Kitchen & Bath Buying Support Specialist

Lumbermens Merchandising Corporation; Pennsylvania; Hybrid; USD 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumbermens Merchandising Corporation (LMC) is seeking a Kitchen & Bath Assistant Buyer to support the Department Manager and Buyer with order entry, follow-up and supplier communications. The role focuses on managing a product category and assisting a limited dealer base, providing accurate pricing updates and timely transactional support.

Responsibilities include administrative duties, data maintenance for K&B dealers and vendors, preparing reports, and assisting in vendor relations and

Qualifications

• 2+ years of related experience in an office environment.
• High School diploma or equivalent. Associates degree in Business Administration, Marketing or equivalent work experience is preferred.
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills.
• Excellent customer service focus and skill set.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate with internal and external contacts, both in writing and verbally.
• Considerable knowledge of computer programs including Excel, Word.
• Considerable knowledge of the automated systems used by LMC and customer/dealers.

Responsibilities

• Provides administrative support to the department.
• Maintain pricing updates.
• Assist in organizing training events, webinars and shows.
• Maintains the database for all K&B dealers, designers, and vendors.
• Assists in supporting projects for our private label, ModernView.
• Incoming telephone call and email management.
• Coordinates preparation of reports generated within organizational unit to ensure appropriate personnel/customers receive information in a timely manner.
• Relays messages and decisions to management, other internal personnel and external personnel, to keep them informed of project or program status and performance.
• Assist with sending out a monthly newsletter.
• Post vendor and industry updates
• Performs other duties as required and/or assigned.

Skills

Administrative skills

Organizational skills

Customer service

Verbal communication

Written communication

Excel

Word

Education

High School diploma or equivalent

Associate degree in Business Admin/Marketing

Tools

Excel

Word

Job description

LMC is a leading buying group for a network of independent family-owned building material companies across the US. As their buying group, LMC negotiates and facilitates procurement opportunities for the most desired brands in the lumber and building materials industry. We also work to provide operational support with focus on logistics, capital equipment, technology, and marketing. By leveraging the billion dollar buying power of our members, LMC ensures our members have a competitive edge to capture more of their local market share.

The Kitchen and Bath Assistant Buyer provides administrative and clerical support for the Kitchen & Bath Department Manager and Buyer. The incumbent is responsible for order entry, follow-up and order placement with suppliers. This position has the responsibility to become completely familiar with the terms and conditions of sale for each product grouping and be familiar with all aspects of the complete transaction. The assistant will interact with the dealer base and assist the buyers through managing a product category and a limited number of dealers designated by the department manager.

Primary Responsibilities:

Administrative Support

• Provides administrative support to the department
• Maintain pricing updates.
• Assist in organizing training events, webinars and shows.
• Maintains the database for all K&B dealers, designers, and vendors.
• Assists in supporting projects for our private label, ModernView
• Incoming telephone call and email management
• Coordinates preparation of reports generated within organizational unit to ensure appropriate personnel/customers receive information in a timely manner.
• Relays messages and decisions to management, other internal personnel and external personnel, to keep them informed of project or program status and performance.
• Assist with sending out a monthly newsletter.
• Post vender and industry updates
• Performs other duties as required and/or assigned

Buyer Support

• Accurately perform all functions related to order taking, order placing and order expediting
• Processes orders including pricing, placing and expediting the order
• Tracks status of orders, RGA’s and shipments
• Assists buyers with research for sales analysis studies
• Develops and maintains a strong knowledge of the products and market pricing on a delivered basis.
• Assists managers with reports and special projects
• Follow up on RGA's, credits and issues.
• Updates any pricing changes within our files and communicates to the dealers.
• Keeps the supervisor informed of the status of all projects and purchasing/sales activities in a timely manner.
• Attend vendor meetings as required by the buyer in order to gain working knowledge of programs.
• Attendance at the LMC Annual Meeting as authorized by divisional VP to assist in purchasing activities and training development.
• Establish and maintain good relations with specific supplier partners
• Assist dealers with ordering and understanding how to order our products.
• Make outgoing phone calls to dealer base.
• Help the K&B team with growing the category.
• Performs other duties as required and/or assigned

Customer Service Support

• Assist in the general overflow of customer service-related volume.
• Informs dealers of order acknowledgements, quotes and shipping updates, follow up on any late shipments and notifies the dealer.
• Monitors order status including shipping dates, prices and product availability and back orders.
• Updates any pricing changes within our files and communicates to the dealers
• Expedites all claims handling for orders for fair, timely and equitable resolution.
• Maintains complete and accurate documentation for all quotations, orders, claims and any other significant dealer/vendor interaction.
• Performs other duties as required and/or assigned.
  

Qualifications:

• 2+ years of related experience in an office environment.
• High School diploma or equivalent. Associates degree in Business Administration, Marketing or equivalent work experience is preferred.
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills.
• Excellent customer service focus and skill set.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate with internal and external contacts, both in writing and verbally.
• Considerable knowledge of computer programs including Excel, Word.
• Considerable knowledge of the automated systems used by LMC and customer/dealers.
• Considerable knowledge of the co-op business and lumber/lumber yard industries is preferred.
• Ability to act independently applying discretion, judgment and tact in a highly sensitive environment with changing priorities.
• Ability to retain considerable knowledge of the company's policies and operations.