In your most recent role, describe your end-to-end process for raising, approving, and issuing purchase orders, and how you ensured accuracy between requisition, PO, delivery note, and supplier invoice.

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VirtualInterview.AI · Accepted Answer

In my last role as a purchasing coordinator, I managed the full PO cycle for about 200–250 POs per month, mainly food and consumables. It started with a requisition from operations, usually through our ERP. I’d first validate specs, quantities, and budget codes, then check against par levels and historical usage to avoid over-ordering.

Once it passed my checks, it went through a two-step approval: department head, then finance if it exceeded a set threshold (typically anything above $5,000). After approval, I created the PO in the system, sent it to the supplier, and logged expected delivery dates.

On receipt, I matched the delivery note line-by-line against the PO: item, quantity, unit price, and any substitutes. Any discrepancy over 2% or $100 triggered a query. When the invoice arrived, I did a three-way match (requisition/PO, delivery note, invoice) before approving for payment. That process cut invoice discrepancies by about 35% within six months.

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