Purchasing Associate Jobs in Inver Grove Heights, MN

TITLE: Purchasing Associate

REPORTS TO: Sr. Manager, Inventory & Purchasing

JOB CLASSIFICATION: Salary, Non-Exempt

LOCATION: Minneapolis Headquarters

ABOUT US: Blu Dot (www.bludot.com), an award-winning designer and maker of modern home furnishings, is currently searching for a Purchasing Associate to join our dynamic and values-driven company.

Company Purpose

Inspire a more creative way of living through good design that's good to everyone.

Core Values

- Good design is good. Good design should be reflected in everything we do.

- Keep it simple. Strive for economy in all that you do.

- Everyone is invited to our party. Treat every individual with respect & dignity.

- Our glass is half full. Focus on the positive.

- Be humble. We take nothing for granted.

- Turn it up to 11. Determine what is expected and do a little more.

- Stay curious. Try, learn, improve, repeat.

ABOUT THE ROLE: In this role, you will focus heavily on the procurement process, coordinating purchases with vendor partners worldwide to ensure accurate and timely deliveries of goods and services. As part of a dynamic team, you will play a key role in monitoring item data integrity, including the setup and maintenance of items. Additionally, you will be responsible for managing inventory flow, tracking specific purchases, and reporting updates to internal teams. Your contributions will be crucial in enhancing the overall efficiency and success of our procurement operations.

WHO YOU ARE:

• You excel at managing multiple priorities, ensuring excellent customer service for both internal and external partners.
• You possess an entrepreneurial mindset, understanding the broader impact of your actions on the business.
• You thrive in dynamic environments, are nimble and flexible, able to wear multiple hats and adapt quickly to changing circumstances without needing detailed instructions.
• You enjoy solving complex problems, demonstrating creativity and persistence in achieving solutions.
• You take initiative and ownership, showing responsibility and accountability in your role.
• You are a collaborative team player, fostering positive relationships and effective teamwork.
• You are highly organized, maintaining meticulous attention to detail in your work.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• You will create, manage, and maintain item information systematically, ensuring accurate and current product details.
• You will coordinate and align with the Product Development team to promptly order relevant samples, ensuring product accuracy and adherence to Blu Dot standards.
• You will oversee the lifecycle of fabric swatches, from setup to stock maintenance, ensuring timely availability for stores and customers.
• You will work with demand planning to communicate forecasts to our factory suppliers and create orders as an output of the demand planning process.
• You will diligently track every order from inception to delivery, ensuring timely product availability.
• You will collaborate with factories to support production capacity discussions, ensuring smooth fulfillment and adherence to lead times. You will manage purchase order acknowledgments and confirmations with factory partners, ensuring quantities, costs, and ship dates align with the order plan.
• You will maintain ongoing master data hygiene across the item portfolio, including attributes, inventory inputs (on-hand, on-order, lead time, MOQ), and other reference data that feed planning and reporting.
• You will manage service parts orders with your factory partners, ensuring availability for the warehouse and customer experience teams.
• You will support sales teams with special orders, sample requests, and order-related escalations, serving as the procurement point of contact.
• You will be measured on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as in-stock rates, vendor performance, lead times, on-time ship rates, and other critical metrics that contribute to the success of our procurement operations.
• You will complete other tasks as assigned.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE + QUALIFICATIONS*:

• 1-3 years in purchasing or inventory management role.
• Proven ability to effectively collaborate with multiple internal and external business partners.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Excellent communication, organizational and project management skills
• Position is based out of Minneapolis, MN headquarters with a flexible working environment/schedule (no full-time remote work available)

*These are 'nice to have' credentials, but we always welcome candidates with unique and diverse backgrounds. We see the value in a wide range of experiences and always love connecting with people excited about opportunities to join Blu Dot.