Senior Buyer / Purchasing Agent - International Purchasing & Inventory

Brimar Industries is seeking an experienced Senior Buyer / Purchasing Agent to join our procurement team. This is a senior, hands-on purchasing position within a small team, working closely with our Director of Strategic Sourcing.

We're looking for someone who can take ownership of the purchasing process from beginning to end, including personally creating and managing purchase orders, negotiating with suppliers, coordinating international inbound shipments with freight forwarders and customs brokers, calculating landed costs, and working with Finance on inventory-in-transit reporting.

While this position provides guidance and support to other purchasing team members, it is not solely a supervisory or strategic sourcing role. The successful candidate must be comfortable executing day-to-day purchasing responsibilities directly while serving as a senior resource to the team.

The ideal candidate is organized, analytical, detail-oriented, and proactive, with the ability to manage competing priorities, solve problems independently, and work effectively across departments.

Key Responsibilities

Purchasing & Purchase Order Management

• Personally create, place, and manage purchase orders for assigned products, materials, and suppliers.
• Evaluate purchasing requirements based on inventory levels, sales forecasts, supplier lead times, replenishment needs, and business priorities.
• Monitor open purchase orders, confirm delivery schedules, and proactively address delays, shortages, backorders, and discrepancies.
• Expedite critical orders to maintain appropriate inventory levels and support operational requirements.
• Review purchase orders placed by other purchasing team members to help ensure accuracy in quantities, pricing, terms, and delivery schedules.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier information, pricing, lead times, and order details within company systems.
• Coordinate with Operations, Warehouse, Sales, and other internal departments to address purchasing priorities and inventory requirements.

International Purchasing & Inbound Logistics

• Coordinate international inbound shipments from overseas suppliers, from order placement through delivery.
• Work directly with freight forwarders, customs brokers, overseas suppliers, and other logistics partners to facilitate timely and accurate shipments.
• Monitor international shipment schedules and proactively address delays, documentation discrepancies, customs issues, and other potential disruptions.
• Calculate and maintain landed costs for imported products, including product costs, freight, duties, tariffs, customs fees, and other associated expenses.
• Review international supplier, freight, customs, and related invoices for accuracy before submission to Accounting for payment.
• Maintain accurate international purchasing and shipping documentation, including commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, and other relevant records.
• Communicate shipment status, expected arrival dates, delays, and potential supply risks to internal stakeholders.
• Partner with Finance to ensure accurate landed-cost information is reflected in inventory costing and related financial reporting.

Supplier Management & Negotiations

• Develop and maintain productive relationships with domestic and international suppliers.
• Negotiate supplier pricing, purchasing terms, lead times, and other commercial conditions within established sourcing strategies.
• Work directly with suppliers to resolve pricing discrepancies, quality concerns, shortages, delivery issues, and other purchasing challenges.
• Monitor supplier performance, including pricing, quality, delivery reliability, and responsiveness.
• Identify recurring supplier issues and escalate significant concerns to the Director of Strategic Sourcing when appropriate.
• Support supplier evaluations, sourcing initiatives, and negotiations by gathering pricing, lead-time, minimum order quantity, and supplier capability information.
• Collaborate with the Director of Strategic Sourcing to support the execution of broader procurement and global sourcing initiatives.

Inventory Reporting & Financial Support

• Prepare and maintain the monthly inventory-in-transit report, providing accurate and timely information to Finance for the monthly financial close.
• Track goods in transit, including purchase order details, shipment status, quantities, expected receipt dates, and associated costs.
• Work closely with Finance to reconcile inventory-in-transit information, investigate discrepancies, and support accurate inventory reporting.
• Monitor inventory levels, purchasing activity, open purchase orders, and incoming shipments to support inventory planning and replenishment.
• Assist with inventory reconciliation, including discrepancies involving purchase orders, receipts, invoices, and inventory records.
• Support reporting and analysis related to excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Assist with physical inventory counts, cycle counts, and related reconciliation activities as needed.
• Provide purchasing, inventory, landed-cost, and supplier analysis to Finance and management as requested.
• Help ensure purchasing and inventory information maintained within company systems is accurate and complete.

Purchasing Team Support & Process Improvement

• Serve as a senior resource to other purchasing team members, providing day-to-day guidance, assistance, and support.
• Help resolve purchasing, supplier, and internal coordination issues that require additional experience or judgment.
• Review purchasing activities and help ensure established processes and procedures are consistently followed.
• Develop, document, and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), purchasing guidelines, and related reference materials.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing processes, reporting accuracy, documentation, and departmental efficiency.
• Share purchasing knowledge, best practices, and process improvements with other members of the team.
• Work closely with the Director of Strategic Sourcing to implement purchasing initiatives and process improvements.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive, hands-on purchasing or buying experience, preferably within a manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, or other inventory-driven business.
• Demonstrated experience personally creating and placing purchase orders , managing open orders, expediting deliveries, and resolving purchasing issues.
• Experience purchasing from international suppliers and coordinating inbound shipments with freight forwarders, customs brokers, and other logistics partners.
• Practical knowledge of landed-cost calculations, including international freight, duties, tariffs, customs charges, and other import-related expenses.
• Experience working with Finance or Accounting on inventory-related reporting, reconciliation, or financial close activities.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, replenishment planning, purchasing requirements, and supplier lead times.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating pricing, terms, and delivery requirements with suppliers.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret purchasing, inventory, costing, and financial information.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience using ERP, MRP, purchasing, or inventory management systems.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy, particularly when reviewing costs, invoices, purchasing records, and inventory data.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with suppliers and internal departments.
• Ability to work independently, take ownership of issues, and follow them through to resolution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a manufacturing or distribution environment involving physical inventory and multiple product categories or SKUs.
• Experience independently preparing monthly inventory-in-transit reports and supporting month-end inventory reconciliation.
• Experience reviewing international shipping and customs documentation and resolving import-related discrepancies.
• Familiarity with international shipping terms, import procedures, and the financial components of overseas purchasing.
• Experience developing SOPs, purchasing guidelines, and process documentation.
• Previous experience serving as a senior resource, lead, or mentor to other purchasing professionals.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who understands that successful purchasing requires more than simply placing orders. The right candidate will take ownership of the entire purchasing process, anticipate potential problems, communicate effectively, and follow through until issues are resolved.

This individual should be equally comfortable negotiating with an overseas supplier, personally placing purchase orders, coordinating an international shipment, reviewing landed costs, preparing inventory information for Finance, and helping a teammate resolve a purchasing issue.

As a senior member of our purchasing team, this person will play an important role in supporting Brimar's day-to-day operations while working closely with the Director of Strategic Sourcing to execute the company's broader procurement objectives.