Plant Buyer

Heritage Landscape Supply Group, Inc.•Chicago, IL

12d•$90,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply, a leader in the Chicagoland wholesale landscape industry for 110 years, is seeking an experienced Plant Buyer. This role is crucial for leading live-goods purchasing and inventory planning for a growing operation. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of plants, the nursery industry, and purchasing strategies. You will collaborate with growers, vendors, sales, branch management, and operations to ensure the right plant material is available at the right quality, price, location, and time. This is a hands-on position with a direct impact on the company's live-goods business success.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in nursery, horticulture, landscape, live-goods purchasing, or a related industry.
Strong knowledge of landscape plant material, plant quality, and nursery-industry practices.
Experience purchasing from wholesale growers and nurseries.
Established industry relationships are highly valued.
Strong negotiation, communication, and organizational skills.
Ability to analyze inventory, sales, and market information and make sound purchasing decisions.
Understanding of the seasonality and unique inventory challenges of live goods.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Able to pass background and drug screening

Nice To Haves

Experience with inventory management, freight, replenishment, or multi-branch purchasing is a plus.
Experience with ERP/purchasing systems and Microsoft Excel is preferred.
Horticulture, nursery management, business, supply chain, or related education is preferred; equivalent industry experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

Purchase trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials, ornamental grasses, and other live plant material.
Develop seasonal purchasing and replenishment plans based on sales, inventory, customer demand, and market conditions.
Manage inventory levels, order points, sell-through, seasonal build-up and drawdown.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with wholesale growers and nurseries.
Negotiate pricing, freight, availability, quantities, and delivery schedules.
Manage pre-book and contract-grow commitments and ship-window calendars.
Source specialty and hard-to-find plant material.
Coordinate inter-branch transfers and inventory rebalancing as needed.
Build efficient truckloads and help manage freight and transportation costs.
Monitor plant quality from purchase through delivery.
Work closely with sales and branch managers to understand customer needs and upcoming demand.
Analyze purchasing, sales, and inventory data to make informed buying decisions.
Track key measures including inventory turns, landed cost, shrink, culls, markdowns, and sell-through.