Prepare purchase orders and send copies to suppliers and to departments originating requests.
Determine if inventory quantities are sufficient for needs, ordering more materials when necessary.
Respond to customer and supplier inquiries about order status, changes, or cancellations.
Perform buying duties when necessary.
Contact suppliers in order to schedule or expedite deliveries and to resolve shortages, missed or late deliveries, and other problems.
Review requisition orders in order to verify accuracy, terminology, and specifications.
Prepare, maintain, and review purchasing files, reports and price lists.
Compare prices, specifications, and delivery dates in order to determine the best bid among potential suppliers.
Track the status of requisitions, contracts, and orders.
Calculate costs of orders, and charge or forward invoices to appropriate accounts.
Check shipments when they arrive to ensure that orders have been filled correctly and that goods meet specifications.
Compare suppliers' bills with bids and purchase orders in order to verify accuracy. Approve bills for payment.
Locate suppliers, using sources such as catalogs and the internet, and interview them to gather information about products to be ordered.
Maintain knowledge of all organizational and governmental rules affecting purchases, and provide information about these rules to organization staff members and to vendors.
Monitor in-house inventory movement and complete inventory transfer forms for bookkeeping purposes.
