Commodity Buyer
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana is the state's largest hunger relief organization and one of the leading food banks in the Feeding America Network. In addition to vital hunger relief programs in our 21-county service area, we also operate Fresh Connect Central, a regional produce cooperative for Feeding America, serve as a contract reclamation site for Kroger Central Division, and are a staging site for FEMA disaster response. Position Purpose of the Commodity Buyer: The Commodity Buyer is responsible for procuring assigned food commodities to meet customer demand, maintain appropriate inventory levels, and support organizational goals. This role involves demand forecasting, inventory management, vendor coordination, and quality assurance. The Buyer also manages donated goods, oversees product listings across multiple platforms, handles bids and billing, and ensures timely resolution of product issues. Success in this role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt to a dynamic supply chain environment while upholding Gleaners mission and values. All responsibilities and duties will further Gleaners mission to be a leader in the fight against hunger.
Essential Functions of the Commodity Buyer:
- Execute procurement and promotion of assigned commodities to meet weekly customer demand, ensuring alignment with target price points and maintaining appropriate inventory levels.
- Effectively forecast and execute orders up to several months in advance by creating, maintaining, and assessing supply and demand in our ERP system.
- Acquire and manage donated item inventory by collaborating with Gleaners Food Strategy team, other food banks or vendor partners.
- Monitor and manage the products that are offered through various user platforms (including Fresh Connect Centrals ecommerce site, MealConnect, and the Grocery Purchasing Portal, amongst others) to ensure an accurate portfolio of products are available for customers to shop.
- Prepare and provide bids in a timely manner to food banks/partners requesting bid pricing.
- Coordinate with the production team regarding standard box menus, custom box menus, inventory availability and repack schedule.
- Monitor product date codes and present appropriate exit strategies for moving affected products.
- Follow up with appropriate contacts when dealing with poor quality products upon delivery and help make decisions on whether to reject the load.
- Facilitate resolution of customer credits and rejected shipments by documenting issues, guiding customers through required processes, and entering credits in the ERP system.
- Provide backup support to the Commodity Buyer and other Supply Chain team members as needed.
- Operate with cross-functional approach and accordingly accept / assume new responsibilities as dictated by business environment.
- Maintain positive and ethical working relationships with food banks, freight carriers, vendors and Feeding America collaborators such as other regional cooperatives, member food banks, state association representatives, and national sourcing managers, while exemplifying Gleaners mission, vision, and values.
- Contribute to and participate in the creation of marketing materials related to advertising products under the ownership of the Commodity Buyer.
- Compile and submit reports, documentation, and data to the Finance team and Feeding America on a regular (monthly, quarterly, annual) or ad-hoc basis.
- All other duties as assigned.
Education and/or Experience of the Commodity Buyer:
- 3-5 years of experience or bachelors degree preferably in Business, Purchasing or Sales
- Prior experience with purchasing, forecasting and inventory management (minimum one year of experience)
- Prior experience with vendor and customer relationship management desired
- Knowledge of food banking industry desired
Other Skills and Abilities of the Commodity Buyer:
- Working knowledge of food products and categories, or the ability to quickly learn and develop expertise in food-related inventory and sourcing.
- Excellent interpersonal, oral, written communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work well with others, including face-to-face and verbal contact.
- Ability to read, write and understand instructions.
- Ability to perform basic math functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
- Ability to count accurately and maintain accurate records.
- Microsoft, Excel, Word, and Outlook.
- CRM/ERP experience.
- Ability to create, analyze and present reports.