Director of Purchasing & Inventory Strategy

Location: Norcross, GA — On-Site
Compensation: $115,000–$135,000 base salary
Employment Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire
No C2C | Must be authorized to work in the United States

Position Overview

We are seeking a strategic and analytical Director of Purchasing & Inventory Strategy to lead purchasing operations and optimize inventory investment across a growing construction supply and distribution business.

This leader will ensure the right products are available in the right quantities and locations while balancing customer service levels, working capital, warehouse capacity, and product availability. The role will focus on minimizing stockouts, excess inventory, obsolete stock, shrinkage, and product damage.

The ideal candidate combines hands-on inventory expertise with strong leadership, supplier negotiation, technology, and analytical capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and manage the purchasing team, establishing clear expectations and accountability.
• Optimize inventory across branch locations to improve product availability, inventory turns, working capital, and warehouse utilization.
• Develop forecasting, replenishment, and inventory-planning processes aligned with customer demand.
• Negotiate supplier costs, rebates, freight programs, payment terms, and other commercial agreements.
• Identify alternate sourcing strategies, including domestic and international import opportunities.
• Build strong supplier relationships and conduct regular business and performance reviews.
• Partner with sales and operations to improve forecasting and align purchasing decisions with customer demand.
• Establish consistent inventory-control standards across all branch locations.
• Proactively manage dead, surplus, damaged, and slow-moving inventory.
• Maintain accurate item-master data, including product costs, pricing, descriptions, and attributes.
• Use technology, reporting, automation, and AI-enabled tools to improve forecasting, efficiency, and decision-making.
• Create and monitor purchasing and inventory KPIs, identifying trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading and developing a purchasing, procurement, inventory, or supply-chain team.
• Experience within construction supply, industrial distribution, building materials, wholesale distribution, or a closely related industry.
• Strong knowledge of inventory planning, forecasting, replenishment, purchasing, and multi-location distribution.
• Advanced Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Demonstrated success negotiating supplier pricing, rebates, freight, payment terms, and commercial programs.
• Strong technology aptitude, including experience using ERP systems, reporting tools, automation, or AI to improve business processes.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear recommendations and actionable business decisions.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills with suppliers, sales teams, operational leaders, and executives.
• Ability to work on-site in Norcross, Georgia.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing inventory across multiple branches or distribution centers.
• Exposure to imported products and international sourcing.
• Experience improving inventory turns, fill rates, forecasting accuracy, and working-capital performance.
• Familiarity with item-master governance and product-data management.