Sourcing Manager

About Us:

Mid-States Distributing is the leading Farm, Ranch, and Home Retail Organization. Our 72+ year old company is owned by 29 independent Farm, Ranch & Home retailers ("Members") who operate approximately 700 stores across the US with combined annual sales in excess of 7.5 billion dollars. Our member/owners retail items such as agriculture parts & supplies, petroleum products, hardware & tools, pet food, lawn & garden, animal health supplies, apparel & footwear, sporting goods, and various other products for the Farm, Ranch, and Home.

We are looking for enthusiastic people who like to win! We place a tremendous amount of emphasis on creating a dynamic and positive company culture. Most of our employees will tell you that Mid-States is the best place they've ever worked. We value high-energy people with positive attitudes who believe in the concept of "serving to wow"! Our consumers are primarily rural people raising kids, pets, cows, and crops so traditional values like God, family, and patriotism are important virtues. So, if you are enthusiastic, competitive, have a great attitude, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, like to build strong relationships, like to win, and refuse to eat meat grown in a lab - Mid-States may be the place for you! If you are not, please apply with our competitors!

Position Overview

We are seeking a competitive, high-energy Sourcing Manager who enjoys building relationships, solving problems, and help drive winning sourcing outcomes. The Sourcing Manager is responsible for executing sourcing initiatives across Mid-States' six business divisions. This role works cross-functionally with internal teams and external suppliers to support product development, vendor performance, cost analysis, process improvement, and strategic sourcing decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Collect, analyze, benchmark, and report on category product development activity.
• Identify, source, and develop supplier relationships that support company goals.
• Obtain and compare multiple supplier quotes to support sourcing recommendations.
• Assist in negotiating price, quantity, quality expectations, and delivery lead times.
• Review, improve, and create sourcing process documents and tools as needed.
  • Project tracking (stage gate)
  • FOB to ELC cost analysis
  • Evaluate services provided by suppliers
• Finding, establishing, fostering relationships, and assessing elements of the supplier/factory base
• Obtain quotes from different suppliers/factories
• Ensure data accuracy and specification of materials and services being sourced/procured
• Provide customer relationship support
• Tracking projects & vendor performance
• Help define, execute, and support strategic sourcing and procurement decisions
• Continuous improvement to processes and procedures
• Assist with negotiating price, quantity, and lead times
• Review and build pricing and cost comparison documents to aid in decision making
• Facilitate and participate in cross-functional team meetings through the Stage Gate Process tool

• Perform value analysis optimization - costs, specifications, MOQ's, and quality, to determine best supplier(s) decision n recommendation.
• Learn and build your own product knowledge by facilitating the RFQ process documentation with merchants.

• Serve as the key liaison within the sourcing department, working closely with the VP of Sourcing, sourcing specialists, suppliers, factories, commercialization team, and internal support departments.

Minimum Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business, administration, purchasing, logistics, supply chain, or a related field; equivalent professional experience may be considered.
• Proven experience supporting sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or product development processes. Experience in retail or distribution operations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
• Strong understanding of sourcing methodologies and supplier evaluation practices.
• Foundational knowledge of freight, duties, tariffs, freight, landed cost, and related cost drivers.
• Working in a dynamic, rapidly changing business environment
• Ability to maintain a flexible schedule to accommodate occasional early morning or evening calls with partners in Southeast Asia.
• Strong negotiation skills
• Sound time-management and organizational skills
• Superior quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
• Retail, consumer products, or consumer-facing experience preferred.

Travel
International travel is required. This role typically includes up to 3-4 international trips per year, with each trip lasting approximately 14-19 days.

OTHER DUTIES:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

A few words from our COO:

I have had the pleasure to work for some incredible companies during my career, but Mid-States is truly the best company I have ever worked for. Lead by our dynamic CEO, Tom Mahlke, our team strives to provide a unique, exciting, fun, and fulfilling work environment for our staff. Things like drama, laziness, and entitlement have no place in Mid-States, which makes Mid-States a refreshing place to work. We offer competitive salaries, have a fantastic benefits package, and believe in rewarding those who produce. We serve a wonderful industry, and we are financially sound and growing rapidly. If you are an enthusiastic, high-energy person with a positive attitude and the skills described above, you may have just found the last job you will ever apply for! I look forward to meeting you. - Jeff Rash, COO