Purchasing assistants must maintain good relationships with the organization’s vendors. They perform market research to get the best deals for the company and ensure timely delivery of products and materials.

Here are some examples of duties:

• Working with the purchasing manager to run the purchasing department
• Performing vendor research and selection to enhance profitability, reducing operating costs and boosting efficiency
• Maintaining cordial working relationships with vendors and supervising vendor activities
• Signing and reviewing purchasing agreements with vendors, monitoring their performance and renegotiating contracts
• Using quarterly and annual data to determine purchasing needs and performing inventory management
• Managing purchase orders, overseeing shipping schedules and maintaining purchase records
• Working with warehouse staff to compare deliveries with purchase orders to identify discrepancies
• Conducting ongoing market research to identify beneficial purchase agreements and potential vendors