What are the responsibilities and job description for the Purchasing Manager position at Leeps Supply Company?
Position: Purchasing Manager
Department: Purchasing and Pricing
FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports to: CFO
Job Summary
The Purchasing Manager is responsible for leading the company’s purchasing and pricing function to support profitability, market competitiveness, and customer satisfaction. This role provides strategic direction, oversight, and accountability for inventory purchasing, vendor management, and pricing operations, ensuring alignment with company objectives and market conditions.
The Purchasing Manager oversees purchasing activities to ensure materials are procured in a timely manner and at the most favorable cost while also directing pricing strategies, policies and execution to maintain competitive positioning and margin objectives. This position analyzes vendor pricing, market trends, product costs, and sales activity to support informed purchasing decisions and effective pricing management.
Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, the Purchasing Manager works closely with our marketing, sales, and operations team to identify opportunities that drive growth, profitability, and operational efficiency.
Essential Functions
- Responsible for the strategic leadership, oversight, and performance of the Purchasing and Pricing Department, including establishing goals, priorities, and accountability measures.
- Develops, implements, and maintains company pricing strategies to support profitability, competitiveness, and customer value.
- Monitors market conditions, competitive pricing trends, vendor cost changes, and margin performance to recommend pricing adjustments and purchasing strategies.
- Oversees pricing administration, ensuring accurate and timely maintenance of product costs, sell prices, contracts, promotions, and customer-specific pricing programs.
- Maintaining and strengthening ongoing relationships with existing suppliers including attending supplier meetings and negotiations of pricing of current and new products to ensure that we maintain market competitiveness at all times.
- Collaborates with company leadership in the evaluation and selection of vendors, assessing supplier performance, quality, service, and overall value. Identifies vendor-related risks and opportunities and provides recommendations to the CFO regarding supplier performance, retention, and potential alternatives.
- Partner with sales, operations, and marketing teams to evaluate pricing opportunities, promotional programs, and market initiatives that support company objectives.
- Evaluates inventory reorder levels and quantity price breaks to determine most economical purchasing of inventory in relationship to company’s cost of capital.
- Attains the target for overall inventory turns per year.
- Analyzes trends in vendor pricing and sales activity to determine correct timing of purchases.
- Maintain accurate purchase order prices and vendor cataloging.
- Prepare ad-hoc reports and reviews forecast of purchasing commitments with CFO.
- Monitoring supplier orders to maximize buying group incentives and overall company profitability.
- Provides leadership, coaching, and direction to the purchasing and pricing team members while ensuring departmental objectives are achieved through effective planning, communication, and accountability.
- Identifies opportunities for process improvement, automation, and operational efficiencies within purchasing and pricing functions.
- Performs other purchasing or inventory control responsibilities as needed or requested.
Work Experience
- Demonstrated success with budgeting and managing inventory, including auditing, forecasting, and planning
- Proven history of profit and loss management to maximize financial performance
- Effective listening, communication (verbal and written), and negotiating skills
- Demonstrated integrity and ethical standards
- Strong project management and multi-tasking skills
- Demonstrated competency hiring, developing and evaluating employees to achieve corporate and personal objectives.
- Advanced knowledge of Eclipse ERP or similar system and related reporting tools, with the ability to leverage system capabilities to support purchasing and pricing decisions.
- Strong understanding of inventory management principles, vendor negotiations, pricing administration and margin management.
- 10 years of progressively responsible experience in purchasing, pricing, supply chain, or related business functions.
- 3 years of leadership or management experience.