Position Overview:

The Import Purchasing Agent is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end logistics, ensuring accurate pricing, timely procurement, and efficient shipping of goods from overseas vendors to Sparks destinations. This role requires meticulous attention to detail, proactive communication, and strong collaboration with internal teams, vendors, and external partners to optimize supply chain operations.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute global supply chains.
• Analyze factory pricing to ensure all details, to include freight and tariffs, are captured.
• Review pricing to ensure it is in line with previous programs and ensure pricing is accurate.
• Ensure continuous liaison between (Operations – Engineering) and (Sales – Marketing).
• Communicate internally (Project Management, Account Managers, and Accounting) and externally (companies in the US, China, and Mexico, chosen forwarder, lead at the factory, and aggressive continuity of many projects).
• Manage supply chain.
• Attend weekly evening conference calls with the China team and lead conversations as needed.

Daily Tasks

*Receive and analyze bids from overseas vendors.

• Proactively monitor container rates.
• Work with carriers to get bi-weekly/monthly container rates.
• Track and assign the correct duty/custom % for the product involved.
• Keep informed of changes in tariffs and duties, sharing with internal partners.
• Make sure all tooling, sample cost, small PO fee costs are captured in the onset of bids.
• Source and price additional materials with US vendors, including those materials in import pricing, for a complete proposal.
• Track costs on bid vs. actual container costs to ensure accurate charging.

*Issue PO to overseas vendors.

• Request and update POs as the project moves along to track the packaging details and ensure all details are accurate and in the system before the project ships.
• Post on Basecamp to vendors and track POs during production to ensure that they are on time.
• Follow up with vendor acknowledgement and ready date. Inform vendors how to ship.
• Process all payments to ensure they are made on time and accurately. Work with accounting on a daily basis to complete all wire transfers for overseas vendors.

*Arrange logistics.

• Track all import shipments and create/maintain tracking documents to be shared with the internal teams.
• Provide daily/weekly updates for each client, ensuring shipments are picked up on time.
• Approve shipment bookings with internal and external partners.
• Combine shipments if needed based on container usage and overall project flow. Delay projects as needed to ensure full containers.
• Alert the destination sites, both internal and external, to be ready for the shipment two weeks prior to delivery.
• Receive and process all final paperwork and team with the AM and Accounting Departments to process all final invoices promptly.
• Ensure shipping documents are complete and clear in order to efficiently import products into the destination countries and make payments to exporting vendors on a timely basis

Qualifications:

• Minimum 5-8 years global purchasing experience
• Excellent communication skills
• Project management experience required
• Technical degree/experience a plus
• Knowledge of Mandarin Chinese language a plus
• College degree preferred
• Strategic thinker
• Ability to communicate with all levels of management

Company Overview:

Sparks is a live digital brand experience agency. We specialize in creating connection–-real human connection–-onsite, online or anywhere. Through a mix of sound strategy, breakthrough creative and flawless execution, we create memorable trade show exhibits, live and virtual events, brand activations, retail stores, corporate environments and other immersive experiences that deepen relationships, inspire action, and build trust--and we do it all over the world.

We operate an open and inclusive culture where all recognize, respect, appreciate and encourage individuality regardless of race, gender, age, religion, culture, ideology, economic status, disability or sexual orientation. We believe that everyone at all levels of our organization is accountable for building this culture and we are challenging ourselves daily to seek and build diversity and equality in any way that we can–and we welcome your ideas to do so.

Think you’ve got what it takes to hang with us?

We’ve built our reputation on creating awesome experiences for our clients, but equally important is the experience we create for our people. Yes, we work hard. But we also make it a point to have fun. And we find our people work that much harder when work doesn’t feel so much like, well, work. If you share our mindset, we should chat.

We’ve always got our eyes peeled for smart, hungry people who think that what we do isn’t so much a job as it is a way of life. And while any company can supply stuff like benefits (and, of course we do too!) our greatest benefit comes from the amazing people you’ll interact with daily, who will challenge and push you to think harder, be more creative and love what you do.

Sparks provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.