Strategic Food Procurement Lead

Crescent Foods; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Crescent Foods is seeking a Senior Procurement Specialist to oversee timely, cost‑effective acquisition of finished goods, raw materials, and packaging. You will partner with production control, QA, warehouse operations, and planning to maintain accurate purchasing levels and minimize inventory, while ensuring food safety compliance.

The role emphasizes vendor management, ERP proficiency (SAP/Oracle/NetSuite), and strategic procurement improvements across the Crescent Foods enterprise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Food Science, Business, or related field.
• 5+ years of procurement experience, with at least 2 years in the food or beverage industry.
• Strong understanding of food safety standards, ingredient sourcing, and supplier audits.
• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and procurement platforms.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Conducts an inventory periodically.
• Recommends replenishments for items after inventory process to keep production running.
• Reviews and prepares requisitions to accurately create purchase orders for the acquisition of materials.
• Design all quotes for new and existing vendors
• Recommend improvements to all deliveries and process all purchase order requests
• Design and implement various cost-effective strategies
• Monitor inventory of all repair parts and general supplies
• Evaluate all purchase requisitions and maintain accuracy according to department’s procedures
• Monitor all purchase orders and maintain regular follow-up with all suppliers
• Monitor all control costs of purchase materials and ensure achievement of all targets
• Monitor all inventory of products and prepare all purchase plans to meet sales demands with accuracy
• Maintain regular contact with vendors and suppliers

Skills

Vendor management

Procurement best practices

Cost optimization

Analytical skills

Negotiation

MS Office

Inventory management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management

Tools

SAP ERP

Oracle ERP

NetSuite

Job description

Crescent Foods is seeking a Senior Procurement Specialist to oversee timely, cost‑effective acquisition of finished goods, raw materials, and packaging. You will partner with production control, QA, warehouse operations, and planning to maintain accurate purchasing levels and minimize inventory, while ensuring food safety compliance.

The role emphasizes vendor management, ERP proficiency (SAP/Oracle/NetSuite), and strategic procurement improvements across the Crescent Foods enterprise.