Jr Purchasing Analyst

SUMMARY

The Purchasing Analyst I supports the Purchasing and Supply Chain teams by maintaining reports, monitoring inventory performance, validating data accuracy, and assisting Buyers with day-to-day analytical tasks. This role helps identify purchasing opportunities and inventory risks while learning the systems, processes, and vendor relationships that support effective replenishment and inventory management.

The Junior Purchasing Analyst serves as a key support resource by gathering data, preparing reports, researching exceptions, and providing actionable insights that improve inventory availability, purchasing efficiency, and vendor performance.

OPERATING APPROACH

The Analyst absorbs investigation work so Buyers don’t have to. Raw data dumps and weekly reports are not the deliverable — a pre-sorted action list is. Each recurring audit should produce a short list of items that need attention, the diagnosed cause, and a suggested action. The Analyst flags; the manager decides and executes; the Buyer is consulted where their knowledge is required, but never bottlenecked by the analytics workload. Where a recurring pattern emerges, the Analyst codifies it into an SOP that strengthens future buying decisions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Vendor, Supplier, and PO Performance

• Assist Buyers with purchase order tracking and follow-up activities. 
• Monitor open purchase orders and report delayed shipments. 
• Maintain vendor records, lead times, and purchasing data within company systems. 
• Support vendor scorecard reporting and supplier performance tracking. 
• Research backorders and assist with resolution efforts. 
• Prepare vendor meeting materials and supporting analytics.

Inventory Analysis

• Monitor inventory levels and identify potential stock-out or overstock situations. 
• Assist in maintaining inventory health reports. 
• Track top-selling out-of-stock items and communicate findings to Buyers. 
• Review discontinued products and identify inventory or open-order issues. 
• Support inventory transfer and warehouse balancing recommendations. 
• Help identify inventory trends and opportunities for improvement.

Reporting and Data Management

• Generate recurring purchasing and inventory reports. 
• Validate data accuracy across purchasing, inventory, and vendor systems. 
• Maintain dashboards and reporting tools used by the Purchasing team. 
• Compile weekly KPI reporting packages. 
• Assist with ad hoc data requests from Purchasing, Operations, Finance, and Leadership. 
• Identify reporting errors and escalate issues as needed.

Forecasting & Replenishment Support

• Assist in monitoring sales velocity and inventory demand trends. 
• Support replenishment reviews by identifying unusual demand patterns. 
• Research products experiencing significant sales increases or declines. 
• Help maintain replenishment parameters and system settings. 
• Participate in seasonal planning and forecasting activities. 

Process Improvement

• Document purchasing procedures and reporting processes. 
• Identify opportunities to improve reporting efficiency and data accuracy. 
• Assist with testing new reports, dashboards, and process improvements. 
• Support purchasing projects and cross-functional initiatives.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Accuracy and timeliness of recurring reports. 
• Purchase order follow-up completion rates. 
• Inventory exception reporting accuracy. 
• Data quality and maintenance compliance. 
• Timely resolution of assigned purchasing and inventory investigations. 
• Support of service-level and inventory health objectives.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, Analytics, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• 0–2 years of experience in purchasing, inventory management, supply chain, operations, finance, or analytical roles. 
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills including: 
• Pivot Tables 
• VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP 
• Basic formulas and data analysis 
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with ERP, purchasing, or inventory management systems. 
• Basic SQL, Power BI, or reporting tool experience. 
• Internship or work experience in retail, distribution, manufacturing, or e-commerce. 
• Familiarity with inventory management concepts and purchasing processes.

DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS

• Analytical and detail-oriented. 
• Curious and eager to learn supply chain operations. 
• Comfortable working with large datasets. 
• Strong problem-solving mindset. 
• Collaborative team player. 
• Self-motivated with a willingness to take ownership of assigned work. 
• Able to translate data into clear recommendations.

TOOLS & SYSTEMS

• Microsoft Excel — advanced (pivots, lookups, dynamic arrays, structured workbooks).
• ERP or replenishment system 
• BI / dashboarding 
• SQL or equivalent query language (preferred).
• Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).