Category Sourcing Buyer

Dr. Oetker / Cameo•Naperville, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Commodity Manager, the Category Sourcing Buyer will manage a group of suppliers within the Decorating & Baking Ingredients portfolio. The role is responsible for supplier management, sourcing, negotiations on pricing and commercial terms, and supplier performance reviews. Participate in prospecting potential suppliers while building your knowledge of new suppliers, materials, processes, cost, lead time, quality, and commercialization support. The Category Buyer will partner closely with Product Development, Quality, Compliance, Planning, Marketing, and Sales teams to drive supplier transitions, reformulation initiatives, packaging changes, and new product development projects. The main objectives are to ensure continuity of supply, support innovation and commercialization activities, optimize total cost of ownership, and execute all operational purchasing activities in coordination with the respective cross functional teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Food Science, Operations, or a related field.
Minimum 4-5 years of experience in procurement, sourcing, supply chain, category management, or related functions, preferably within food manufacturing, ingredients, consumer packaged goods, or consumer products.
Experience managing suppliers, negotiating pricing and commercial terms, and supporting new product development and commercialization activities.
Experience working cross-functionally with Product Development, Quality, Compliance, Planning, Operations, and Commercial teams.
Effective written and verbal communication skills.
Advanced Microsoft Office skills; SAP or other ERP experience preferred.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Collaborative, self-motivated, results-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to travel approximately 5% domestically.
Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel proficiency (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Power Query, data analysis, and reporting).
Financial Analysis and Cost Modeling: Understanding of total cost of ownership, supplier cost structures, margin drivers, and sourcing economics to support procurement decisions.
Knowledge of consumer products, ingredients, manufacturing processes, packaging materials, warehousing, transportation, and supply chain operations.
Project Management: Ability to successfully manage supplier transitions, commercialization projects, and cross-functional initiatives from concept through launch.
Problem Solving: Ability to identify risks, evaluate alternatives, and implement practical solutions to supply chain, commercialization, quality, and supplier performance issues.
Communication Skills: Ability to effectively communicate business cases, supplier recommendations, project updates, risks, and solutions at all levels of the organization internally and externally.
Supplier Relationship Management: Demonstrated ability to influence suppliers and drive accountability for quality, service, innovation, and cost performance.
Regulatory and Quality Awareness: Understanding of ingredient specifications, compliance requirements, documentation management, and supplier quality processes.
Ethics: Consistently demonstrates sound judgment and conducts business in accordance with Wilton corporate values and ethics guidelines.

Nice To Haves

Packaging, co-manufacturing, contract manufacturing, or ingredient sourcing experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Execute the operational purchasing process for Wilton's Decorating & Baking Ingredients portfolio, including maintaining vendor pricing, lead times, forecasts, agreements, and specifications in ERP and supporting systems.
Manage assigned suppliers day to day and strategically, setting goals, scorecards, and metrics to meet TQRACC (Technology, Quality, Responsiveness, Availability, Cost, and Compliance) objectives and drive continuous improvement.
Support supplier relationship management, including sourcing, supplier business reviews, pricing and commercial term negotiations, and supply continuity planning.
Act as sourcing support for new product development, reformulation, packaging changes, and supplier transitions, from concept through launch, in partnership with Consumer Business Unit, Product Development, and Supply Planning.
Coordinate supplier onboarding, samples, scale-up and production trials, shelf-life studies, validation runs, and first production approvals.
Manage artwork, label approvals, digital proofs, and packaging specifications to keep commercialization timelines on track.
Work with the Supply Planning team to schedule supply against demand and inventory objectives and support forecasting and capacity discussions with suppliers.
Resolve operational disruptions with internal teams (logistics, planning, quality, compliance, operations) and with suppliers and co-manufacturers, and support quality investigations, corrective actions, and customer complaint resolution.
Build strong working relationships across Supply Chain, Product Development, Compliance, Quality, Marketing, and Sales, and resolve invoice discrepancies with Accounts Payable and suppliers to prevent repeat issues.