Purchasing Manager

Our client has an excellent opportunity for an experienced Purchasing Manager to join their team in Inverness.
The Purchasing Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing a purchasing strategy to support sales growth, the management of cash flow and increased profitability. They will also lead, motivate, engage and develop a purchasing team to ensure the most effective service is in place to support the needs of the business. Duties include:
Build strong and effective relationships with key suppliers to ensure they are aware of our business objectives and understand our business needs.
Agree and set out service level agreements with key suppliers and monitor purchase order timescales to ensure agreed price, rebate and timescale terms are being met.
Undertake profitability reviews of existing contracts and re-negotiate or amend as required.
Working in conjunction with managers and buyers, research and ascertain the best products available to meet customer requirements ensuring best value, quality and delivery times and, where possible, have a product range that means the business is a ‘one stop shop’.
Liaise regularly with the Showroom and Branch Managers and Product Managers to understand product ranges, identify missing stock items and be aware of customer or staff feedback regarding products.
Be aware of and understand the requirements and terms of relevant buying groups.
Attend seminars and trade conferences to ensure awareness of up-to-date trends, products and suppliers.
Through discussion with managers throughout the business to understand their specific requirements, be able to influence product distribution and ensure that the Company’s inventory management strategy maximises sales order fulfilment, reduces stock holding and improves stock accuracy.
Maintain an overall view of stock levels, working with buyers and product managers to minimise surplus stocks, ensure the removal of obsolete raw materials and ensure that old stock is managed out of the business in a timely manner at maximum value.
Ensure that inventory management processes with respect to ordering and purchasing of stocks, are effective monitoring system exception reports to ensure timely clearance of issues.
Manage control measures to ensure mistakes, inaccuracies and discrepancies and highlighted, addressed and resolved.
Ensure exception reports are actioned and buying parameters are maintained and corrected.
Analyse supplier performance and produce reports and statistics on spending and cost saving.
Provide agreed reports, data and narrative to the Senior Management Team on a monthly basis.
Lead, coach and develop the purchasing team to ensure the best use of individual skills.
Set clearly defined objectives, conduct annual appraisals and identify training needs for the team.
Set product purchasing authority levels and ensure each team member is aware of those levels.
Ensure that the purchasing team advise internal and external sales teams of additional billing costs for services such as carriage and packing.
Ensure that the purchasing team respond in a timely and effective manner to all enquiries from suppliers and internal and external sales teams.
Person Specification
Be a highly commercial manager able to communicate effectively at all levels within the organisation and with proven experience in managing a team with the ability to motivate and engage them.
Proven experience in a similar role and able to demonstrate significant understanding of purchasing/inventory processes, measures and controls.
Possess excellent communication skills and have the ability to negotiate effectively with suppliers and colleagues.
Have a detailed understanding of Economic Order Quantity ordering.
Adopts a highly analytical and methodical approach with high attention to detail and the ability to solve problems.
Excellent IT skills.
Membership of a recognised Purchasing body.
Prior knowledge of a similar organisation and/or industrial products.
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