Assistant Purchasing Manager

About the Role

Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) is seeking an Assistant Purchasing Manager to join their team in Makkah, with responsibilities covering Jeddah and Makkah. This full-time role is critical for sourcing and planning C-class raw and packaging materials, ensuring their on-time and in-full availability at competitive prices. The position involves supporting sourcing plans, identifying suppliers, negotiating terms, and resolving operational issues to maintain business continuity.

Key Responsibilities

• Source C-class SKUs by understanding business needs, identifying local/regional suppliers, obtaining samples and approvals, and securing regulatory documentation.
• Negotiate costs, pricing models, payment terms, warranty, service level agreements, minimum/economic order quantities, transportation costs, freight charges, and lead times with suppliers.
• Implement cost reduction programs by collaborating with stakeholders and ensuring planned execution.
• Manage material requirement planning, including converting production plans, updating planning parameters, generating accurate reports, and coordinating with suppliers for timely deliveries.
• Initiate and evaluate RFI/RFQ processes, preparing comparative analyses for supplier selection.
• Issue and expedite purchase orders, ensuring timely approval, calculating economic order quantities, and following up with suppliers for order confirmation and shipment plans.
• Ensure accuracy of shipping documents, proactively resolving issues, collaborating with customs clearance, and informing suppliers of regulatory changes.
• Provide inputs for budget preparations, share forecasts with suppliers, and monitor raw material availability.
• Manage inventory and resolve logistics challenges, including informing suppliers on load plans and mediating disputes between suppliers and warehouse teams.
• Gather supplier intelligence, identify technological developments and alternative suppliers, and support New Product Development (NPD).
• Develop alternate suppliers to identify cost improvement opportunities, introduce backup plans, and evaluate performance.
• Ensure contract and service level agreement execution, report non-compliance, escalate issues, and manage contract renewals.
• Maintain historical records and databases for suppliers, audit reports, approval documents, and contact details.
• Cultivate strong supplier relationships to ensure loyalty, cooperation, and optimal purchasing conditions, and coordinate dispute resolution.
• Support management by providing required reports, including monthly savings, consumption, order, and receipt reports.

Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 5-10 years of relevant experience in purchasing or supply chain management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage sourcing, negotiation, and supplier relationships effectively.
• Experience in implementing cost reduction programs and managing material requirement planning.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in the Makkah region, with operational scope covering Jeddah and Makkah. The role requires collaboration with various internal stakeholders and external suppliers to ensure efficient and continuous supply chain operations.