Fastco’s Purchasing Department

Fastco’s Purchasing Department’s unofficial mantra is “What we need, when we need it, and what provides the best value to Fastco.”  We do this by keeping inventory levels accurate and appropriately stocked, predicting future demand for tooling, supplies, and similar items, and finding an appropriate level of quality while negotiating the best price/value balance to sustain ongoing operations.  As the gatekeeper of the discretionary spend, this mindset has driven quantifiable savings year over year for the company, and every dollar not spent is a dollar on the bottom line!  We can’t forget our decentralized buyers either, in maintenance and accounting, who have significantly reduced cost in the Maintenance Department and office supply categories.

In addition to the purchasing function, our shuttle operators’ staging of jobs for the headers and watchful eye over inventory levels keeps us ahead of the game and limit tooling related downtime to a minimum.  Our two shuttle operators (Ginny Beld & Tracy Eno) have both been the backbone of our data collection and recording over the past few years which is critically important to ID requirements, and their participation in streamlining processes and standardizing our inventory will pay dividends well into the future.

Communication is critical, not only for the Purchasing Department, but to the entire company. We encourage all departments to ask for what they need and to notice discrepancies and/or and bring them to our attention.

Overall, I am extremely appreciative of my team’s self-motivation and task management.  It’s a good feeling to know we’re all working to move the Purchasing Department in the same direction with the same goals in mind.

by Aaron Headrick, Purchasing Manager