Purchasing Specialist (Avon)

The Purchasing Specialist is responsible for the planning and purchasing of materials and products to support production schedules, sales forecasting, and inventory schedules as well as the transfer of materials in support of customer demands. Additional responsibilities include supporting Principal Managers with supplier needs and requirements, and supporting Account Managers with customer needs to facilitate business growth and profitability.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES *

Position/Department

• Form close working relationships with key contacts to ensure the efficient delivery of material
• Effectively communicate with suppliers as required regarding commercial issues, pricing, package size changes and minimum order quantity (MOQ) adjustments with the goal of maximizing profitability for the division
• Communicate customer opportunity updates and technical product inquiries to suppliers
• Distribute supplier literature and documentation, facilitating the sharing of product knowledge with the sales team
• Notify customers of supplier, product, and documentation changes via appropriate communication platforms
• Ensure costs categories are accurately applied and landed cost are accurate within system
• Create, maintain, and update costing templates (including freight, duty, tariff, fees, tax, etc.) and budgetary price lists
• Working with operations, monitor inventory levels and the replenishment process to ensure stock levels are adequate based on regular/seasonal requirements as well as contractual agreements (both domestic and overseas)
• Update supplier lead times in Datacor/Overdrive
• Manage custom sourcing projects on an as needed basis as directed by and overseen by principal management and operations.
• Create new product codes in the ERP and collaborate with regulatory, commercial, and operations to ensure compliance
• Coordinate special product labeling, repackaging, and blending with internal teams and create work orders as required
• Monitor slow moving items for return, disposal, or special sale
• Track Net Working Capital and Gross Profit performance and provide support as needed for improvement on these metrics
• Identify unacceptable margins, and investigate reasons why margins might fall outside of expected levels
• Generate other reports as needed

Leadership/ Teamwork

• Provide regular updates to sales, customer service, and other relevant stakeholders on risks or opportunities.
• Provide support for determining customer pricing to the sales team
• Coordinate with operations team to determine input costs for new product development projects and conduct periodic cost and pricing analysis
• Interact with Customer Service to achieve 100% on time/in full shipments
• Point of contact for cross-sell and sourcing for other divisions
• Collaborate with Accounting to ensure supplier rebates are accurate and ensure correct and timely payment information
• Participate in regular 1 2 1 meetings with supervisor to discuss the status of the territory’s business and growth opportunities
• Communicate with other Account Managers throughout the organization to stay up to date on customers and trends

Continuous Improvement/Problem Solving

• Stay apprised of and maintain an understanding of new and existing regulations that may impact the
• organization’s products and processes. Ensure compliance with regulations.
• Ensure adherence to all applicable facility requirements, certifications and designations
• Ensure adherence to ISO 9001, ACD Responsible Distribution, and other applicable quality management principles
• Contribute to and support continuous improvement of our processes and systems
• Seek opportunities to share best practices with the team, support staff and other divisions

Systems

• Barentz specific systems, including but not limited to BRM, Vizion, Chempax, Datacor, Sharepoint, etc.
• Serve as an in-house expert in navigation, interpretation, and processing of inventory and orders within various systems such as Datacor and Overdrive
• Complete knowledge of the PO receipt process and serve as a resource for the logistics team.
• Utilize Vizion, Overdrive, Barentz Relationship Management (BRM), & Datacor systems to run reports on inventory, and support for sales

Barentz Culture/Fundamentals

• Support and lead by example, following Barentz’ purpose, strategies, and values
• Act legally and ethically in all professional relationships in adherence with Barentz’ culture, values and fundamentals
• Contribute to an environment of trust and mutual respect
• Maintain a strong commitment to teamwork and concern for others
• Maintain a high level of personal responsibility and ownership
• Use effective communication and listening skills
• Foster an inclusive and diverse workplace where every team member feels valued and respected

Learning and Development

• Seek out and participate in ongoing growth and personal development opportunities
• Embrace and promote Barentz’ learning and development culture

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Duties and responsibilities may be amended at any time per business need

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience (required)
• Master’s degree in Chemistry or other Sciences (Preferred) or combination of Bachelor’s degree and relative experience

Experience

• Previous industry experience desired working with customer and suppliers in a product or sales capacity (required)
• Experience (preferred)

Certifications

• Any industry related certification (i.e., Sales Techniques, Project Management, Regulatory, Quality Management, etc.) (preferred/encouraged)

Position/Product/Industry Requirements

• Familiarity with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software