Purchase Specialist, Korean Market (Food)

Yami; Brea (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) matching

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

Yami is seeking a Purchasing Management Specialist for the Korean region to own a product category end-to-end. You will source vendors, negotiate terms, and manage POs while collaborating with Marketing and Supply Chain to scale GMV and margins.

Ideal candidates have 2–3 years in purchasing, strong English skills, and familiarity with Korean food products. This role requires on-site work in California and cross-functional teamwork across departments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or related field; may be substituted with equivalent work experience.
• 2–3 years of purchasing and vendor management experience for consumer products.
• Strong written and verbal English skills.
• Familiarity with Korean food products, brands, and emerging products.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and problem-solving abilities.
• Proficiency in Excel for data analysis.
• Ability to manage multiple POs, vendors, and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience with AI tools in product research, market analysis, and workflow efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Identify and source new Korean food products, brands, and suppliers based on market trends and demand.
• Create and manage purchase orders, track orders, and coordinate deliveries.
• Negotiate terms on price, payment, and lead time with vendors.
• Maintain existing product lines and expand selection.
• Ensure timely replenishment and inventory health.
• Develop long-term relationships with Korean suppliers and brands.
• Optimize supply chain costs and extend price leadership.
• Prepare purchasing, inventory, and vendor reports using Excel.

Skills

English proficiency

Korean language

Excel analytics

AI tools usage

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or Supply Chain

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

AI tools

Job description

Founded in 2013, Yami’s mission is to bring the world closer for everyone to experience and enjoy. We make it easy to discover exciting flavors and trending products from Asia. Named Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing start-up on the ”Inc. 500 List.”, we’re committed to connecting people with authentic food, beauty, home, and wellness experiences through our e-commerce platform, iOS, and Android apps.

Job Summary:

The Purchasing Management Specialist for the Korean region is responsible for planning, sourcing, and purchasing all products within their category(ies); and will have end-to-end ownership of a category of our products.

Daily functions include sourcing new vendors, building and managing vendor relations, negotiating costs and terms, maintaining existing product lines, and setting up new product lines, respectively.

The Purchasing Management Specialist will interact with our marketing and promotion teams to come up with pricing/selling plans and decisions on how to scale and expand our customer base and drive GMV growth and margins.

The goal of our merchandising team is to drive GMV and customer growth while maintaining healthy margins. This position will require bilingual skills in order to communicate and negotiate with both domestic and international vendors.

Job Responsibilities:

Sourcing & Procurements

• Identify and source new Korean food products, brands, and suppliers based on market trends, customer demand, and business opportunities.
• Manage daily purchasing operations, including creating purchase orders (POs), tracking order status, following up with suppliers, and coordinating deliveries.
• Source and develop new vendors, craft negotiation strategies and terms on price, payment, and lead time, and close deals with optimal terms
• Maintain existing product lines while continuously identifying opportunities to expand and improve product selection.
• Ensure timely replenishment and consistent product availability to support business needs.

Business Development & Vendor Relationship

• Develop and establish long-term relationships with Korean Food suppliers and brands.
• Source and expand Yami’s Korean Food product selections, and extend Yami’s product leadership.

Supply Chain Optimization

• Identify growth opportunities and weaknesses in the current Korean supply chain.
• Optimize Korean product cost of goods sold for the Food Category to extend Yami’s price leadership.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, pricing competitiveness, product quality, and reliability.
• Generate purchase orders and be responsible for inventory health.
• Drive improvement in inventory availability, inventory balance, and increasing inventory efficiency.

Data & Reporting

• Prepare and maintain purchasing, inventory, and vendor reports using Microsoft Excel and internal systems.
• Analyze sales, inventory, cost, margin, purchase quantities, and product performance data.
• Maintain accurate product and vendor information within internal systems.
• Track open purchase orders, incoming inventory, and purchasing status.
• Identify unusual purchasing or inventory trends and communicate findings to the team.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Category Management, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to ensure product availability and support business growth.
• Support cross-functional projects and assist with other purchasing-related responsibilities as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, and/or related fields (may be substituted with equivalent work experience).
• Minimum 2-3 years of experience in purchasing and vendor management for consumer products.
• Strong written and verbal English skills.
• Strong familiarity with Korean food products, brands, and emerging products.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.
• Supply chain analytics skills, with experience using Microsoft Excel to manipulate and analyze data.
• Ability to manage multiple purchase orders, vendors, products, and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, follow-up, and problem-solving skills.
• AI Tools & Applications: Familiarity with AI tools and their practical applications in daily work, including product research, market analysis, data analysis, and workflow efficiency.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Operations, Supply Chain, and/or Logistics.
• Previous experience in food purchasing, grocery retail, e-commerce, or FMCG industries.
• Experience working with Korean food suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors.
• Understanding of food inventory management, shelf life, expiration dates, and inventory turnover.
• Excellent verbal and written Korean skills.

Benefits & Compensation:

• 401(k) matching
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid time off (PTO): vacation, sick, and holidays