Purchasing Associate

Oshkosh Corporation, Inc.; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 51,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

Pierce Manufacturing, part of Oshkosh, is seeking a Purchasing Associate to coordinate daily purchasing activities for aftermarket parts and inventory replenishment. The role focuses on PO administration, supplier communication, and data accuracy to ensure high order fill rates and timely deliveries.

Ideal candidates have a minimum of 1–2 years in aftermarket purchasing, ERP experience, and strong Excel skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Logistics, or related field, or an equivalent combination.
• 1–2 years in aftermarket parts purchasing, wholesale distribution, or inventory coordination.
• Experience with ERP/MRP platforms for PO entry, supplier inquiry, and tracking.
• Excel proficiency with VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, pivots for large order reports.
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to negotiate and resolve discrepancies.

Responsibilities

• Create, review, issue, and maintain purchase orders for aftermarket parts.
• Manage supplier order books, track unacknowledged orders, and adjust as needed.
• Expedite high-priority and emergency orders with vendors.
• Investigate PO-to-invoice price discrepancies with Accounts Payable.
• Run weekly reports on open POs, OTD scores, and replenishment metrics.

Skills

Analytical skills

Supplier communication

Customer-centric urgency

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Logistics, or related field

Tools

ERP systems (JD Edwards, SAP, Epicor)

Microsoft Excel

Job description

About Pierce, an Oshkosh company

At Pierce Manufacturing, we build trucks that protect people and communities around the world. To our team, there is no room for anything less than providing the absolute best. Since 1913, building truck bodies on Model T Ford chassis in an old converted church has evolved to creating highly customized, carefully designed and engineering pumpers, aerials, tankers and rescue units that have no equal. Today, you'll find more than 30,000 Pierce apparatuses on the road that are making a difference in people's lives, every day. To us, every step in the process of building our trucks is personal. From innovation and expertise, to the customization and service. Our trucks are designed to perform under the toughest conditions.

The Purchasing Associate plays a critical role within the Aftermarket and Service Parts Supply Chain organization. This position is primarily responsible for coordinating and administering daily purchasing activities that support commercial parts distribution, customer service fulfillment, and inventory replenishment. The typical role manages supplier purchase orders, monitors open order pipelines, expedites critical and emergency customer requirements (including vehicle-down orders), and maintains purchasing data integrity. The ideal candidate pairs strong organizational and analytical capabilities with clear supplier communication skills to ensure high order fill rates, accurate commercial pricing, and rapid resolution of supply chain disruptions.

YOUR IMPACT

• Purchase Order Administration: Create, review, issue, and maintain purchase orders for aftermarket replacement parts, commercial components, and inventory replenishment.
• Order Book & Delivery Management: Proactively manage supplier order books, track unacknowledged orders, resolve delivery date slippages, and execute order defers, expedites, and cancellations based on customer demand shifts.
• Critical & Emergency Expediting: Interface daily with commercial suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors via phone, email, and supplier portals to accelerate high-priority orders and emergency customer service requests.
• Cost & Invoice Variance Resolution: Review purchase price variances (PPV), investigate PO-to-invoice price discrepancies alongside Accounts Payable, and verify supplier catalog pricing and discount terms.
• Reporting & Data Analytics: Run and analyze weekly open purchase order reports, supplier on-time delivery (OTD) scorecards, past-due order trackers, and inventory replenishment metrics.
• RFQ & Sourcing Support: Issue Requests for Quotation (RFQs) for commercial off-the-shelf components, standard hardware, and replacement parts; summarize vendor quotes, lead times, and terms to support purchasing decisions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Aftermarket Customer Service, Parts Sales, Warehouse & Logistics, and Accounting to communicate delivery ETAs, address backorders, and resolve receiving discrepancies.
• Continuous Improvement: Participate in supply chain optimization projects, supplier performance reviews, process standardization, and system enhancement initiatives.
• Travel: Minimal and infrequent (e.g., occasional regional supplier visits or corporate training).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Logistics, or a related field; OR an equivalent combination of education and direct purchasing/order management experience.

STANDOUT QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: Prior internship, co‑op, or 1–2 years of experience in aftermarket parts purchasing, wholesale distribution, retail supply chain, or inventory coordination.
• ERP & Systems Proficiency: Hands‑on experience navigating ERP/MRP platforms (e.g., JD Edwards, SAP, Epicor, or similar inventory systems) for purchase order entry, supplier inquiry, and order tracking.
• Analytical Tools: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, data filtering) to manage large order reports and track supplier delivery performance.
• Customer‑Centric Urgency: Strong sense of urgency and ability to prioritize competing customer order requirements in a dynamic, high‑mix distribution environment.
• Supplier Communication: Professional written and verbal communication skills with the confidence to negotiate lead‑time improvements, hold vendors to delivery dates, and resolve discrepancies.
• Detail‑Oriented: Exceptional organizational skills, accurate data entry, and thorough follow‑through on open orders and unresolved invoice inquiries.

#LI‑TM1 Pay Range: $51,400.00 - $79,200.00 The above pay range reflects the minimum and maximum target pay for the position across all U.S. locations. Within this range, individual pay is determined by various factors, including the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate's experience, education and skills, as well as the equity of pay among team members in similar positions.

Beyond offering a competitive total rewards package, we prioritize a people-first culture and offer various opportunities to support team member growth and success.

Oshkosh is committed to working with and offering reasonable accommodation to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to disability for any part of the employment process, please contact us at corporatetalent