Planning Procurement Specialist

The End-to-End (E2E) Planning Procurement Specialist will execute the decisions made by the E2E Planning team related to manufacturing, procuring, and trading paper across Liberty Diversified International (LDI) and its family of businesses, which has multiple manufacturing sites in the United States and Mexico.

This role is responsible for cultivating and managing productive business relationships across LDI'snetwork of paper partners. Through constant interaction with the E2E Planning team, Liberty Paper, Liberty Packaging personnel, and their contacts at LDI’s paper partners, the End-to-End (E2E) Planning Procurement Specialist will ensure that all decisions related to buying and trading paper are executed with the best interests of the total enterprise in mind.

To succeed in this role, individuals must possess a high degree of financial acumen and the interpersonal skills necessary to cultivate trusting relationships within LDI and with its external partners.  

This full-time position will report to the Manager End-to-End Operations at our Liberty Paper location in Becker, Minnesota.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for paper procurement (buy/sell/trade) to make daily, weekly, and monthly purchases and trades, as well as optimizing long-term agreements with LDI’s paper partners to achieve cost and service levels.    
• Responsible for ensuring all decisions related to making, buying, or trading paper are executed to optimize the organization's cost and service levels and manage the tradeoffs inherent in this work.   
• Continuously strive to optimize both cost and service levels while ensuring on-time delivery across the network. Work closely with the extended LDI team to forecast supply and demand, enter into mutually beneficial long-term agreements with LDI’s paper partners, as appropriate, and maintain close visibilityinto cost and available capacity across the network.
• Initiate purchase orders,communicate delivery schedules/needs with paper partners, and ensure on-time delivery of externally sourced paper across the network.  
• Create and maintain accurate customer accounts and pricing in the system.
• Create and maintain item numbers in the system.
• Enter customer orders accurately, communicate order acceptance, and maintain and communicate customer order status reports.
• Create and manage reportsfor theEnd-to-End Team, includingbookings, backlog, on-time delivery, and other sales, inventory, and order-related metrics as needed.
• Assist with managing inventory levels across the organization, adjusting order quantities and delivery dates as appropriate.  
• Assist in company-wide efforts to develop and revise long-term strategic planning for paper, both with the mill and LDI’s external partners.  
• Work directly with the extended E2E team, the mill, the box plants, and LDI’s paper partners to ensure a seamless transition between demand planning and supply planning.  
• Work directly with the team responsible for the transportation and logistics of paper and old corrugated cardboard (OCC) to devise cost-effective solutions for transporting paper across the organization. 
• Partner across the enterprise to lead, optimize, and cultivate continuous improvement activities. 
• Maintain a dotted-line reporting relationship with Corporate Procurement.  
• Other duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Procurement, Finance, or another relevant area, or equivalent experience.   
• 4+ years’ related experience in a planning/manufacturing/production environment, with demonstrated success in purchasing responsibilities.  
• Demonstrated success with supplier management and the cultivation of healthy, long-term supplier relationships. 
• Expertise with procurement processes.  
• Familiarity with transportation/delivery operations, methods, and procedures. 
• Effective interpersonal, verbal, and written communication and presentation skills. 
• Strong analytical abilities. 
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize work and adapt when plans change. 
• Ability to handle changing priorities and exercise good judgment. 
• Strong leadership, communication, and influencing skills. 
• Relevant computer skills (e.g., Microsoft Office, Power BI, JDE, or equivalent). 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The starting base salary range for this position is $66,688 - $83,361per year. The compensation posted is the anticipated pay for the position at the time of the posting. We may pay above or below posted amount based on several factors, including, but not limited to education and/or certifications, skills, experience, or work location.  Some positions may qualify for additional compensation in the form of bonuses.

At LDI, we are pleased to provide employees with a comprehensive benefits package including health/dental/vision insurance options; paid time off; 10 paid holidays; 401(k) plus company matching and annual discretionary profit sharing; flexible spending and health savings account options; life and disability insurance; tuition assistance; wellness and mental health resources, and financial advising services.  Eligibility in benefit programs is based on hours worked per week.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Regular sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day to accomplish tasks
• Manual and finger dexterity used regularly with some repetitive finger motions
• Ability to work in front of a computer screen for long periods of time
• Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision; able to identify colors, small letters, and numbers; hand/eye coordination, depth perception and able to adjust focus
• Hearing and speaking
• Other conditions may include frequent reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, pinching, grasping, and gripping.

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

Comprised of multiple companies with headquarters in New Hope, Minnesota, Liberty Diversified International (LDI) is a privately held company employing more than 1,900 individuals across our manufacturing facilities, production facilities and core business operations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, California, and Mexico. With deep roots in the corrugated box manufacturing industry, we operate in the core markets of paper, packaging, workplace products, corrugated plastics and building products.

Since 1918, our values – Caring, Innovation, Trust and Excellence – have guided our day-to-day activities. We believe that when our employees are aligned with these values, we create superior service and solutions for our customers. The LDI family of companies includes Liberty Packaging, Liberty Paper, Liberty Plastics (Custom Solutions and Quarrix Building Products) and Safco.

Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.