Customer Care & Procurement Specialist

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Sales Order & Procurement Specialist is the primary point of contact for sales order entry and coordination. This position owns the accuracy and timely progression of sales orders from receipt through entry, purchasing, pricing validation, fulfillment follow-up, and issue resolution. The role connects Sales, Operations, Accounting, customers, and vendors to ensure orders, costs, purchase orders, and receipts are complete, accurate, and visible to the appropriate teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sales Order Ownership & Coordination 

• Serve as the first point of contact for Sales regarding sales order entry, order status, required documentation, and order-entry questions. 
• Enter sales orders accurately and promptly, validating customer, ship-to, item, quantity, unit of measure, pricing, freight, requested delivery date, and special instructions before release. 
• Track upcoming and open sales orders, maintain visibility of required dates and order status, and proactively follow up on missing information, inventory constraints, or other issues that could delay fulfillment. 
• Own the order-entry workflow through completion, including confirming that changes, holds, backorders, substitutions, and cancellations are communicated and correctly reflected in the system. 
• Maintain organized records of customer purchase orders, approvals, pricing support, and order changes. 

Order Accuracy & Accountability 

• Review orders for completeness and accuracy before they move to purchasing, production, warehouse, or delivery planning. 
• Take ownership of order-entry errors by responding quickly, coordinating correction, documenting the cause, and implementing a reasonable prevention step when a recurring issue is identified. 
• Track order-entry discrepancies and recurring errors to identify process or training improvements. 
• Escalate material pricing, inventory, delivery, or customer-impacting risks promptly to the appropriate Sales or Operations leader. 

Pricing & Cost Controls 

• Apply established customer pricing rules and verify that sales-order pricing matches approved quotes, contracts, or pricing records. 
• Validate vendor pricing on purchase orders against current vendor quotes, acknowledgments, contracts, or approved cost records. 
• Track and investigate pricing and cost discrepancies, coordinate corrections with Sales, Accounting, or vendors, and maintain supporting documentation. 
• Communicate pricing changes or discrepancies before orders are processed whenever practical, and ensure approved updates are reflected accurately in the system. 

Purchasing & Vendor Coordination 

• Create and submit purchase orders to vendors accurately and on time based on approved sales orders, inventory requirements, and internal direction. 
• Serve as a vendor liaison for PO acknowledgments, lead times, order changes, pricing discrepancies, shortages, damages, and delivery issues. 
• Monitor open purchase orders and proactively communicate late, incomplete, or at-risk deliveries to internal stakeholders. 
• Maintain accurate vendor, item, cost, quantity, and expected-date information in the applicable systems. 

Specialized Receiving & Inventory Support 

• Receive designated items that require a more detailed or delicate receiving process, verifying quantities, item details, condition, supporting paperwork, and system accuracy. 
• Coordinate resolution of receiving discrepancies with the warehouse, Accounting, Sales, and vendors before incorrect information moves downstream. 
• Support facility transfers, priority items, and inventory-related follow-up as assigned. 

Communication & Process Improvement 

• Maintain clear, professional communication with customers, vendors, Sales, Operations, Accounting, and warehouse teams. 
• Develop and maintain practical order-entry checklists, customer-specific ordering notes, and vendor-specific purchasing instructions. 
• Provide reporting or updates on upcoming sales orders, open POs, pricing discrepancies, order-entry errors, and unresolved exceptions as requested. 
• Recommend process improvements that increase order accuracy, reduce rework, and improve communication across departments. 
• Orders and purchase orders are entered accurately, completely, and within expected turnaround times. 
• Upcoming orders, open POs, pricing discrepancies, and fulfillment risks are tracked and communicated proactively. 
• Errors are corrected promptly, documented appropriately, and used to improve the process. 
• Daily inboxes and assigned order-entry queues are reviewed and cleared before the end of the workday, with unresolved urgent items clearly handed off or escalated. 

SCHEDULE & AVAILABILITY 

Standard schedule is Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. This schedule is intended to support the employee's flexibility while meeting business needs. Before ending the workday, all assigned inboxes and order-entry queues must be reviewed and cleared, or any unresolved time-sensitive items must be communicated and appropriately handed off. Occasional flexibility may be required for urgent business needs. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Relevant experience in sales order entry, customer service, purchasing, procurement, inventory, or business operations; an associate or bachelor's degree is preferred but not required. 
• Strong attention to detail, follow-through, organization, and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. 
• Ability to take ownership of work, identify discrepancies, communicate issues, and coordinate solutions across departments. 
• Professional written and verbal communication skills with customers, vendors, and internal teams. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, particularly Outlook and Excel; experience with ERP, order-management, purchasing, or inventory systems is preferred. 
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds as needed for designated receiving or operational support tasks. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling customer pricing, vendor costs, and internal business information. 
• Adapt to evolving duties and processes as the company and department grow. 
• Maintain a team-oriented mindset while demonstrating clear ownership of assigned responsibilities.