IT Buyer

Description

Reporting to the Manager, IT Process & Service Delivery, the IT Buyer is responsible for providing procurement services to the organization for all IT hardware, software, & IT associated items, across all three regions in Canada, Texas and Colorado. Adherence of corporate purchasing policies, supporting IT to reduce costs, and motivation to strategically source for IT and cost optimization is strongly expected.

Accountabilities

The IT Buyer is responsible for ensuring compliance with all IT processes and procedures for purchasing equipment, materials, components, supplies and services within their assigned area with upmost confidentiality and integrity.

The IT Buyer is responsible for assisting with the removal of barriers and issues impacting attainment of scheduled production and delivery of parts, deliverables, and services while ensuring compliance with company policies, procedures, and safety requirements. They are responsible for escalating any issues that cannot be resolved at their level to the IT Process & Delivery Manager.

The IT Buyer is responsible for managing complex purchase requests, quotes, bids, and proposals. They are expected to effectively handle multiple projects which involve contracting for specialized services, difficult one-time orders, or major acquisitions within the scope of IT. The IT Buyer acts as a liaison between the IT Service Desk Team, managers and IT personnel for procurement procedures, order status, and issue resolution.

Responsibilities

Strategic Procurement

Purchase IT materials, assets, and services in accordance with company procurement practices, while identifying opportunities to generate value. Compile and analyze data to determine feasibility of buying IT products under national or regional blankets and to establish price objectives in accordance with budgeted/proposed item costs. Complete periodic spend analysis to identify savings opportunities and operational efficiency: compile information from various sources including suppliers to maintain information on price trends and outside processes which determine lowest costs consistent with quality, reliability, and ability to meet required schedules. Achieve and document savings and cost avoidances. Participate in strategic sourcing activities.

Vendor Management

Lead cross-functional teams and work closely with suppliers to achieve superior levels of performance in quality, delivery, cost management and service across multiple sites. Liaise between the supplier and the company to facilitate the new supplier onboarding process to ensure all vendor, prequalification, and transactional data is captured prior to set up. Review and evaluate bids and proposals and advise the best suppliers. Advise departments of local and national cost-effective alternatives. Produce a justification report when applicable. Assist in finding qualified bidders. Prepare and coordinate all aspects of procurement solicitations including contracts, terms and conditions, scope of work, insurance, bonding requirements, compliance with state and federal regulations and pre-bid meetings. Negotiating pricing and terms with vendors, including setting up regional blankets where beneficial. Participate in the supplier savings and automation initiatives. Conduct on-site reviews of supplier facilities to assess process capability, capacity, and business management practices. Encourage practices that will have our key suppliers view us as customers of choice. Facilitate maximum usage of supplier resources and concepts.  Collaborate with key suppliers.

Regional Compliance and Support

Conduct regular Site Spend reviews to analyze and improve the use of purchase requisition structure, purchase order structure, P-card purchases, annual framework/lump sum POs, 2-way and 3-way matching, and spend channels. Reconcile Purchase Orders and deliveries to ensure PO lifecycle maintenance and timely closure to limit RNV. Communicate with regional VP/GM’s, Area Managers, and Operations Coordinators to set goals/objectives, resolve issues, offer assistance, and identify improvement opportunities to add value to the company. Utilize preferred suppliers to drive savings and ensure the national agreements are meeting the needs of the field. Follow-up on reported vendor issues within targeted timeframes Support the management of communication and training for field personnel pertaining to the P2P process. Validate purchase requests in Buyer queue and generate POs in Oracle Fusion in a timely manner (24-48 hours for non-critical purchases). Contribute to keeping blanket purchase agreements and other procurement managed ordering functions up to date. Produce required monthly reports. Maintain effective working relationships with production, fleet, operations, accounts payable, legal, IS, and tax. Financial forecasting and budgeting for the IT department. May be assigned divisional level responsibilities as well.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The Buyer must possess strong knowledge of procurement processes, procedures, technical/quality requirements, and performance metrics. A Bachelor’s degree in an applicable field such as Business, Finance, Supply Chain Management, or Procurement is preferred. Applicants with sufficient industry experience will also be considered. A working understanding of aggregate and/or ready-mix equipment and components would be considered an asset. The Buyer must be capable of effectively utilizing or learning how to use information technology tools which includes Oracle Fusion ERP system and other related systems. The Buyer must have the working knowledge and experience to forecast and budget financial aspects of the IT function. The Buyer must be capable of analyzing and evaluating trends and recommending vendors for preferred vendor status. The Buyer must have experience in negotiations with vendors. The Buyer must be capable of analyzing standard procurement contract language. The Buyer must have strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of levels of management and operations. The Buyer must be capable of prioritizing workload and making administrative/procedural decisions and judgments.

Core Competencies

Strategic Agility Focuses on “future state”, understands trends, anticipates barriers. Effective Team Building Fosters open dialogue, creates strong morale, shares successes Creative Thinking Offers unique ideas for improvement of processes/policies/operation Customer Focused Acts as a client advocate, deep understanding of stakeholder requirements Quality Decision Making Combines analysis with judgment and experience to make sound decisions Results Driven Day-to-day work drives toward achieving goals.

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