Buyer

Job Title: Buyer Job Description
The Buyer supports procurement, inventory management, and vendor communications in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This role ensures that materials, supplies, and inventory are available to support daily operations while providing administrative support to the Purchasing Manager. It is well-suited for someone who enjoys working independently, thrives in a data-driven environment, and brings strong SAP and advanced Excel skills.
Responsibilities

• Create and manage purchase orders within SAP, typically handling 3-5 or more purchase orders per day.
• Monitor inventory levels and perform SAP transactions to track material availability and usage.
• Review inventory projections and purchasing requirements based on sales forecasts and operational demand.
• Coordinate purchasing activities for a wide variety of materials and supplies, including machine parts, packaging materials, product flavorings and ingredients, and office and operational supplies.
• Communicate directly with vendors regarding order status, quality concerns, delivery issues, and ongoing supply needs.
• Maintain accurate purchasing and inventory records through timely data entry and reporting.
• Generate, update, and analyze inventory-related reports using Microsoft Excel, including advanced functions.
• Partner with Quality, Operations, and Purchasing teams to address inventory and material concerns and support cross-functional initiatives.
• Provide operational and administrative support to the Purchasing Manager, including documentation, follow-up, and coordination tasks.
• Ensure all purchasing activities are completed accurately, on time, and with a high level of attention to detail.
• Collaborate closely with the supply chain leadership to align purchasing activities with broader supply chain strategies.

Essential Skills

• 3-5+ years of experience in purchasing, procurement, inventory control, supply chain, or a closely related field.
• Proven experience creating and managing purchase orders in a professional setting.
• Strong, hands-on SAP experience, including use of SAP transactional modules for inventory and purchasing activities.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables and VLOOKUP functions.
• Demonstrated ability to perform accurate data entry and maintain organized records.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort working in a data-driven environment with heavy computer use.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience supporting manufacturing, production, or distribution environments.
• Experience working with inventory forecasting and purchasing projections.
• Experience collaborating with diverse, multicultural teams.
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills are a plus.
• Strong communication skills for effective vendor and internal stakeholder interactions.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with Quality, Operations, and Purchasing teams.

Work Environment
This role operates primarily in an office-based, desk-focused setting with heavy computer and data-entry work. During the training period, the position is fully onsite with flexible hours within defined core timeframes. After training, the role offers a hybrid schedule with the opportunity to work from home two days per week while maintaining the same core hours. The environment is fast-paced and requires strong organization, multitasking, and comfort working with large volumes of data. The Buyer collaborates closely with supply chain leadership and cross-functional teams and has regular interaction with colleagues across multiple countries, including teams in Latin America. The organization emphasizes supportive leadership, a team-oriented culture, and a strong training and onboarding process, providing exposure to purchasing, inventory, quality, and vendor relations and offering significant growth potential within a large, collaborative company.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Shakopee, MN.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $35.00 - $40.00/hr.
Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Shakopee,MN.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Sep 25, 2026.

About Aston Carter

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.