S&S Activewear · 2 months ago
Purchasing Agent (PRIME Division)
Chicago, IL, US
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level
7+ years expS&S Activewear is a leading North American distributor of imprintable apparel, and they are seeking a Purchasing Agent for their PRIME division. The role involves supporting relationships with suppliers and internal departments, ensuring timely execution of purchasing tasks, and assisting in cost and quality improvement initiatives.
ApparelFashionLifestyle
Responsibilities
Ensure the day-to-day tasks of the purchasing department are being executed in a timely fashion, including, but not limited to, parts issues, quality concerns, supplier issues, process changes, etc
Work closely with Senior Purchasing Manager on cost reduction, inventory reduction and quality improvement initiatives involving both external and internal customers/suppliers
Assist in Engineering Change Orders (ECO) process, purchasing involvement from initiation to production line through completion
Coordination with Engineering to correct system and Bill of Materials (BOM) issues
Identification of problem areas, initiate corrective actions and establish problem resolution dates
Issue purchase orders and ensure that material is delivered in optimal quantities and at the right time while maintaining high quality standards as designed to this specific role
Work with supplier to mitigate delivery issues that could cause a disruption to the production line. Communicate delivery issues to other departments as necessary in a timely manner as relevant to assigned projects or tasks
Resolve and justify all purchase price variances (PPV)
Work with Quality department to resolve any First Article (FA) and Project related supplier issues
Support other buyers with difficult requests and quotes
Assist in recommending planning parameters based on LT, EOQ and MOQ
Directly supports Customer Service and Production teams
Complete other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of real-life working experience as a buyer required
7 years' experience in purchasing and acquisition or other related to this position
3 years' Manufacturing experience required
3 years' experience in New Product Introduction experience required
Experience with various commodity sourcing
Familiarity with understanding technical data sheets, material data sheets and part drawings
Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills, team building skills, and analytical skills
Demonstrated negotiation skills creating positive relationships with suppliers
Ability to problem solve complex issues and make effective decisions
Ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently and efficiently
Proficient computer skills including MS Office applications, mainframe applications and purchasing/accounting processes
Company
S&S Activewear
S&S Activewear is a leading, technology-enabled apparel and accessory distributor in the US and Canada, with 4M+ sq ft of warehouse space.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
S&S Activewear has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1)
2022 (1)
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
unknown2021-01-20Acquired
Leadership Team
Christopher Kodosky
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Alaina Brooks
Chief Legal Officer
Recent News
2025-08-08
Gildan Activewear, Inc.
2025-08-06
Company data provided by crunchbase