Seafood Buyer in Itasca, Illinois at CHRIST PANOS FOOD CORPORATION

Christ Panos Foods is seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Seafood Buyer to join our procurement team. The role involves end-to-end purchasing activities including vendor management, PO execution, new item setup, SKU analysis, inventory coordination, and collaboration across departments. The ideal candidate is organized, highly communicative, possesses extensive seafood knowledge and is well versed in seafood supply chain, with a proactive approach to problem solving, process improvement and product stocking mix for Foodservice.

Responsibilities:

• Source and purchase a full range of seafood products to meet customer needs
• Build and maintain strong vendor relationships while negotiating competitive pricing, payment terms, and delivery schedules
• Monitor inventory levels and ensure optimal stock rotation to minimize shrink and spoilage
• PO (Purchase Order) Management: Enter, transmit, and manage purchase orders from creation to fulfillment
• Confirm PO acknowledgements, match delivery appointment due dates, resolve discrepancies
• Manage customer product returns following established company procedures
• Manage new items and new vendor setup
• Negotiates pricing and programs with vendors
• Manage new item inquiries
• Builds trucks to optimize freight lanes
• Order other vendor lines outside of seafood as assigned by manager
• Other projects/duties assigned by manager.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Short- and Long-term disability coverage
• Company paid life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match and profit sharing
• Paid time off and paid Holidays

• Minimum 3 years of experience purchasing seafood within a food distribution or wholesale environment
• Strong knowledge of seafood product lines, specifications, and sourcing regions
• Strong knowledge of global raw and value-added seafood markets and previous success in translating this knowledge to cost savings.