Purchasing Agent

Job Summary

Responsible for collaborating with various levels of hospital personnel to explore alternatives and negotiate with vendors for the acquisition of various commodities such as inventory, non-hospital supplies, capital equipment, furnishings, etc. to insure standardization and value.

Job Responsibilities

• Coordinate, negotiate, and order supplies and capital equipment. Act as liaison between vendors and hospital.
• Consult with manufacturers, vendors, and sales representatives in the procurement of supplies. Assist with the issuance, analysis, and other functions necessary to obtain bids and/or pricing from vendors and potential vendors for supply items.
• Interact with vendors to resolve issues such as back orders, substitutions, delivery errors and stat requests. Make independent data driven decisions to resolve these matters, to include operational and purchasing situations.
• Establish and maintain hospital supply database to insure accurate transmittal of EDI orders.   Place orders with external vendors by determining vendor, establishing pricing, and utilizing materials management systems to place order.
• Resolve purchase order and invoice discrepancies with Accounts Payable, internal customers, and vendors. 
• Provide data analysis on Purchase Orders with assistance. 
• Use PC based communication, label generation, database, EDI and spreadsheet programs to ensure that proper documentation, ordering and receiving of supplies are accomplished.
• Respond to inquiries from internal customers regarding materials acquisition.
• Coordinate recall notifications and product defect reports.
• Provide information to Value Analysis Committee regarding alternative supply options and perform value analysis price comparisons.
• Complete tasks to include generator, collector, analyzer, user, and/or enterer of data and/or information. Meet specific skills required as detailed in the attached competency/skills list.
• Back-up responsibility for replenishment process for PAR (Periodic Automatic Replenishment System) and non-PAR areas and items, development, creation, and maintenance of hospital-wide departmental inventories, periodic counting, EDI order transmission, material receipt and replenishment systems, carrying out receipt and distribution activities, and courier services and coordination of internal and external mail services.
• Perform other duties as requested.

Education Requirements

• Minimum: High School diploma required.
• Preferred: College Degree preferred

Experience Requirements

• Minimum: Three (3) years purchasing experience
• Preferred: Five (5) years purchasing experience in a hospital setting