Buyer – Synergy Sourcing

Loblaw Companies Limited•Brampton, ON

10d

About The Position

Loblaw Companies Limited is a leader in food and pharmacy across Canada, with a team of 190,000 colleagues serving Canadians. The company is committed to helping Canadians Live Life Well® and focuses on Retail Excellence: Buying and Selling. As a Buyer, you will join Loblaw’s Sourcing Team, a group of world-class sourcing professionals responsible for purchasing goods for over 3,000 retail stores nationwide. Reporting to the Sourcing Director, this role involves all aspects of category sourcing, including domestic and offshore sourcing, vendor relationship and performance management, RFPs, cost negotiations, cost mitigation, supply risk management, quality management, and vendor onboarding. You will also collaborate with the Director to provide retail divisions with category insights on cost inflation forecasting, commodity trends, competitive landscape analytics, and global product innovation. This is a 12-month contract position.

Requirements

A curious mindset and positive, self-motivated attitude.
Post-secondary education in business or supply management; or equivalent experience.
3+ years in a dedicated sourcing, supply chain or retail merchandising role.
Ability to innovate, influence others, and collaborate with many diverse teams.
Analytical approach and experience using data to make decisions.
Financial, business and retail knowledge.
Strong relationship management skills and a winsome communication style.
Skilled in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Teams and comfort working with various software platforms.

Responsibilities

Lead and assist the Director with vendor meetings and product costing negotiations.
Play an active role in managing vendors’ fulfilment and financial performance.
Handle purchase orders, process invoices, manage contract documentation, and ensure all administrative aspects of the sourcing deals are executed flawlessly.
Evaluate new product and/or platform innovation and work with our Loblaw Brands team and retail divisions on product innovation and program sourcing for our private labels.
Research the competitive landscape of the category and understand industry benchmarking standards on costing, global sourcing strategies, product quality specifications etc.
Manage the flow of products from supplier to partner, including tracking shipments, coordinating with carriers, and resolving any in-transit issues.
Maintain the accuracy of program data within our systems, support the "manual invoice system," and help track performance against program KPIs.
Provide general support to the Business development director and the broader Synergy Sourcing program to help manage and expand its initiatives.
Source and execute weekly and seasonal product buys for baseline and promotional volume on behalf of our retail divisions.
Influence and execute buying strategies that align to category playbooks and deliver on our annual budget obligations.
Build trusted relationships with the vendor community and our external partners.
Act as a key point of contact for operational inquiries from both suppliers and Sourcing-as-a-Service partners, ensuring smooth day-to-day execution.
Collaborate with our supply chain replenishment and transport teams to resolve product availability challenges and/or fulfilment obstacles.
Proudly represent the Produce category with the BEEP Team.