Fresh Food Buyer

Salary: $85,000-$95,000 plus bonus and benefits

Location: On-site at our corporate office in College Point, NY

This wholesale cash-and-carry supplier serves restaurants, caterers, non-profits, and other foodservice businesses. It offers a wide selection of high-quality products, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy, frozen foods, beverages, dry goods, and restaurant supplies at competitive prices. The warehouse-style stores provide a convenient, no-membership, no-contract shopping experience, making it a trusted partner for foodservice operators seeking value and flexibility.

Our food company is seeking a Fresh Food Buyer responsible for the profitable procurement and timely delivery of frozen food products for assigned lines. This role works closely with the Senior Vice President of Purchasing to achieve company goals. The Fresh Food Buyer provides supply chain and inventory management for promotionally active categories while meeting corresponding financial accountabilities. Products are procured in accordance with all company policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Order fresh food products to meet forecasted demand.
• Secure the best possible product costs, quality, and service at all times.
• Ensure all established policies and procedures are understood and followed.
• Achieve inventory and turn goals while maintaining service levels and minimizing distress.
• Interface with various departments and division personnel to accomplish job functions.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with vendors, store operations, the distribution center, and division office personnel.
• Review acquisition costs to ensure purchases are made at the lowest cost consistent with quality, reliability, and urgency.
• Assess current inventory, market conditions, availability, and promotional impact to forecast order quantities and make recommendations to the merchandising team.
• Conduct post-promotional reviews to evaluate results and develop solutions for improvement.
• Resolve store-level inventory issues caused by allocations or order discrepancies.
• Review and analyze daily and weekly reports to monitor costs, quality, service levels, inventory turns, and distress, making adjustments as needed.
• Visit stores, as required, to monitor programs, gather feedback, and assess implementation effectiveness.
• Manage Accounts Payable variance processes for distribution-sourced items to ensure correct invoicing.
• Resolve store billing questions by researching discrepancies, issuing credits, or providing appropriate resolutions.
• Maintain all necessary department files and records.
• Coordinate with Warehouse Operations to maintain proper product flow through the facility in a timely manner.
• Access buying systems remotely when necessary to manage responsibilities offsite.

Requirements

• Marketing/Logistics experience preferred or a strong understanding of store operations and merchandising methodologies and practices.
• Understanding of grocery procurement, logistics, inventory management, marketing, accounting and financial management practices
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills; ability to take initiative and make fact- based decisions.
• Ability to plan and organize effectively.
• Written and verbal communication skills as well as interpersonal skills to develop and maintain effective business relationships both internally and externally.
• Strong computer aptitude in MS Office including Word and Excel.
• Ability to concentrate and deal with frequent interruptions.