolve problems related to undelivered goods.
- Confer with staff, users, and vendors to discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services and determine corrective action.
- Evaluate and monitor contract performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and to determine need for changes.
- Maintain and review computerized or manual records of purchased items, costs, deliveries, product performance, and inventories.
- Review catalogs, industry periodicals, directories, trade journals, and Internet sites and consult with other department personnel to locate necessary goods and services.
- Study sales records and inventory levels of current stock to develop strategic purchasing programs that facilitate employee access to supplies.
- Hire, train, or supervise purchasing clerks, buyers, and expediters.
- Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
- Monitor changes affecting supply and demand, tracking market conditions, price trends, or futures markets.
- Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
- Attend meetings, trade shows, conferences, conventions, and seminars to network with people in other purchasing departments.