Buyer/Planner

First Supply•Madison, WI

16d•Onsite

About The Position

First Supply, a fifth-generation family-owned company, has served the Upper Midwest for over 125 years. Guided by our Employee Value Proposition, Where Tradition Meets Innovation, we foster a workplace where people learn, grow, and contribute to a company that values its heritage while embracing progress. Our teams take pride in supporting customers and communities, creating meaningful work and rewarding careers every day. As our Planner/Buyer, you’ll be an integral part of the team managing and leading our forecasting needs for pipes, valves and fittings (PVF). You'll be able to flex your expertise and analysis focusing on cost management, inventory parameter development and maintenance, replenishment transactions and inventory performance. Your collaboration and communication skills will be needed as you work cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, Product and Supply to manage demand changes, new product transitions, promotional activity, vendor opportunity identification, and developing market trend analysis on product and customer forecasts for 60-100 suppliers. This position will be on-site at our Madison, WI branch. Key metrics will include product availability, inventory turns, supplier on-time delivery, supplier cost management, and supplier quality performance. Additionally, the role will be tasked with helping to identify strategic opportunities that drive continuous improvement across internal processes and supplier performance.

Requirements

Three years of Supply Chain experience preferred.
Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management or related field preferred.
Fluency in Microsoft Excel required.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make data-driven decisions.
Excellent negotiation and communication skills to effectively interact with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) experience preferred.
Plumbing and heating product knowledge preferred.
Ability to read, speak, understand, and write English.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide all units of measure.

Responsibilities

Analyze market trends, demand patterns, and customer preferences to make informed purchasing decisions.
Develop and implement procurement strategies that optimize inventory levels while minimizing costs and lead times.
Maintain item attributes and configuration to drive replenishment (PO & transfer) activities in accordance with inventory and availability strategy.
Identify and execute returns to supplier.
Build supplier relationships and performance management strategies across defined supplier groups.
Optimize total costs including freight, inventory, and purchase price.
Perform annual review of supplier lines.
Actively communicate and collaborate with cross-functional colleagues and supplier partners.
Timely resolution of discrepancies associated with responsible supplier transactions.
Develop product knowledge of assigned product lines.
Grow competencies in negotiation, supplier evaluation, forecasting, and inventory planning.
Other duties/responsibilities as assigned by the Director of Procurement.