Purchasing Assistant
manufacturing › Purchasing / Procurement · S1 — S1 — Support Associate · Support
An entry-level purchasing role that supports procurement staff with routine ordering and supplier documentation tasks.
Median pay · United States · annual
$38,510 USD
Typical range ()
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What this role is
An entry-level purchasing role that supports procurement staff with routine ordering and supplier documentation tasks. At the Support Associate (S1) level, the role owns a single task type or queue, routine, well-defined requests, and drives individual transactions. None.
What this level does
- Enter requisition and purchase order data into the procurement/ERP system from prepared source documents, following step-by-step instructions and checking each field against the requisition
- Match receipts and packing slips against purchase orders and flag discrepancies to a senior buyer for resolution
- Maintain routine transaction records — POs, receipts, payment records — filing and indexing them so they can be retrieved on request
- Prepare standard purchase orders for pre-approved, catalogued items using established templates and vendor lists
- Knowledge applied
- General knowledge of purchasing routines — how a requisition becomes a PO and how receipts are logged; applies specific instructions to each task.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Routine, prescribed data-entry and matching tasks where answers are readily available or referred to a senior.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Standard interactions within the procurement team; passes queries up rather than resolving externally.
- Typical experience
- 0–1 years; minimal experience.
Skills at this level
- Requisition-to-PO Processing
- — Converts approved requisitions into purchase orders — verifying approvals and account coding, selecting from approved vendor and catalogue entries, and issuing the PO through the procurement system.
- Procurement/ERP Data Management
- — Maintains requisition, PO, supplier master, catalogue and pricing data in procurement/ERP systems such as Oracle Procurement or Microsoft Dynamics GP so purchasing records stay accurate and retrievable.
- Three-Way Matching & Receipt Reconciliation
- — Matches purchase orders against packing slips/receipts and invoices, identifies short shipments, price and quantity mismatches, and reconciles them with vendors and receiving.
- Bid Solicitation & Quote Comparison
- — Requests quotes and bid proposals from suppliers and compiles them into a like-for-like comparison on price, quality, availability and delivery to support a buying decision.
- Supplier Research & Evaluation
- — Researches and evaluates suppliers on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability and production/distribution capability to inform sourcing of routine and non-catalogue items.
- Order Expediting
- — Tracks open purchase orders, chases late or at-risk deliveries with vendors, and judges when a supply timing gap threatens operations, escalating or re-sourcing as needed.
- Vendor Discrepancy & Dispute Resolution
- — Works directly with suppliers to resolve delivery misses, quality rejects, pricing errors and invoice disputes, escalating those that fall outside established procedure.
- Purchasing Procedure Documentation
- — Documents and standardizes purchasing procedures, PO templates and system workflows, and adapts or creates them for unprecedented situations within the procurement operation.
- ERP Purchasing Configuration
- — Sets up and troubleshoots the procurement system's approval routing, catalogue/punchout entries and vendor master data standards that govern how transactions flow.
- Purchase Order Record-Keeping
- — Maintains organized records of purchasing transactions, receipts and payments so that order history and audit evidence can be produced on request.
- Working Lead / Peer Guidance
- — Allocates and reviews the purchasing support workload, coaches less experienced clerks and buyers through non-routine transactions, and acts as the team's reference point without formal supervisory authority.
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As of · 2026-07-30
Edition · canon-v2@2.1.0-complete
Source · canon-v2 cell + salary-benchmark (model)
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