Operational Buyer (SAP)

Nippon Sanso is one of the leading companies in the industrial and medical gases business in Europe. Serving over 150,000 customers and 350,000 patients across 14 countries, we offer a comprehensive range of gas-based solutions tailored to sectors including healthcare, food, electronics, manufacturing, chemicals, electronics, and energy among many others.

We are hiring for our Procurement department an Operational Buyer who will be responsible for ensuring the effective execution of procurement activities across assigned categories, supporting the implementation of procurement strategies and delivering operational excellence while ensuring compliance with internal and external regulations.

The role will report to the Procurement Manager UKI and to the Operational Procurement Manager Europe, ensuring alignment between local procurement activities and European operational procurement standards.

The role will act as the key link between procurement strategy and operational execution, ensuring that purchasing activities, supplier performance, and transactional processes are managed efficiently and consistently. The Operational Buyer will be responsible for managing purchase orders, supporting sourcing activities, monitoring supplier performance, resolving procurement-related issues, and ensuring compliance with approved category strategies.

Working closely with internal stakeholders, suppliers, European Category Managers, and the Operational Procurement Manager European team, the Operational Buyer will ensure continuity of supply, support cost control initiatives, maintain accurate procurement data, and drive process improvements across the procure-to-pay cycle.
Main Responsibilities: 
This position plays a key role in ensuring that procurement strategies defined by the Regional team and the European Category Managers are effectively executed at local level, delivering compliance, continuity of supply, operational efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction. Main responsibilities would be as follows:

• Ensure the effective execution of procurement activities in line with approved category strategies and procurement policies.
• Manage day-to-day purchasing activities, including purchase requisitions, purchase orders, supplier communications, order tracking, and issue resolution.
• Support stakeholders in sourcing goods and services through approved suppliers and contracted agreements.
• Work closely with European Category Managers to support the implementation of category strategies and sourcing initiatives.
• Act as the link between local business stakeholders, European Category Managers, and the Operational Procurement Manager Europe to ensure procurement strategies are effectively implemented and executed.
• Monitor supplier performance related to service levels, quality, delivery, and responsiveness, escalating issues where required.
• Act as the primary point of contact for operational procurement matters across assigned business areas.
• Ensure accurate procurement data and documentation are maintained within SAP/SAP S/4HANA and other procurement systems.
• Support tendering and sourcing activities by coordinating quotation requests, supplier communications, commercial evaluations, and documentation.
• Monitor compliance with procurement procedures, contracts, preferred suppliers, and purchasing guidelines.
• Follow up on open purchase orders, overdue deliveries, goods receipt issues, invoice discrepancies, and supplier-related operational challenges.
• Collaborate with finance, engineering, maintenance, operations, and other functional teams to ensure smooth procurement processes.
• Track procurement KPIs and contribute to reporting on supplier performance, savings delivery, compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Support supplier onboarding, risk assessments, and contract administration activities.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements, automation, cost optimization, and increased procurement effectiveness.
• Promote procurement best practices and support continuous improvement initiatives across the business.