Demand and Procurement Planner - Hybrid (must reside in Bentonville, AR or St Louis, MO)

The Demand and Procurement Planner manages procurement functions, including forecasting, budget management, and order procurement. This role ensures the effective planning and execution of procurement activities to align with and support organizational objectives.

Inventory Management:

• Oversee demand planning & inventory management of ADV procured items 
• Maintain accurate records of all inventoried items including those that have $0 accounting value for correct asset management

• Hold Nautical accountable for variances in inventory that do not match our usage

Demo Procurement:

• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to identify best provider for ADV procured items and establish minimum thresholds with the business teams.

• Reevaluate semi-annually to ensure best costs

• Procure ADV procured items ensuring timely delivery to Nautical to support seamless program execution

• Items ordered include carts, appliances, prep equipment, and uniforms for demo operations
• PO Creation & invoice management/reconciliation

• Partner with Nautical on quarterly basis to advise on upcoming changes in order volume by SKU for generic items (Nautical Ordered)

Special Event Procurement:

• If items need to be ordered outside of Nautical by business teams, this role will support procurement and PO creation 

Job will remain open until filled

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities 
Fulfillment
• Formulate fulfillment strategies and provide guidance and direction to VP of Client Services in determining inventory needs of the field execution strategy.
• Prepare and produce inventory forecasts based on projected work volumes
• Develop requirements and workflows

Sourcing and Procurement
• Solicit, negotiate, and analyze bids from national, regional, and local vendors to secure most favorable quality, innovation, pricing, shipping, and scheduling in alignment with business strategy.
• Submit quotations for customer pricing and internal budgets
• Work with management, Client Services, and Field Execution to proactively manage projects to budget and identify unique areas for savings
• Create purchase orders for procured items

Optimization
• Work closely with business leaders (i.e., Client Services, Operations, Field Execution, etc.) to maximize processes.
• Identify gaps and best practices in planning operations and propose improvements for overall performance

Warehousing
• Provide oversight and support for all inventory management and maintenance requirements.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports
- This position does not have supervisory responsibilities for direct reports

Indirect Reports
- May delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Travel and/or Driving Requirements
- Travel and Driving are not essential duties or functions of this job

Minimum Qualifications Minimum Qualifications The following are the minimum job-related qualifications which an individual needs in order to successfully perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the job
Education Level: (Preferred): Bachelor's Degree in related field or equivalent work experience

- 3-5 years of experience in related field

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Excellent written communication and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated commitment to meeting or exceeding customer expectations, effectively solicits and responds to the needs of the customer both external and internal.
• Ability to visualize and plan objectives and goals strategically
• Skill in supervising to include delegating responsibility, training and evaluating performance
• Ability to identify performance challenges or issues and work with associates to improve/correct those issues.
• Ability to recognize opportunities for growth and improvement, and to work with associates to achieve company and personal goals
• Ability to negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups
• Analytical and financial/costing skills necessary to manage planning and budgeting
• Product/Vendor evaluation, contract negotiations and implementation
• Works cooperatively with others toward common group objectives, demonstrates respect for the ideas and contributions of other team members, cultivates positive relationships with other associates, and provides assistance and support to others
• Forecasts, sets objectives, anticipates, structures tasks, and establishes priorities
• Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into the process steps; develops schedules and task/people assignments; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results

Environmental & Physical Requirements

Office / Sedentary Requirements
Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed primarily in an office environment. Typically requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time (66%+ each day), ability to hear the telephone, ability to enter data on a computer and may also require the ability to lift up to 10 pounds.

Additional Information Regarding Advantage Solutions Job Duties and Job Descriptions
Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job position or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.

Any estimate, schedule, or guideline provided to associates in this job description or elsewhere in connection with their jobs is only intended to help describe job duties and for planning purposes. Regardless of any such estimate, schedule, or guideline, associates must always record all time worked for our company (which includes but is not limited to on-site work time in an assigned store, office, or other work location; required waiting time; administrative time; and work-related travel time).

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.