Procurement & supplier desk · Fuel & propane distribution
Keep every tank covered at the best price.
Rack prices move every morning, and the buy gets made off a gut call from one supplier's sheet. The carrier invoice never gets reconciled against the rack quote.
The reality
Buying fuel is a timing problem.
Rack prices move every morning, basis swings on a cold snap, and the desk is juggling spot buys, supply contracts, and pre-buy positions across propane, #2 heating oil, and diesel. A late order means an emergency delivery at retail; a wrong one means paying spot when the contract had volume left. Then the carrier invoice arrives at a different price than the rack quote and nobody catches it.
The operator watches tank telemetry and forecasted demand, pulls the morning rack from every supplier, places the order against the right contract or spot position, confirms the BOL and delivery, and reconciles the supplier invoice line by line — flagging price, freight, and gallon discrepancies before the check is cut.
How the operator runs procurement & supplier desk
Supply desk · Terminal NE-3
forecasting- Tank telemetry synced — 14 sites
- 7-day degree-day forecast applied
- Propane bulk — 2.1 days of supply, reorder
01Read demand and inventory
Pulls tank telemetry and degree-day forecast, projects days-of-supply per terminal, and surfaces the tanks about to run dry.
Buy ticket PO-8842 · Propane
ordering- Rack pulled — 4 suppliers
- Supply contract has 6,000 gal remaining
- Order placed against contract — delivery confirmed
02Source and place the order
Compares the morning rack across suppliers, picks contract or spot, and places the order at the lowest delivered cost.
Invoice INV-2271 · Reconcile
reconciling- BOL gallons matched to invoice
- Contract price verified per gallon
- Freight surcharge $0.04 over quote — disputed
03Reconcile the invoice
Matches the supplier invoice to the BOL and contract price, flags freight and gallon variances, and clears the rest.
The outcome
−50% of procurement-desk hours off the team
Inventory covered at best available cost.
- No tank runs to emergency delivery because the reorder was missed
- Every buy made against the right contract or spot position, not a gut call
- Supplier invoice variances caught before the check is cut
Common questions
Procurement & supplier desk
- What does the Procurement & supplier desk operator do?
- The operator watches tank telemetry and forecasted demand, pulls the morning rack from every supplier, places the order against the right contract or spot position, confirms the BOL and delivery, and reconciles the supplier invoice line by line — flagging price, freight, and gallon discrepancies before the check is cut.
- What impact does the Procurement & supplier desk operator have?
- −50% of procurement-desk hours off the team. Inventory covered at best available cost.
- How does the Procurement & supplier desk operator work?
- Pulls tank telemetry and degree-day forecast, projects days-of-supply per terminal, and surfaces the tanks about to run dry. Compares the morning rack across suppliers, picks contract or spot, and places the order at the lowest delivered cost. Matches the supplier invoice to the BOL and contract price, flags freight and gallon variances, and clears the rest.
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