Associate Buyer Jobs in Oregon (NOW HIRING)

Join our team as a Senior Buyer III at Johnstone Supply - The Founders Group

**Competitive Pay ** Work/Life-Balance ** Winning Team**

WHO WE ARE -

Johnstone Supply - The Founders Group is a 3rd generation family-owned wholesale distributor for heating, cooling, and refrigeration supplies and equipment. We operate across 6 states as one of the nation's largest HVAC/R distributors. Johnstone Supply offers superior customer service, technical advice and training seminars and features the industry’s most respected catalog (available both digital and online) featuring more than 80,000 quality parts, supplies and equipment. Our purpose is to keep our communities safe & comfortable!

PRIMARY PURPOSE -

The primary purpose of this role is to ensure that products are readily available to Johnstone branches through effective forecasting, branch collaboration, and purchasing activities. The role also focuses on balancing inventory capacity with financial objectives by evaluating inventory levels and managing supplier relationships.

WORK SCHEDULE -

Expectation: Exempt onsite position, requires 8 hours a day, between the hours of 7am-5pm.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES -

Inventory Management:

• Review, manage inventory at suppliers’ level and coordinate stock transfers between branches.
• Participate in excess inventory processes, including communication, reporting, removing forecasts (T-Min), and disposition activities.
• Utilize replenishment reports and lost sales data to identify and address inventory needs.
• Analyze inventory control metrics, including forecasts, weekly/monthly reports, and vendor lead times, to optimize ordering processes.

Purchase Order Management:

• Create, maintain, and manage all aspects of purchase orders from initiation to closure, ensuring timeliness, transactional accuracy, and data integrity.
• Review and execute purchasing activities in alignment with strategic, operational, and opportunity-driven plans.
• Monitor inventory levels and take corrective actions to balance inventory flow.
• Coordinate, expedite, maintain, and monitor deliveries of purchase orders.
• Propose, evaluate and process pre-season, special buy opportunities, and trade show orders according to established procedures.
• Conduct daily reviews of branch demand and usage to determine optimal stock levels for high-selling (A & B rank) items and expedite overdue purchase orders.

Communication/Collaboration:

• Collaborate with suppliers, corporate teams, branches, and cross-functional teams to resolve issues, improve processes, and enhance buying accuracy and efficiency.
• Provide suppliers with trends, expediting lists, and other tactical requirements.
• Lead the monthly inventory meeting, ensuring strong cross-functional alignment and flawless execution among Purchasing, TM, and BSM. Review customer issues and opportunities, market intelligence, forecasts, and special-request purchases.

Operation Excellent (Continuous Improvement / Learning / Training):

• Actively lead process improvement, manage project with cross functional team, acquisitions related actions, integration, system update and buy optimization project with product team.
• Review, analyze, and resolve all pricing discrepancies in a timely and accurate manner.
• Share knowledge and expertise by training, mentoring, and coaching Buyer I and Buyer II team members.
• Maintain and update the department's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) document.
• Travel may be required (approximately one per quarter).

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES –

• Perform all duties and projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS –

• Associate's degree or equivalent from a two-year college; one to two years related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of inventory control principles and techniques, including monitoring, ordering, and expediting of products.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES –

• Knowledge of product distribution operations.
• Ability to work under multiple deadlines at one time.
• Ability to utilize PC applications such as MS Word and Excel, Outlook, and other Windows-based applications.
• Ability to learn and utilize customized purchasing software.
• Ability to collect data, evaluate results, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, proportions, and percentages.
• Ability to solve problems including listening to, interpreting, and meeting the needs of others, diagnosing, and implementing solutions.
• Maintains organized work processes, materials, and files.
• Maintains confidentiality of information.
• Keeps the company’s best interest in mind when considering or addressing issues.
• Skill in adapting standard procedures to meet the requirements of a given situation.
• Skill in following up with individuals, information, or processes until project completion.
• Ability to demonstrate considerable tact and diplomacy in dealing with others.
• Skill in communicating with others to obtain information or assistance from them in a timely manner.
• Ability to communicate with different individuals, departments, and external parties.
• Desire to support and meet the needs of customers, and other employees.