Assistant Buyer

About Grocery Outlet:

• Our Mission: Touching lives for the better


• Our Vision: Touching lives by being the first choice for bargain-minded consumers in the U.S.


• Our Values & Behaviors: Achievement, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Family, Fun, Integrity & Service

About the Team:

Our Purchasing team’s mission is to provide bargain-minded customers with the deepest discounts on quality and branded products. In many ways our team is the heart of the organization- building and maintaining vendor relationships and providing solutions for our supplier partners and independent operators. Our buyers are empowered with speed, flexibility, and freedom while their passion and creativity embody the art of closeout buying. Successful members of our team are motivated to exceed annual comp sales, thrive in a collaborative environment, have an entrepreneurial spirit, and be motivated by relationship building.

The role:

This role is responsible for assisting the Frozen & Refrigeration purchasing team. A huge part of the role is day-to-day maintenance functions, data analysis and accurate data entry. This role ensures accuracy in the ordering process while facilitating communications between vendors and corresponding buyers. The person in this role will be reporting to the Sr. Buyer. 

Operations:

• Support Buyers on all day-to-day functions of the department.


• Maintain departmental files on line; Purchase Orders, Quote Sheets, Import files, Vendor lists, Performance files correspondence, forms and other documents.


• Assist the Buyers in writing purchase orders. Monitors existing purchase order status; production, shipping and receiving of shipments. Ensures quality control of all orders.


• Monitors on-order and manages weekly receipt flow into DC to insure timely arrival of orders.


• Responsible for direct store shipments – Flex Order Guide.


• Responsible for initiating yellows, red alerts, price changes and corrective billings.


• Track and maintain monthly ad plan.


• Understand and execute appropriate distribution of products and maintain proper turn goal.


• Create weekly Hot Buy sheets for Friday purchasing meeting.


• Update WOW alert photos and verify product descriptions on a weekly basis.


• Update internal communication system.

Data analysis, communications and strategy:

• Ensure that communication (written/verbal) is complete and thorough with vendor and internal partners.


• Assist in marketing event planning. Assist with creation of packaging and branding.


• Assist the Buyer in analyzing opportunistic opportunities and communicate to the Buyer recommendations.


• Maintains positive working relationships and communication with vendors, internal departments, stores and warehouse.


• Identify and shop competition (including price checks); understand the target customer.


• Identify trends within the department to help reach and exceed sales and margin plan.


• Review sales by store by SKU; identifying hot and slow sellers.


• Maintain vendor relationships; work with vendors and Buyer to help negotiate better terms and/or costs for merchandise being purchased.


• Establishes and maintains a reputation of credibility and responsiveness; promptly returns vendor and store phone calls, ensures timely follow-up on issues within 24 hours.


• Write articles addressed to store managers and operators communicating organic trends, merchandising recommendations and general knowledge of the organic category.

About you:  

• A Degree or 1 to 2 years retail/sales or related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.


• Excellent interpersonal skills, outgoing, willing to help others and positive attitude.


• Proficient in the use of Excel, Microsoft Word and Outlook.


• You are keen to details and highly organized!


• Resourceful and able to research problems and recommend solutions.


• You are highly analytical and numerical savvy.


• Strong written & verbal communication skills.


• Frozen industry awareness or interest with the ability to understand and research current trends, within competition and market.


• Ability to prioritize, multitask and manage multiple projects with broad workload to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.


• Proven team player, self-motivated, independent-thinker.


• Ability to reprioritize projects frequently.


• Able to effectively and respectfully communicate with all levels of staff and management.

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