Procurement Assistant - 2025

Title : Procurement Assistant

Location : Houston, Texas

Who we are :

Voted one of the Nation's Best and Brightest Companies to Work for, Kuraray America, Inc. (KAI) is a global leader in specialty chemical, fiber, and resin production. With top-of-the-line research and production facilities and a vast network of supplies from around the world, Kuraray leads the industry in specialty dental, fiber, resin, and elastomer products. Kuraray America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuraray Company, Ltd. Based in Tokyo, Japan. Kuraray has operations in 32 countries and employs more than 11,000 employees, including over 800 in the United States.

Why Kuraray :

Kuraray is building a better tomorrow, today. Our team members are dedicated to expanding our business with committed professionals who share essential values such as integrity, excellence, teamwork, and accountability.

As a part of Kuraray America, Inc., our team shares the advantages of working for the leader in specialty chemicals, resins, and fibers. Our international presence and resources allow us to be a world-leading innovator in the industries we service. Yet, despite our size, our people are more than just a number. As a new team member, you can expect to earn responsibility quickly. Our commitment to our people is visible in our comprehensive benefits package. As a Kuraray team member, you will have the opportunity to enjoy competitive salaries and benefits, incentive opportunities, and an excellent work environment.

Position Summary :

The Procurement Assistant is responsible for defining results driven strategic sourcing strategies aligning with key performance objective. Pursues and qualifies new suppliers who meet Kuraray requirements and develops and maintains market intelligence to enable strategies required by Kuraray internal and external customers. This position also represents Kuraray in negotiations and works with diverse business teams to develop and implement strategies.

Responsibilities :

• Provide transactional support in the requisition to pay process in SAP
• Enter and issue purchase orders through in SAP
• Interpret contract pricing provisions, collect pricing data, and develop a spreadsheet for forecasting and auditing vendor prices.
• Establish and maintain a monitoring system for contract renewal and expiration dates. Work with Procurement Specialists to determine whether an agreement will be extended, canceled, or renegotiated.
• Resolve quality, service, supply, and invoicing issues with suppliers. Interface with both internal clients and external suppliers to resolve issues without leadership direction.
• Respond to critical delivery issues and use discretionary judgment to resolve issues in a prompt manner.
• Serve as key contact to handle day-to-day needs of the Sites, suppliers, and other functional groups. Use discretionary judgment to resolve issues that may arise.
• Responsible for sourcing and executing the procurement activity for assigned commodities.
• Responsible for quality on-time delivery and total cost for assigned commodities with intention of maximizing total value.
• Ensures un-interrupted supplies of MRO supplies and Services at the lowest possible cost on the market.
• Product sourcing of Chemicals, Packaging Materials, MRO supplies, and Services by interviewing suppliers to obtain price and specification information.
• Troubleshoot and resolve quality problems with suppliers.
• Resolve accounts payable discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Ensures data integrity in SAP as well as streamlining transactional elimination opportunities.
• Monitor supplier performance and participate in audit controls for the business unit.

Minimum Qualifications :

Competencies : Customer Focus

Business Insight

Cultivates Innovation

Action Oriented

Ensures Accountability

Drives Results

Collaborates

Values Difference

Communicates Effectively

Courage

Instills Trust

Situational Adaptability

We offer a competitive compensation package that includes base pay and an annual incentive. This program is designed to reward individual performance and align overall rewards with corporate and team performance.

Our employees benefit from a robust healthcare package that includes wellness reimbursements, along with generous perks such as three weeks of paid time off, ten company holidays, paid parental leave, education reimbursement, and a matching 401k plan, among other offerings.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.

Learn more at kuraray.us.com / careers /

Kuraray America, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity / disability / protected veteran status

No third-party candidates accepted.