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Purchasing Assistant Job Description: Top Duties and Requirements

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A Purchasing Assistant, or Procurement Agent, coordinates the purchase of products and materials for an organization. Their duties include building and maintaining relationships with vendors and suppliers, conducting market research to identify the best quality materials, products and prices, and handling all company administrative responsibilities related to purchases, order tracking, purchase agreements, and product records.

Purchasing Assistant duties and responsibilities

A Purchasing Assistant must be well-versed in the type of products and supplies a company needs and the key suppliers and vendors that can supply them. Primary duties and responsibilities of a Purchasing Assistant usually include:

  • Maintaining strong relationships and long-term purchasing agreements with suppliers and vendors
  • Keeping open lines of communication with vendors
  • Maintaining accurate inventory records
  • Determining purchasing needs based on sales numbers
  • Staying up-to-date with industry trends
  • Comparing product deliveries with issued purchase orders to ensure there are no discrepancies

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Purchasing Assistant Job Description Examples:

Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines
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What does a Purchasing Assistant do?

A Purchasing Assistant maintains the inventory levels for an organization’s products and is responsible for negotiating deals with potential vendors and suppliers. A Purchasing Assistant is also responsible for understanding company policies and procedures, and matching them against purchasing and organizational agreements on supply inventory levels. An important task of a Purchasing Assistant is to conduct regular price comparisons to ensure that the company gets the best value for products purchased. Their core objective is to ensure the company’s operations run smoothly without product shortages or delays in fulfilling orders.

Purchasing Assistant skills and qualifications

A Purchasing Assistant must have the necessary skills and qualifications to meet set company goals. Some qualities to seek in a Purchasing Assistant candidate include:

  • Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
  • Excellent negotiation and customer-service skills
  • Knowledge of, and experience in, effective supply management and related work
  • Ability to conduct market comparisons, monitor trends, and identify potential suppliers

Purchasing Assistant experience requirements

The ideal candidate for the role of a Purchasing Assistant would usually have a minimum of three years experience in a purchasing role, and may also be well-versed in the specifics of supply management. This is essential to be able to perform the required purchasing related tasks.

Purchasing Assistant education and training requirements

Most applicants interested in the position of a Purchasing Assistant will have a high school diploma or equivalent, but a candidate with an associate degree or higher is generally preferred. They should also be well-versed with supply management software, purchase agreements, and purchase orders.

Purchasing Assistant salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a Purchasing Assistant is $18.93 per hour in Canada. Wages may vary dependent on experience, location, and company.

Job description samples for similar positions

If a Purchasing Assistant is not quite what you’re looking for, here are a few other job description samples that may fit your needs:

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Purchasing Assistant job description FAQs

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