The VP of Purchasing is responsible for the successful management of products and suppliers spanning across multiple product lines and for developing, implementing, and managing specialized inventory analyses ensuring the supply chain team meets its goals. Leads and maintains systems, programs and practices to create efficiencies within the supply chain and deliver financial and operational value to the company. The VP of Purchasing will participate in process improvement initiatives utilizing best practices. The position reports to the CEO and works closely with members of Suppl Chain, Warehouse, Logistics, Quality, Sales & Marketing and Operations. Essential Duties: · Develops, negotiates, and manages vendor programs and relationships. · Researches and approves new vendors. · Conducts regular category reviews with preferred vendors and senior management. · Manages vendor communications and consistently provides vendor performance feedback and resolves issues based on vendor scorecard assessment. · Analyze business and customer trends; develop, plan and execute strategy using key findings that result in a profitable concept-selling format. · Coordinate supply chain management with other company functions, such as sales, marketing, finance production, and quality assurance. · Develop, implement and analyze inventory control procedures · Plan, assign, and direct work amongst the replenishment team to accommodate workload and schedule requirement. · Interface & plan with category management, buyers, sales and vendors to ensure effective replenishment for ongoing needs. · Manages forecast exceptions to achieve targeted service levels and turn rates. · Run monthly dead & slow inventory reports and monitor levels to attain dead and slow reduction goals. · Work with the inventory replenishment team to negotiate obsolete inventory RTV's, transfers etc. · Monitors attainment of product category and supplier service level and turn goal. · Ensure the commodity grouping strategy is developed, tracked and measured against key performance criteria. · Develop and/or assist in developing sourcing strategies for assigned commodity groupings and implement new strategies once approved. · Work to minimize inventory levels, and to maximize cash flow and working capital while ensuring adequate inventory to support customer delivery. · Together with local buyer(s) ensures the timely delivery of materials and services to meet manufacturing and operation requirements. · Identify cost savings opportunities and manage cost reduction activities to achieve the annual cost reduction goal. · Develop project plans, core KPIs/metrics, deliverables, and milestones for the procurement function and present results during management review. · Develop and implement purchasing processes, procedures and strategies to improve overall department efficiency and effectiveness. · Monitor and report on supplier performance to ensure high quality, on time delivery, fill rates and service levels. · Negotiate agreements with critical suppliers to secure the highest quality goods and value based on market shifts, supply chain demands and various product offerings. · Focus on and use a collaborative approach in developing close work relationships with internal customers in an effort to fully understand their procurement needs and to ensure that these are delivered through the larger supply chain network. · Ensure the procurement team is represented at key stages of the new product development process. · Collaborate with manufacturing and operational managers to establish short-term and long-term business objectives. · Develop appropriate procurement practices to ensure adherence to company policies and legal requirements and compliance to applicable ISO guidelines and FDA GMPs. · Perform other duties as assigned. Requirements: · At least 10 years of experience in raw material sourcing, procurement and management with at least 5 of those years in a manufacturing environment. · Able to manage time well, plan, handle and prioritize multiple tasks, and complete them with a strong sense of urgency. · Proven leadership skills, coaching and leading a team as well as influencing non-direct reports. · Excellent written and oral communication skills. · The agility to multi-task in a fast paced work environment with shifting timelines/moving deadlines. · Strong critical thinking and resolution in ambiguous situations with a self-driven initiative to manage projects effectively. · Proven negotiation capabilities, including price, payment and delivery terms. · Proven history of implementing cost savings initiatives · High standards of integrity required. · Strong analytical, mathematical and problem solving abilities; must know how to perform financial analysis and also be able to analyze technical data. · Experienced in all Microsoft Office applications and MRP/ERP—accuracy and attention to details is critical. · Advanced Excel Skills. · Strong strategic management skills and abilities. · Ability to speak on a one-to-one basis using appropriate vocabulary and grammar to obtain information, explain policies, procedures, and persuade others to accept or adopt a specific opinion or action. · Able to interpret artwork and graphical printing specifications a plus. · Proven experience leading a dynamic team. · Business travel required.