Purchasing Manager

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionDescription:

Hey Purchasing Leader,

Ready to jump into a role that’s all about driving success, building strong relationships, and making things happen? As a Purchasing Manager, you’ll lead a team in shaping the future of our procurement operations, with a focus on sourcing, inventory management, vendor relations, and supporting an outstanding customer experience in a dynamic distribution environment. You’ll be the catalyst for continued development of our amazing team, optimizing processes, and creating systems that meet company goals while championing quarterly rocks. We operate using the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework—check out the book Traction by Gino Wickman for more details. Whether it’s crafting strategies or collaborating with internal and external partners, your role is all about achieving big things with a team effort.

If you have the following, we want to connect with you:

• Strong leadership skills with a proven track record in managing and supervising teams
• Humility, integrity and immersing yourself into our family
• Background in distribution will help the learning curve significantly! Manufacturing or service background is great, but you will have a steep learning curve
• A proactive, problem-solving attitude and the ability to think outside the box
• A knack for clear communication and collaboration with internal teams, customers, and vendors
• Strong decision-making skills, even in fast-moving situations
• The love for data to create actionable plans
• Comfortable in an evolving environment where fast adapting is needed

We look forward to hearing from you!

PURPOSE:

The Purchasing Manager, under the direction of the Purchasing Director, is responsible for overseeing the procurement operations of the team, including sourcing, inventory management, vendor relations, and supporting the customer experience within a distribution environment. Developing people, processes, and systems to achieve key performance indicator goals, along with setting product category strategies and being a strategic partner (internally & externally), are necessary to achieve company objectives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Manage assigned supplier relationships and conduct all related procurement responsibilities for those suppliers
• Identify and develop new suppliers with the goal of providing the best overall value to our internal and external customers
• Hire, train, and coach Purchasing Agents on job performance standards
• Establish department objectives in accordance with the company goals
• Responsible for meeting or exceeding key performance indicators of GMROI, inventory turns, and fill rates, and driving department performance to achieve set goals
• Utilize our ERP and MRP systems to set inventory policies that achieve company and customer needs
• Maintain working knowledge of all Purchasing related processes and best practices and implement procedures that are pertinent to an efficient operation and enhanced customer experience
• Develop and utilize vendor performance score cards and create corrective action plans as needed
• Work with internal and external partners towards continuous improvement initiatives
• Partner with suppliers, Sales, Customer Service, and Warehouse Teams to resolve product receiving, quality, and vendor-return related concerns
• Assist in determining category strategies and set inventory policies to support those strategies
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and other teams to implement initiatives that align purchases and category focus towards strategic suppliers, Nassco brand initiatives, and category strategies
• Partner with Purchasing Agents to resolve supplier or procurement issues in a timely manner
• Lead and assist with vendor consolidation and SKU rationalization initiatives
• Negotiate best product costs, supplier programs, and rebates to support overall company profitability
• Create and support best practices for managing data and SKU hygiene within our ERP system
• Provide back-up support to Purchasing Team members as needed

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:

• Proven leadership with managerial and supervisory experience
• Self-starter and collaborator with a focus on serving and helping others
• Demonstrates proactive problem-solving initiative
• Capable of challenging conventional wisdom, being open-minded, innovative, and self-confident in the face of adversity
• Effectively communicate and respond to questions from internal leaders, customers, and other employees in a professional manner
• Make sound business decisions and judgments with or without management approval
• Ability to gather and analyze data, and create effective project plans and processes
• Productive in a fast-paced team environment

Requirements:

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical skills
• A courteous and professional demeanor with a strong positive attitude
• Distribution experience in the Jan/San, Packaging, and Foodservice industries are a plus
• Detail oriented, organized, and possesses strong ability to multi-task to satisfy competing priorities and deadlines
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Working knowledge of ERP and MRP systems
• Comfortable learning new reporting software with the vision to create reporting tools to drive goal achievement.
• BA or BS in Supply Chain, Procurement, or Logistics Management or related field is . Equivalent work experience can be substituted for academic degrees or industry certifications
• CPIM, C.P.M., or CPSM certifications are desirable
• 3-5 years of distribution procurement experience, including purchasing, inventory management, supply chain management, supplier relationships, negotiation, and basic Cost Accounting

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

This position manages a team of Purchasing Agents across multiple locations.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee may be required to occasionally lift and/or move up to fifty pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus. Specific vision abilities required by this job require frequent use of a computer monitor.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This position resides in an office/cubical environment with regular utilization of computer, phone, printers, etc. Work environment includes periodic exposure to dust and variances in temperature due to the warehouse atmosphere. Will also be regularly exposed to fragrances and odors that come from the storage of cleaning chemicals and equipment. Noise level is quiet. Travel to other branch locations may be required, where members from the decentralized team reside, and/or to vendor locations for inspections/tours/assessments.