What are the responsibilities and job description for the VMI Buyer position at Empire Marketing Strategies?
Description
Job Summary:
The VMI Buyer oversees product management and vendor relationships for a designated group of brands, ensuring smooth inventory flow, accurate ordering, and effective promotional execution. This role collaborates with internal teams and external suppliers to manage purchase orders, coordinate product deliveries, and maintain quality standards. Additionally, the VMI Buyer is responsible for reviewing sales forecasts, ad plans, and inventory needs to drive product availability and support business objectives across the department.
Essential Functions
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:
Product Management & Inventory Control
Required Skills/Abilities:
Job Summary:
The VMI Buyer oversees product management and vendor relationships for a designated group of brands, ensuring smooth inventory flow, accurate ordering, and effective promotional execution. This role collaborates with internal teams and external suppliers to manage purchase orders, coordinate product deliveries, and maintain quality standards. Additionally, the VMI Buyer is responsible for reviewing sales forecasts, ad plans, and inventory needs to drive product availability and support business objectives across the department.
Essential Functions
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:
- Product Management & Inventory Control
- Vendor Relations & Purchasing
- Quality Assurance Coordination
- Planning & Forecasting
Product Management & Inventory Control
- Oversee the management of 6-8 specific brands or products within the Produce Department.
- Ensure proper inventory replenishment for new products according to reset schedules.
- Manage product flow, including handling pack changes, bonus packs, and discontinuations.
- Monitor and adjust product allocations based on Kroger's needs.
- Write and manage purchase orders (POs) for both promotional and regular items.
- Conduct accounting research to verify purchase order costs, validate contracts, and ensure correct billing.
- Work closely with vendors and Empire CSMs to discuss upcoming promotions and new product launches.
- Communicate with suppliers to ensure efficient ordering processes, accurate shipments, and timely deliveries.
- Coordinate product arrival and warehouse turnover, maintaining alignment with store inventory needs and delivery schedules.
- Communicate regularly with warehouse receivers, inspectors, and the Regional Accounting Service Center (RASC).
- Conduct regular store order reviews and manage quality assurance for fresh, sellable product within the warehouse.
- Review division ad and display plans, ensuring alignment with promotional strategies.
- Analyze forecasts for product turnover, promotional ads, and display needs.
- Adapt product delivery schedules when necessary to maintain smooth operations.
Required Skills/Abilities:
- Expertise in the Category Management process and proficient in syndicated and panel data as well as familiarity with pricing, promotion and assortment optimization software knowledge and experience working with customer POS data systems (experience with data sources such as Nielsen, IRI, NPD, Numerator, 84.51, dunnhumby, SPINS, Spectra/demographics).
- Ability to distill complex data into clear, compelling, actionable stories.
- Advanced Microsoft Office Suite skills (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint).
- Exceptional communication skills – verbal, written, and presentation.
- Strong planning/organizing skills; the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and create structure and process where it does not currently exist.
- Strong understanding of industry and global/national category management and shopper insight trends, frameworks, and best practices.
- Extensive knowledge of retail merchandising and in-store execution tactics.
- Demonstrated ability to build indispensable, collaborative partnerships with retail customers and internal business partners, across functional teams.
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Proficiency in analytical tools and data sources (e.g., Nielsen, IRI, NPD, Numerator, 84.51, dunnhumby, SPINS, Spectra).
- Familiarity with Space Planning software and additional analytical platforms (e.g., IRI Panel, Stratum, Symphony Retail AI/EYC, Tableau, Microsoft Access).
- Will be supplied a Kroger computer, and / or Kroger Buying Screens
- Based in the Greater Cincinnati area
- May be requited to meet at Kroger GO occasionally, but can office at Home
- Duties are typically performed in an indoor, office environment.
- Noise levels – typically low to moderate.
