Lead Buyer – Proteins

The lead protein buyer will oversee inventory purchasing and management of inventory for pork, poultry, beef and seafood and any other ancillary proteins as needed by the sales team. This position will also work directly with the sales team to ensure we are servicing our customer base with fresh and frozen, high-quality product that matches the stellar reputation of Queen Foods. This position will report directly to our Site Transformation Leader. Use your expertise, leadership, and interpersonal skills to inspire exceptional performance.
 

• Work daily with our major direct packers/vendors to negotiate best possible pricing on needed protein items to service our customer base. Enter PO’s daily for purchases into the ERP system.
• Conduct weekly touch-points with our affiliated buyers at Moesle Meats to discuss protein trends, pricing and availability
• Manage inbound logistics of inventory purchases with our warehouse team to ensure effective use of facility and minimize disruptions to outbound trucks to customers as needed
• Monitor inventory dates of all protein products and report to warehouse team which items must be transferred from cooler to freezer, how many cases of that item, and when the transfer should occur. Follow up with warehouse team to ensure the transfer occurs as directed.
• Establish new process for protein inventory counts (fresh and frozen), including frequency and which areas of the warehouse should be counted each time.
• Establish weekly cadence and touch points with sales team to adjust pricing as needed (daily or weekly) for core items and assist sales team with sourcing ad hoc protein items
• Create and monitor weekly pricing of protein items with feedback of market and sales team to drive margin expansion at Queen Foods but also ensure necessary movement and rotation of protein inventories. This position will be directly responsible for weekly protein margins.
• Work with the sales team to create push list items for slow moving or stuck inventory items. Monitor dates of product and work with sales team to price and ensure movement of product to customers
• Establish and maintain receiving procedures with vendors (dates, temperatures and damage) that are then executed by warehouse operations
• Communicate with vendors to resolve inventory issues regarding damage or short coded items (physically and electronically), other quality issues issues (dates, temperatures, and damage – e.g., vendor returns and refunds) or PO discrepancies.
• Coordinate with AP And Controller on vendor payments as needed
• Handle assigned customer accounts. Additional accounts brought to the Company will be at approximately 3-5% gross margin commission rate in addition to current base pay.

Position Requirements
The professional we are seeking will have:
3+ years of purchasing, inventory, leadership, customer service, management, excellent communication skills along with professionalism.
 

• Direct experience purchasing pork, poultry, beef and seafood and working with major vendors such as JBS, Tyson/IBP, National Beef, Greater Omaha, Seaboard, OK Foods, among others
• Direct experience managing perishable inventories
• Knowledge of city and suburbs (Kansas City), including surrounding areas (Springfield, Wichita, Des Moines, Omaha and Lincoln) where our customer base resides
• Knowledge of inventory management, LIFO, FIFO, reporting and coordination.
• Ability to use computer efficiently, including Excel, Word, Google Maps, etc.
• Willingness and want to teach and train others
• Certification to use lift and reach trucks (Crown or similar), hand jacks and pallet riders
• Bi-Lingual- is preferred but not required.
• Ability to lift 75-85 pounds as needed.