Co-ordinate the supply chain from the manufacturer/supplier to the required Ashtons delivery location:
* Ensuring ‘right product, right place, right time’, to meet the customer service objectives,
* Within the finished goods stockholding parameters,
* To support the maximisation of the company’s sales, profits and customer service levels,
* By managing and processing purchase orders and non-conformance claims.
The role is instrumental in Ashtons’ budgeted revenue, savings and profit rate, as well as the identification and minimisation of financial risk, i.e. factors that will have a negative impact on revenue, savings, profit rates and customer service levels.
Principal Accountabilities
* To manage, review and process all aspects of the purchase order processing of pharmaceutical products, medical supplies and other sundry products & requirements, including (but not limited to):
* Purchase order requisitions and adjustments
* Problems related to purchase orders
* Managing stock levels and re-order levels
* Monitoring and co-ordinating delivery times to ensure we hold sufficient, but not excessive stock, to fulfil all sales orders.
* Assist in planning for, and de-risk special events such as Christmas, Easter and Bank Holidays.
* Under supervision of senior members of Procurement team and Dispensary, regular review of re-order levels (ROL), usual order quantities (UOQ), Min-Max quantities and stockholding of Wholesale and Dispensary to minimise overstocks/shortages, and co-ordinate an action plan to de-risk.
* Communicate any long-term delays/out of stocks (and estimated back in stock dates, where possible) to the appropriate stakeholder.
* Awareness of outstanding sales orders (‘owings’) and the effect of late deliveries/out of stocks on them.
* Ensure supplier non-conformances are resolved with the appropriate functions, by co-ordinating supplier returns (where applicable), as well as providing ongoing support to Ashtons’ Finance department in obtaining credit notes.
* Regular and structured management of suppliers, when applicable, or as advised by Head of Procurement.
* Making commercially viable decisions, including (not limited to):
* Taking into account additional costs associated with a purchase (e.g. transport/storage costs),
* Reviewing high value purchase order requisitions and escalating if necessary.
* Updating buying prices and informing the relevant stakeholders, where applicable, under supervision of senior members of Procurement team.
* Ensure all sourcing activity is fully compliant with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) under supervision of senior members of Procurement team.
* Provide timely, relevant and accurate information and reports to the relevant internal or external stakeholders in relation to the procurement process, in particular SFD and Pending reports.
* General support of the Procurement Department function, including (not limited to):
* Undertaking any other appropriate duties as may be requested by the Head of Procurement or Senior Buyer,
* Providing the necessary cover in absence of another Procurement team member,
* Continuous review of processes in the Procurement department, ensuring the function works as efficiently as possible.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
* A high degree of numeracy, accuracy and attention to detail (essential).
* Clear communication skills are required – the ability to clearly convey information and ideas (essential).
* Excellent organisational and administrative skills (essential).
* Comfortable using Microsoft Office applications at a basic level, especially Excel, Outlook and Teams (essential).
* Information monitoring – the ability to identify problems and to take remedial action.
* Customer focus – making internal and external customers and their needs the primary focus of one’s actions, and developing and sustaining customer relationships.
* Managing conflict – dealing efficiently with others in an antagonistic situation.
* Stress tolerance – maintaining stable performance under pressure (such as time pressure or job ambiguity), handling stress in a manner that is acceptable to others in the organisation.
* Work standards – setting high standards of personal performance.
* Experience as a Supply Chain Planner/Demand Planner/Supply Optimiser (desirable, not essential).
* Understanding the principles of stock management (desirable, not essential).
* Pharmaceutical/medical supplies industry background (desirable, not essential).
* Technical knowledge (systems proficiency), a working knowledge of Sage (desirable, not essential).
Key Dimensions
* Responsible for own portfolio of suppliers. There are an average number of 130 active suppliers per planner.
* Responsible for all product lines. There is an average number of 6.5k active lines, and the number of active lines reviewed per week per planner is roughly 2.5k.
* High potential impact on sales turnover, savings and profit rate.
Key Working Relationships
* Senior Buyer
* Ashtons Goods In warehouse team
* Ashtons Dispensary team
* Ashtons Customer Service team
* Ashtons Finance team
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