Purchasing Specialist

Purchasing Specialist

Department : Procurement / Supply Chain
Reports To : Director, Procurement and Supply Chain
Location : Minneapolis MN 55413


Position Summary
The Procurement Coordinator will support day-to-day procurement operations by converting approved purchase requisitions into purchase orders, following up with vendors on order status, and providing clear communication to internal stakeholders. This role is intended to help the Procurement team maintain transactional flow, improve visibility to open orders, and support timely updates on PO status, vendor confirmations, delivery dates, and related metrics.

Key Responsibilities
• Review approved purchase requisitions for completeness, accuracy, required documentation, supplier information, pricing, and delivery requirements.
• Convert approved purchase requisitions into purchase orders in the clients D365 ERP system in accordance with internal procurement procedures.
• Send purchase orders to suppliers and obtain order acknowledgments, delivery confirmations, and updated lead times.
• Follow up with vendors on open purchase orders, late orders, pricing discrepancies, missing acknowledgments, and shipment status.
• Communicate PO status, vendor updates, delivery risks, and issue resolution progress to internal requestors and Procurement team members.
• Maintain accurate PO notes, status updates, expected delivery dates, and supplier communications in the ERP system or tracking files.
• Assist with daily or weekly reporting on PR-to-PO activity, open PO status, overdue supplier responses, and other basic procurement metrics.
• Escalate supplier issues, pricing conflicts, delivery delays, or missing information to the appropriate Procurement team member.
• Support clean and consistent procurement records for audit readiness, invoice matching, and internal visibility.

Required Qualifications
• Previous experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain, order processing, customer service, or administrative coordination.
• Experience working with and transacting in an ERP system.
• Ability to work accurately with purchase requisitions, purchase orders, supplier information, pricing, quantities, and delivery dates.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow established processes.
• Comfortable communicating with vendors and internal stakeholders by email, phone, or system comments.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Outlook.
• Ability to manage multiple open items, follow up consistently, and keep clear records of status and next steps.
• Professional communication style and ability to escalate issues appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience using an ERP, purchasing, or procure-to-pay system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Coupa, Ariba, or similar.
• Experience converting purchase requisitions into purchase orders.
• Experience with vendor follow-up, order acknowledgments, expediting, or open order management.
• Basic understanding of procurement workflows, approval requirements, invoice matching, and supplier documentation.

Skills and Competencies
• Transactional accuracy and strong data entry discipline
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Follow-up discipline and sense of urgency
• Ability to prioritize open items and manage daily workload
• Problem solving and issue escalation
• Comfort working in structured business systems and tracking tools
• Customer-service mindset when supporting internal requestors

Expected Deliverables / Success Measures
• Approved PRs are converted to POs accurately and in a timely manner.
• Open POs have current vendor acknowledgment, status, and expected delivery information.
• Internal stakeholders receive timely updates on order status, delays, and next steps.
• Procurement leadership has basic weekly visibility to PO activity, open items, and follow-up metrics.
• Issues requiring buyer, manager, or stakeholder action are escalated promptly.

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