Purchasing Specialist

We are looking for a Purchasing Specialist to support material flow for a manufacturing operation in Plymouth, Minnesota. This Long-term Contract position focuses on securing timely delivery of purchased materials, maintaining strong supplier coordination, and helping internal teams stay aligned with production priorities. The role works closely with planning, manufacturing, quality, and sourcing partners to reduce supply risk, improve visibility to open orders, and keep critical materials available for business needs.Responsibilities:• Issue and maintain purchase orders while confirming pricing, terms, required documents, and delivery details before release.• Track supplier acknowledgements and follow up to secure timely confirmation on open orders and committed ship dates.• Accelerate urgent material orders when needed to protect production schedules and customer demand.• Investigate and resolve shortages, delayed shipments, and order discrepancies through direct supplier communication and internal coordination.• Review open purchase orders regularly to identify overdue deliveries and obtain updated commitments or recovery plans from suppliers.• Communicate supply risks, schedule changes, and priority shifts to stakeholders across planning, manufacturing, quality, and sourcing teams.• Update purchasing records, delivery dates, and related master data in SAP to maintain accurate material status information.• Prepare and share reports on backlog, late orders, critical shortages, supplier responsiveness, and on-time delivery performance.• Participate in shortage reviews and escalation discussions to support fast resolution of material constraints and production issues.