Buyer

The Chefs' Warehouse; Walnut (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Vacations

Paid Holidays

Health, Dental and Medical Benefits

Weekly pay

Life Insurance

401k

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

The Chefs' Warehouse is seeking a seasoned Purchasing professional to coordinate inventory replenishment, manage PO cycle, and optimize supplier relations for produce-focused categories.

Based in California, you will partner with sales, logistics, and accounts payable to prevent spoilage, drive cost savings, and maintain accurate vendor documentation while navigating a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• 5+ years buying experience with focus on produce.
• Experience in food service distribution or importing is preferred.
• Advanced Excel and MS Office skills required.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate inventory replenishment with suppliers, sales, logistics and operations.
• Manage end-to-end Purchase-to-Pay process and PO creation.
• Maintain vendor documents (W-9s, indemnities, etc.).
• Build vendor relationships to negotiate price breaks and discounts.
• Collaborate with Accounts Payable for timely payments.
• Minimize freights and manage FDA issues with vendors.
• Support stock management for out-of-stock or over-stock risks.
• Maintain Fusion and BFC dating systems to reduce issues.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Vendor relationships

Procurement strategy

Negotiation

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

JDE

Microsoft Office

Job description

About Greenleaf

GreenLeaf is proud to have been part of the sustainability food chain since our inception in 1975 when our founder, Jameson Patton delivered local and organic produce to San Francisco communes and restaurants out of a 1966 Dodge Windo van named Juliette.

As GreenLeaf's reputation blossomed, Jameson and his partner, Steve Walton, became instrumental in the forming and advancement of CCOF, California Certified Organic Farmers.

Today, with over 2,000 discerning customers, GreenLeaf is in the unique position to be able to select and support hundreds of farms and suppliers committed to organic and regenerative farming, ethical ingredient sourcing, worker well-being, and growing local communities.

Position Summary: Coordinates inventory replenishment activities with suppliers, sales, logistics and operations for assigned categories.

What you'll do:

• Place purchase orders with vendors utilizing an awareness of seasonal fluctuations, market effects and other information that require a high attention to detail to avoid spoilage, overstocks, and shortages.
• Manage and maintain the entire Purchase-to-Pay process, covering:
• PO Creation
• Vendor Confirmation
• Accurate expected delivery date updates
• Collaboration with Accounts Payable to ensure payment.
• Maintain Purchasing system data to effectively generate suggested POs.
• Maintain necessary required vendor documents (electronic and physical), such as W-9's, Indemnities, etc.
• Work closely with:
• Vendors to ensure POs are filled and delivered in a timely fashion.
• Vendors to manage FDA issues.
• Logistics to minimize freight expenses.
• Sales Managers to manage out-of-stock or over-stock risks.
• Customer Service teams to enable sales order growth.
• Buyers to build upon best-practices.
• Build and maintain vendor relationships to not only support PO fulfillment, but also negotiate volume discounts and price breaks wherever possible.
• Manage Fusion system issues that impact Purchasing and Receiving.
• Maintain BFC dating system to minimize close dated issues and Expired product impact.

About you:

• 5+ years buying experience with a focus on Produce preferred.
• Bachelor's degree from accredited four-year college or university preferred.
• Previous food service distribution and/or food importing experience strongly preferred.
• Commodity product awareness including blanket commitments, contractual processes, and appropriate market tracking.
• Advanced Excel Skill and additional Computer skills (JDE, Microsoft Suite - Word and PowerPoint, etc.)
• Must have a sense of urgency and be able to work under pressure, be comfortable in a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment.
• Flexible with the ability to work well with all departments and levels of staff both internally & externally.
• Professional demeanor during all interactions with vendors, customers and fellow employees via phone or in-person.
• Have a drive to advance within the organization.
• Must be a team player with a positive attitude.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills and a high level of analytical capabilities within Excel
• Self-starter, professional, goal oriented and able to handle multiple tasks.

The above job description is not an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

Perks & Benefits:

• Paid Vacations, Paid Holidays
• Health, Dental and Medical Benefits
• Weekly pay
• Life Insurance
• 5% above cost for our high-quality food products
• Employee discounts for travel and events
• 401k
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The Chefs' Warehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Our management team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities and general treatment during employment. We are dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce.