Purchasing Specialist I

Position Description:

Responsible for buying Raw material, Ingredients, Packaging, and Plant Supplies. Analyze data and create reports related to KPI's to determine safety stock levels, warehouse utilization, and provide information necessary to make supplier decisions. This involves having the right product in the right place at the right time to support Procurement determining right price, right quality, and right quantity to commit to.

Performs functions to coordinate orders between PO submission, receiving, outside warehouse locations, vendors/distributors, and quality to ensure timely and accurate receipts of purchase orders. Supports Production, Receiving, and Quality as it relates to receiving to specification.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Create purchase orders in response to purchase requisitions and production needs and communicates with suppliers
• Reconcile and resolve purchase order and invoice discrepancies
• Develop, track, and report on KPI's; analyze data to help drive decision making for different categories of purchases
• Track and analyze supplier performance and provide change recommendations
• Track PO fulfillment including verification of quantities, prices, and on time deliveries
• Analyze inventory levels, coordinate with production and sales on adequate supplies and verify requirements for proper inventory turns in support of a well-managed inventory system
• Determines safety stocks/margins for all items based upon product mix, sales forecast, market conditions and seasonality
• Generate reports and sort and analyze inventory levels in conjunction with forecasted demand, current orders, contract positions, and customer needs; notifies production and sales of foreseeable shortfalls
• Conduct department audits to ensure accuracy of information between physical and electronic inventory levels; alerting appropriate individuals of issues
• Research, evaluate, and select market options for the sale of distressed, discontinued, or expired items
• Assists the QA department in addressing any product considered out of spec
• Serve as a liaison between suppliers and Production in the resolution of issues and the processing of quality claims by compiling and analyzing data using Root Cause Failure Analysis and Corrective Actions
• Assist Receiving to ensure product arrives as intended - shortages, damage, etc.
• Prepare standard costs for all items, participate in month end and accounting activities related to product values and provide analysis of and explanation for variances to standard
• Lead activities necessary to establish vendors, items, and cross references in the ERP system
• Maintenance purchases of $500+ - while this remains a 3-5 hour per week responsibility. Above 5 hours per week, responsibility will be moved to a new team member
• Forecast and adhere to Cost of Goods Sold budgets

Supervisory/Management Responsibilities:

• Not applicable

Requirements:

• 3-5 years purchasing experience
• Bachelor's degree, preferred
• Requires travel 15-20% of the time, mainly to other company locations
• Ability to work with and apply mathematical concepts
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel spreadsheets and manipulation of spreadsheets
• Strong communication and prioritization skills
• Strong organizational and analytical skills
• Problem solving skills with a high attention to detail
• Working knowledge of ERP systems and inventory management, preferred

Physical Requirements:

• Frequently operates a computer, phone, ERP systems, and other standard office equipment while performing purchasing, inventory, forecasting, and reporting activities.
• Must be able to remain stationary for extended periods while working at a computer workstation and analyzing data, reports, and documentation.
• Requires frequent communication and coordination with suppliers, production, warehouse personnel, quality, accounting, and other internal departments across multiple company locations.
• Occasionally moves throughout office, warehouse, and manufacturing environments to support inventory, receiving, quality, and operational needs.
• Occasional travel to company facilities, warehouse locations, and vendors may be required.
• May occasionally lift or move standard office materials up to 15 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to review, analyze, and interpret data, spreadsheets, reports, and related documentation.
• May be exposed to varying temperatures within warehouse and manufacturing environments.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Competencies:

• Interpersonal Influence: Able to help people rapidly become comfortable with them; rapidly assess and understand individual style preferences of key people in the organization; and adapt to preferences.
• Drive for Results: Dedicated to achieving the best results by taking a dynamic approach to work, perseveres and uses metrics to analyze performance.
• Analytical Thinking: The ability to tackle a problem by using a logical, systematic, sequential approach.
• Action Orientation: Maintaining sense of urgency to complete a task. Seeks information rather than waiting for it.
• Time Management: Able to make the most effective use of one's own time and that of others; gets the job done without procrastinating or delaying; is constantly aware of what is the best use of time.
• Forward Thinking: The ability to anticipate the implications and consequences of a situation and take appropriate action to be prepared for possible contingencies.

Benefits for this role include: Medical, vision, dental, discretionary bonus up to 10% (50% personal performance based & 50% company performance), 401(k) with matching up to a max of 4% and 120 hours PTO in the 1st 12 months.