Procurement Clerks

Job purpose

To compile the information and records needed to raise purchase orders for materials and services and to place, track and settle those orders with suppliers, so that the organisation obtains what it has requisitioned on time, to specification and within its purchasing rules.

Skills

• Practical knowledge of purchasing administration — requisition and purchase order procedure, invitation-of-bid documentation, order tracking, invoice checking and payment, and inventory replenishment — with a command of the organisational and governmental rules affecting purchases, order costing and the purchasing systems used. A high school diploma is the most common qualification, with a substantial minority holding a bachelor's degree, competence being built largely through on-the-job training.
• Deals with suppliers daily by telephone and e-mail to place orders, schedule or expedite deliveries and resolve shortages, and interviews them about products to be ordered. Explains purchasing rules to staff and vendors, answers enquiries about order status and cancellations, and works alongside the departments raising requisitions.
• Compares prices, specifications and delivery dates to determine the best bid among potential suppliers, reconciles suppliers' bills against bids and orders, and resolves errors in requisitions before they become orders. Judges whether inventory quantities will meet needs and when to reorder, and monitors contractor performance, recommending contract modifications where necessary. Problems are practical and recurring, with rules and precedents available.
• Keeps a live picture of the status of requisitions, contracts and orders, working to delivery dates set by others and under time pressure when a shortage bites, with a good deal of freedom over the order of the day's work.
• Desk and screen-based work, with attendance at goods receipt to check shipments against orders and specifications. No lifting or dexterity demands beyond this.

Responsibilities

• Line management is not an established part of the role, though may train and supervise subordinates and coordinates others where an order or delivery requires it. Acts as the procurement point of contact for requisitioning departments and for suppliers.
• Prepares purchase orders and issues them to suppliers and originating departments, calculates order costs, charges or forwards invoices to the appropriate accounts, and approves and pays bills once verified against bid and order. Buying duties are performed where necessary and the best bid identified, but every order is placed under purchasing rules and delegated limits set by others; no budget is held, no purchasing strategy set and no contract terms negotiated.
• Determines whether inventory quantities are sufficient and orders more materials when needed, checks incoming shipments for correct fulfilment and conformity to specification, and monitors in-house inventory movement, completing transfer forms.
• Maintains and reviews the purchasing files, reports and price lists, keeps the record of requisition, contract and order status, and holds current knowledge of the rules in order to advise staff and vendors. Exactness in order and invoice detail is central and decisions taken on this information affect co-workers and company results, though the records follow formats set by others.

Effort required

• Close attention to specification, price, quantity and delivery detail across many orders, where a mis-keyed line becomes a wrong delivery. Routine purchasing decisions are taken frequently and on own initiative, with time pressure when supply fails.
• A large volume of contact with suppliers and internal requesters about shortages, delays and invoice discrepancies, calling for persistence and an even manner. No exposure to conflict situations or unpleasant behaviour is recorded.
• Predominantly seated work. No lifting or exertion.

Working conditions

• An indoor, environmentally controlled workplace with no material hazards, though the work is done in close physical proximity to others. Contact is frequent, including with external customers and suppliers, and psychosocial demand is limited.
• Nearly all incumbents work a regular established schedule, a small proportion on irregular patterns following production or contract demands and some on part-time hours. Purchasing rules and delegated limits govern what may be done, but within them tasks and priorities are set with considerable freedom, and decisions carry consequences for co-workers and company results.