Buyer/Planner

Job Description

Job Description

Buyer/Planner

Dessert Holdings is the leading premium dessert company in the world. We craft artisanal, scratch-made desserts at scale, combining culinary innovation with the finest real ingredients. With a rich heritage spanning seven distinctive brands, we bring unmatched expertise and tailored solutions to our Retail and Foodservice partners.

Dessert Holdings is looking for a Buyer/Planner in Aurora, Colorado to execute day-to-day procurement operations, including creating and managing purchase orders for raw materials, ingredients, packaging, and other production-critical items. This role ensures materials arrive on time to support production and customer service needs while balancing inventory investment, warehouse space constraints, supplier lead times, and shelf-life requirements in a highly dynamic operating environment. The Buyer/Planner partners closely with suppliers, production planning, R&D, operations, warehousing, quality, commercialization and procurement leadership to maintain reliable material flow and proactively resolve supply risks.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the full purchase order lifecycle, including creation, issuance, confirmations, updates, and maintenance for raw materials, ingredients, packaging, and related supplies.
• Monitor and track open purchase orders daily to ensure materials are delivered on time and production schedules remain uninterrupted.
• Coordinate closely with suppliers to verify delivery dates, quantities, pricing accuracy, and resolve order changes or discrepancies.
• Proactively identify, communicate, and escalate supply risks such as delays, shortages, quality issues, transportation disruptions, and allocation constraints.
• Partner with Production Planning, Operations, Warehouse, Quality, and Procurement teams to align material availability with production requirements.
• Balance inventory and service levels while managing working capital, storage limitations, minimum order quantities, shelf-life requirements, and obsolescence risks.
• Analyze inventory levels, demand fluctuations, supplier lead times, and consumption trends to support effective replenishment planning.
• Maintain accurate supplier, inventory, purchasing, and delivery data within ERP and related business systems.
• Support key procurement and inventory performance metrics, including on-time delivery, material availability, inventory turns, PO accuracy, and aging inventory.
• Resolve operational issues related to invoices, pricing discrepancies, receiving errors, documentation gaps, and supplier compliance requirements.
• Ensure materials meet approved supplier, food safety, quality, and regulatory standards through collaboration with Quality Assurance and Procurement.
• Contribute to supplier performance improvement, contingency planning, process optimization, cost reduction, waste reduction, and overall operational efficiency initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business administration, operations, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 2+ years of experience in purchasing, planning, inventory control, materials management, supply chain, or procurement operations.
• Food manufacturing, CPG, packaging, ingredients, or regulated manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of purchase order management, supplier follow-up, lead times, inventory planning, and production support.
• Experience with ERP systems required; Microsoft Dynamics 365 experience a plus.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and ability to use reports, open PO data, inventory data, and demand signals to make sound replenishment decisions.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-change manufacturing environment with shifting priorities and tight timelines.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with suppliers and cross-functional partners at the plant and corporate level.
• Hands-on, service-oriented approach with a strong sense of ownership, urgency, and accountability.

About Dessert Holdings

Dessert Holdings is a collection of premium dessert companies and brands: The Original Cakerie, Lawler's Desserts, Atlanta Cheesecake Company, Steven Charles, Dianne's Fine Desserts, Kenny's Great Pies, and Willamette Valley Pie Company. Dessert Holdings is owned by Bain Capital, is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, employs more than 3,500 people across ten manufacturing facilities, and is continuing its journey of rapid growth.

EEO Statement

Dessert Holdings and its related entities provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or any other characteristics protected by law.

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