Purchasing Coordinator · December 2025 to November 2026
Daniela, this is what I plan to say on Thursday, written down so that nothing in the room is a surprise. Read it before we meet and mark anything you disagree with. It stays a draft until we've talked.
The workshop stopped for missing material on 4 days this year. Last year it was 14. Most of that difference is your work.
Of your four goals, two were met, one was missed by a day and one was finished 11 weeks late.These are the goals we agreed last December. Each one has its numbers, and where the numbers come from.
Evidence: the production log, December 1 to November 27. Three of the four days were the drawer-runner shortage, June 9 to 11. The fourth was a maple delivery in October that arrived too wet to use and went back. The two weeks of safety stock you set up in February for oak, ash and walnut is why there were no others.
Evidence: the average from order to delivery across this year's 112 hardwood orders. Oak fell to 11 days after you brought in a second supplier in April. Ash still takes 21 days from our only supplier, and that is what kept the average above 14.
Evidence: the monthly cost report from finance. Lumber prices rose about 6% this year, and our material cost per finished piece rose 1.4%. The lacquer contract you renegotiated in March saves $18,600 a year and closed most of that gap.
Evidence: 64 items now reorder themselves at a set level, and the shared spreadsheet is retired. It slipped because you were doing it alone, in the same month as the June shortage. Part of that is mine. I set the date and didn't free up any of your time.
Three things I'd want any new hire to learn from you, each with the moment I saw it.
In January you noticed that walnut use had doubled since the new dining range launched, and you raised the reorder level before anyone asked. We didn't run out of walnut once this year.
When the drawer-runner supplier missed its June 8 delivery, the next date they offered was June 24. You had 400 pairs here on June 11, thirteen days sooner, and the workshop restarted on the 12th.
Your supplier sheet covers 38 suppliers, with contacts, lead times and minimum orders. Because of it, Anton covered your two weeks away in August without calling you once.
Neither is about effort. Both are about not carrying everything yourself.
I learned that the inventory move was at risk on June 22, a week before it was due. By then there was nothing I could move. Next year, send me two lines on the day a date starts to look doubtful. Raising it early won't count against you. Hearing late is the only thing I can't fix.
My side: I'll ask about dates at every one-to-one, and stop assuming that quiet means fine.
Nearly all of this year's 1,240 purchase orders went through you. It's why your August leave needed a two-page handover, and it keeps you typing in orders when you could be on the phone getting better prices. Anton is ready to take the routine ones.
December 2026 to November 2027. These are proposals. If they're the wrong goals, we change them on Thursday.
| Goal | How we'll know | By |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer stops again | 3 days or fewer stopped for missing material, counted from the production log. | Nov 2027 |
| A second ash supplier | Approved and delivering, with the hardwood average at 14 days by the end of the year. | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Hand over routine orders | Anton places every reorder under $2,000, and you place fewer than half of all purchase orders. | Jun 30, 2027 |
| One for you | A negotiation course of your choice, booked by this date. The company pays, up to $1,200. | Jan 29, 2027 |
What I'll do: from January, Anton has four hours a week set aside for purchasing. You and I keep a one-to-one every two weeks.
Pay isn't part of Thursday. Salaries are reviewed for everyone in January, and this review is one of the things that decision looks at.
After we talk I'll update this page with what we agreed, and the office keeps a copy on your file.
Leon Whitaker
Operations Manager, Spokeshave Furniture