Shopping is different from ordering!
Ensuring production can continue starts with smart purchasing. Anticipating, remaining critical, and taking action as soon as something threatens to go wrong.
As an Operational Purchaser at Kwant Controls in Sneek, you ensure that the right materials are available at the right time. You keep an eye on inventory, prices, and delivery times, and you have daily contact with suppliers in the Netherlands and abroad. In addition, you go beyond what the system indicates. You assess for yourself whether the need and order quantity are logical, keep price and delivery time under control, and signal when something deviates. If a delivery is about to be late or a price is incorrect, you investigate what is going on and take action.
In short: a practical purchasing function in which you make independent decisions, have extensive contact with suppliers, and take responsibility for the smooth running of daily purchasing.
What are you going to do?
At Kwant, you don’t just buy parts. Kwant develops its nautical instruments and control systems itself. Many of the parts are designed by its own engineers and then produced by suppliers according to drawings and specific requirements. This means you have to deal with a lot of customization, where price is just as important as quality and delivery reliability.
You purchase a wide range of technical components. A large part consists of turning and milling work/CNC machining and PCBs/printed circuit boards. In addition, you will also be dealing with sheet metal work, plastics, gears and scale plates, among other things.
As an Operational Buyer, you are at the heart of the organization. In addition to daily contact with suppliers, you work closely with colleagues from Purchasing, Planning, Warehouse, Production, Assembly, Engineering, and Quality. This means you are very familiar with the technology and know what is happening in production.
Specifically, you are involved in, among other things:.
- Evaluating the material needs and placing and monitoring purchase orders;
- Checking order confirmations for price, quantities and delivery times;
- Actively engage with suppliers when deliveries threaten to slow down;
- Solving shortages, shortcomings and other delivery problems;
- Monitoring stock levels and critically reviewing order parameters and order quantities;
- Maintaining good relationships with suppliers in the Netherlands and abroad;
- Detecting price deviations, delivery risks and structural problems;
- Keeping up-to-date of article, supplier and purchasing data in Exact;
- Contribute to thinking about how the purchasing process can be made smarter, more efficient, and better.
What do we offer?
- Salary €3500 to €5000
- Vacation days / ADV / ATV27 vacation days and 13 paid leave days for full-time employees
- A profit-dependent annual allowance
- Bike or walking allowance of €0.35 net per kilometer or car allowance of €0.19 net per kilometer
- Location: Sneek
Who are we looking for?
For this role, we are looking for someone who enjoys being at the heart of daily purchasing practices and who thrives on interacting with suppliers, technology, and production. You enjoy taking on new challenges, switch easily between tasks, and feel responsible for what comes your way. If something doesn’t go as planned, you don’t wait for someone else to solve the problem; instead, you go out and investigate on your own.
You work independently, keep an overview when several things are at the same time in play, and are precise in what you do. You easily connect with suppliers: you pick up the phone, ask the right questions, and dare to approach a supplier about, for example, price or delivery time. In addition, you are cost-conscious, but you also know that a good supplier relationship, quality, and delivery reliability are at least as important as the lowest price.
Perhaps you are already working as an Operational Purchaser or Technical Purchaser. You can also find a good fit in another role, for example if you already have experience as a purchasing assistant or work preparation assistant in the operational purchasing process.
In addition, you bring along
- Relevant experience with procurement and a good knowledge of the operational procurement process;
- Interest in technology and preferably experience in a technical production or manufacturing environment;
- An independent, proactive and solution-oriented way of working;
- Good communication skills in Dutch and sufficient command of English;
- Experience with ERP systems, experience with Exact is a plus;
- Good Excel and data skills and an interest in modern AI tools.
What do we offer?
You’ll find yourself in a close-knit and engaged team, with a pleasant and informal working atmosphere. The work environment is lively and there’s often a lot happening at the same time. That’s when colleagues come together to support each other.
Do you have a question or would you like to learn more about a technical aspect? There are plenty of colleagues who are happy to share their technical knowledge with you. That makes Kwant also an environment where you can learn a lot about products, suppliers, and technology.
At the same time, you get a lot of freedom and responsibility in your own work. Kwant is growing and professionalizing, and people who want to join in are looking for opportunities to do so. Do you see that something could be done smarter or more efficiently? Then there is room to take that on board and start working on it yourself.
In addition, you can count on
- A one-year contract with the prospect of a permanent employment relationship for 32 to 40 hours per week;
- A salary of €3,500 to €5,000 gross per month based on 40 hours, depending on your knowledge and experience;
- 40 free days per year (27 vacation days and 13 ATV days);
- An attractive annual profit-sharing scheme;
- Participation in the SME pension scheme;
- A bicycle allowance of €0.45 per kilometer or a travel expense allowance of €0.25 per kilometer starting at 10 kilometers of commuting travel.
About Kwant Controls
Working at Kwant Kwant Controls means working at a Friesian company with a global impact. From Sneek, Kwant has been developing, assembling, and supplying high-quality nautical instruments and control systems for the international maritime sector for almost 90 years. You can therefore find Kwant’s technology on ships all over the world; from cruise ships to naval vessels.
With approximately 100 employees, Kwant is large enough to lead internationally, but compact enough to keep the lines short. With a strong in-house R&D organization, the company continues to invest in quality, reliability, and technological innovation. Despite the international playing field, Kwant has maintained the involvement of a family business. People know each other, and decisions can be made quickly.
The fact that Kwant has built something special was highlighted in 2025 with the election as the Friesian Company of the Year. In the coming years, the company will continue to move forward. Kwant is growing, further professionalizing, and working towards a modern new construction site in Sneek. This is a wonderful phase to join and continue growing together with Kwant!
Interested?
Are you the Operational Procurement Manager who likes to be in the driver’s seat, has a forward-looking mindset and takes action when necessary? Then we would be happy to get to know you! For more information, please contact Sandra Haak at 06 – 836 200 24 or apply directly via solliciteren@wierenga-degraaf.nl
For the recruitment & selection of this vacancy, they Kwant Controls exclusively work with Wierenga & De Graaf.