Buyer

Freeman•Chicago, IL

18d•Hybrid

About The Position

As part of The Freeman Company, Freeman designs and delivers unforgettable moments that create a bond between audiences and our clients. It’s just one reason why we’re the leader in live events. The Buyer is responsible for selecting and procuring quality products and services, including: maintaining supplier relationships, processing purchase orders, limited supplier negotiations, tracking orders, generating reports, creating and maintaining product catalogs and standard ordering procedures, and liaising with the Procurement team and internal stakeholders. The ideal candidate is driven, detail-oriented, and organized, with excellent communication skills, strong analytical skills, and the ability to multi-task and interact with leadership across the organization. The Buyer must work well in a team environment. This position will support our Global Supply Chain team. It is eligible to work a hybrid schedule, generally requiring work in-office and/or show-site 2-3 days per week. The ideal candidate will be located in McCook, IL; however, we are also open to candidates based out of: Dallas, TX

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited 4 year college or university is preferred, High School Diploma or equivalaent with relevant work experience is required
At least (5) five years of related work experience; trade show, event, retail or hospitality industry experience is preferred
Experience with a Procure-to-Pay (P2P) platform such as Coupa and SAP SRM as a heavy end-user, technical owner, implementer, buyer or system administrator is strongly preferred
Procure-to-pay solution experience a plus
Proficient in Microsoft Office applications including: PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook and SharePoint

Nice To Haves

CPSM or CSCP Certified is preferred

Responsibilities

Manages and assists with day-to-day procurement processes
Identifies new procurement and cost savings opportunities
Establishes and maintains Coupa P2P catalogs including products and services descriptions, images, and pricing
Provides transactional support of requisitions, POs, and invoices to ensure accuracy
Provides buyer role triage support to obtain proper reviews of applicable requisitions that could require sourcing events
Compiles metric/reporting on all regional and/or category transactional activity
Enables suppliers by reviewing contracts and setting up the appropriate PO structure to capture spend details in Coupa
Maintains internally managed catalogs by coordinating with the supplier, procurement team peers and business users
Assists and/or manages the product price change process in accordance with contract terms and/or negotiated terms
Tracks and reports on supplier related issues, failures, and quality defects
Works as a team with other Buyers to cover temporary vacancies and develop buying strategies that can be duplicated throughout the department
Develops and focuses on continuous improvement of standard operating procedures; trains others on P2P system and Procurement processes and tools
Ensures excellent customer service to all customers/stakeholders (internal and external)
Manages efforts to resolve internal/external stakeholder issues
Manages day-to-day supplier relations and escalations; Communicate updates and issues to leadership and internal stakeholders both verbally and written form
Promotes Coupa user adoption by improving catalog usability and established, preferred suppliers
Assist in developing and implementing procurement projects and programs
Coordinates and facilitates meetings internally as well as externally with suppliers
Assigned categories and is responsible for developing category plans to include sourcing and contract opportunities resulting in company and/or region-specific savings
Represents designated regions and categories as a subject matter expert for the purpose of reporting, contract development, supplier evaluations, and development/execution of procurement strategy
Maintains monthly supplier performance measurement reports and facilitates monthly/quarterly performance review meetings with preferred suppliers
Performs other duties as assigned