Buyer / Planner

FERGUSON•Newport News, VA

3d•$3,375 - $7,334•Hybrid

About The Position

Buyer/Planners deliver service and inventory goals for a portfolio of vendors and/or warehouses by ensuring that we have the right inventory, in the right place, at the right time to service our customers. They work cross functionally with Customer Groups, Distribution Centers, Demand Planners and Sales Leaders to incorporate business strategy into their inventory plans while also maintaining strong partnerships with their suppliers. This role is based out of our Newport News, VA Headquarters. We offer a hybrid work schedule of T, W, Th in office and M, F Remote.

Requirements

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail and ownership.
Ability to identify and solve issues using root cause analysis.
Ability to multi-task and make data-driven decisions in a timely manner.
Ability to organize and prioritize work.
Ability to effectively communicate in writing and verbally.
Ability to make sound decisions with limited direction.
Accountable for decisions, actions and results.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office software (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.).

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, Analytics, Mathematics, Industrial Engineering, Economics, or an equivalent functional area.
Advanced skills in Excel (pivots, lookups) preferred.
Database query languages (such as SQL) and data visualization skills (such as Power BI) a plus.
Experience working in a supply chain planning software a plus.

Responsibilities

Responsible for developing, purchasing and completing inventory replenishment strategies that meet the aligned business strategy.
Manages inventory replenishment settings and makes adjustments to deliver targets.
Ensures planned orders are processing from in line with expectations from inventory settings.
Investigates and resolves order alignment issues.
Designs, implements, and actions alerts that identify exceptional issues impacting service and/or inventory.
Conducts replenishment data analysis to root cause current and future service failures then communicates and takes action to fix service failures.
Collaborates cross functionally and proactively connects with a large and varied audience i.e. Customer Groups, Branches, Sourcing, Demand Planning, Warehouses, and applies a high level of communication skills to gather information, alignment and/or provide education on replenishment process.
Serves as the first level check for inquiries about service failures and decides whether it can be resolved locally or another group needs to resolve (demand planning, strategic settings, etc.).
Proactively analyzes business processes and develops solutions to improve team performance.
Works with DC fulfillment to flow the product through Ferguson warehouses by using the optimal replenishment settings without impacting customer service.
Monitors rebalancing of assigned inventory to ensure excess inventory is optimized.
Cancels or expedites orders as necessary to deliver service targets.
Uses planning software to build optimal container and/or truckload orders to suppliers.
Analyze, report, and act on replenishment planning KPIs (Instocks, Fill Rate, Days of Inventory, Inefficient Inventory) on a regular cadence.
Coaches and develops associates within and outside of their functional area.