Purchasing and Logistics Specialist - Summerfield Trading

Summerfield Trading is a specialty procurement business providing white-glove service to high-end landscape design projects and clientele across the country. We source and deliver premium plant material, outdoor furnishings, and containers, partnering with trusted growers, nurseries, and specialty vendors to ensure the right products reach the right projects on time and meet the quality our clients expect.

About the Role

The Purchasing & Logistics Coordinator plays a key role in supporting Summerfield Trading’s sales process, from initial customer inquiries and quoting through sourcing, purchasing, and final delivery. Working closely with the Account Manager, project managers, vendors, growers, and transportation partners, this person helps ensure orders are accurate, products meet project specifications, and deliveries stay on schedule.

This role combines horticultural knowledge, customer service, attention to detail, and operational coordination. The ideal candidate is proactive, organized, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. They understand plant material and nursery operations, communicate clearly, and anticipate challenges before they affect a project.

The position is full time, onsite in the Chicago office.

What You'll Do

Sales Support & Customer Service

• Respond promptly and professionally to incoming calls and customer emails.

• Collect and confirm all essential project details upfront to ensure accurate quoting, efficient sales order processing, and timely invoicing.

• Prepare quotes and convert to sales orders through approval processes.

• Assist with quote and order follow-up, helping maintain momentum from initial inquiry through order confirmation.

Sourcing and purchasing

• Apply horticultural knowledge to match project specifications with available plant materials, including varieties, sizes, grades, forms, and seasonal availability.

• Research material availability, specifications, lead times, and alternatives

• Source plant material from growers, nurseries, and collectors. Obtain supplier pricing when approved pricing isn't available, and record vendor quotes with their pricing expiration dates

• Verify product specifications, quality expectations, and lead times; communicate potential substitutions, delays, and availability concerns promptly.

• Issue purchase orders and track vendor confirmations

• Support plant tagging and photo or spec reviews as needed, including occasional site visits

Logistics and delivery

• Coordinate pickups and deliveries with specialty horticultural trucking partners: get freight quotes, schedule, and track shipments

• Align delivery timing with project schedules and job-site readiness

• Verify shipping documents; follow up on damage, shortages, and freight claims; confirm delivery is complete

What You Bring

Required

• Working horticultural knowledge: plant material, varieties, sizes and grades, and seasonality, and how nurseries and growers operate

• 2–3 years of experience working with plant material in a nursery, grower, landscape, or similar setting

• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage pricing, quantities, specifications, and deadlines accurately.

• Clear, professional communication skills with vendors, drivers, project managers, and clients

• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and bring forward practical solutions

A plus

• Experience in landscape construction or working with landscape design professionals

• Experience with NetSuite or a similar ERP, order management, or inventory system

• Experience in sales support, purchasing, order coordination, or freight and delivery management.

Why Summerfield

• A small, collaborative team with direct access to leadership

• A chance to put your plant knowledge to work and grow with a business that is expanding

What We Offer: 

• Competitive salary and benefits package 
• Please see a list of our benefits on our careers page 
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth. 
• Collaborative and supportive work environment. 
• Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies in landscape design. 

Additional Information: 

• Work Environment: Monday through Friday 8:30-5:30 with an hour for lunch/breaks. 
• Benefits: Health benefits paid time off, 401(k), to/from office commute paid, or parking provided, and opportunities for career growth within a dynamic and expanding company. 
• Salary: Range is $50,000-62,000; the offer will be based on experience, skills and background in similar positions. 

· The position includes approximately 20–30% travel, fluctuating seasonally, and requires the ability to work indoors and outdoors in varying conditions and occasionally perform light physical work.

• Reliable personal transportation is required.

Physical requirements of the role: 

• Lifting, Carrying and Moving: Frequent lifting, carrying and moving up to 20 lbs. or more of plant and landscape-related materials (paint, stakes, tools, lasers, samples etc.) onsite or to/from the site and in the office. Specifically, during layouts, lifting, carrying and moving can be large parts of the workday. 
• Mobility: Frequent visits to jobsites require being outdoors for extended periods from time-to-time in variable site conditions, and this position will require walking, hiking, kneeling and standing for extended periods of time during the day on varied terrain: dirt, rocks, concrete, grass, wet and dry surfaces, finished and unfinished landscapes and varied ground conditions. 
• Working conditions: Our clients’ projects are across the USA, and therefore this position requires the ability to work outdoors frequently at jobsites in all weather conditions and throughout all seasons: sun, rain, ice, snow, etc., depending on location. 
• Protective Gear: Requirement to wear clothing for the expected site and weather conditions, including protective clothing and hard-toed boots/shoes (where dictated)