Culinary Depot is seeking an experienced and driven Director of procurement to lead, coach, and manage our buying team. In this pivotal role, you will oversee inventory management, product selection, vendor relationships, and pricing strategies to achieve our inventory turnaround goals. Your leadership will ensure that we maintain optimal stock levels, discover new products, and continuously improve our purchasing processes. If you have a passion for procurement, strong leadership skills, and a knack for strategic planning, we want to hear from you!
Key Responsibilities:
Inventory Management and Product Selection:
Trend Analysis: Study sales trends to determine the optimal products and quantities to stock.
Stock Management: Ensure that inventory levels are maintained to avoid stockouts and overstock situations.
Product Sourcing: Analyze item requests from sales departments and identify new or replacement products as needed.
Vendor Relations: Build and maintain strong relationships with vendors and reps, and ensure vendors are offering rebates.
Negotiation: Negotiate large orders, including stock, bulk buys, and special purchases.
Private Label: Review samples, pricing, and quality for private label products.
Strategic Planning and Coordination:
Marketing Collaboration: Conduct weekly reviews with the marketing team to suggest items for flyers and specials.
Rebates and Programs: Negotiate programs and rebates, and keep all platforms updated with current terms.
Pricing Strategy: Manage website and retail pricing to ensure competitiveness and profitability.
Purchase Orders: Revise and manage purchase orders to align with current inventory needs and sales forecasts.
Leadership, Management, and Accountability:
Team Leadership: Conduct firm and consistent meetings with team members, including daily recaps to discuss challenges and review weekly scorecards.
Performance Reporting: Provide weekly reports on scorecard summaries to ownership and strategize to maximize each team member's skills and potential.
Coaching and Training: Coach and train team members on aspects such as acquisition, product knowledge, pricing, and markups. Include soft skills training in negotiation and effective questioning.
Wellbeing and Strategy: Hold monthly meetings to address team wellbeing and discuss strategy.
Goals and Targets:
Inventory Turnaround: Achieve and maintain efficient inventory turnover rates.
Margin Improvement: Increase profit margins through effective product sourcing and pricing strategies.
Skillset Required:
Experience: 5-10 years of industry specific experience.
Sales Skills: Strong sales acumen with the ability to negotiate effectively and drive results.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Mathematical Aptitude: Proficiency in math for analyzing pricing, margins, and inventory data.
Active Listening: Ability to listen actively and respond to team and vendor needs.
Organizational Skills: Superior organizational skills to manage multiple tasks and priorities.
Ownership: Demonstrate total ownership of tasks and responsibilities.
Attitude: Maintain a positive attitude and a "get it done" mindset.
Passion: Genuine passion for the job and the industry.
Respect: Show respect for others and their contributions.
Continuous Learning: Stay open-minded and committed to ongoing learning and improvement.
Tips: Provide a summary of the role, what success in the position looks like, and how this role fits into the organization overall.
Responsibilities
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Qualifications
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