Purchasing Senior Buyer

Midwest Foods is a family-owned wholesale food distributor providing top quality food products to food establishments in Chicago, surrounding suburbs, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. We import fruits & vegetables from all over the country and other parts of the world and distribute them to local markets. We are looking to complement our growth by selecting staff that will enhance our company’s mission to provide quality service and products. Midwest Foods is looking to hire a Senior Buyer to join our team.

Responsibilities:

• Purchasing assigned category products.
• Forecasting purchase needs and managing process for order fulfillment.
• Sourcing items internationally and/or locally depending on the seasonality of the product.
• Creating purchase orders in NetSuite and negotiating price bids with vendors.
• Coordinating logistics for all inbound shipments arriving by air, trucks, boats, and trains to track product.
• Managing assigned category inventory for replenishment.
• Assisting Accounts Payable in relation to purchase orders and payment issues.
• Maintaining appropriate product quality and safety under USDA standards.
• Communicating with vendors to resolve any issues concerning product costs, quantity/quality and/or delivery times.
• Communicating with the Sales department.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience working in a Produce environment.
• College degree preferred, but not required.
• Procurement experience with fresh specialty produce (vegetables, fruits, etc.).
• Strong commodities knowledge (including organic), vegetable, fruit, herbs, and specialty produce lines.
• Ability to establish a good rapport with vendors.
• Strong negotiating skills.
• Ability to multi-task.
• Market knowledge, ability to recognize trends.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Computer literate, including Excel & Word.

Benefits:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Life, STD/LTD, VL, Accident, Critical Illness Insurance
• 401-k with employer match
• Vacation and PTO/sick days