Buyer, Used Equipment

About the role

As the Buyer, Supply Chain at Easy Ice, you will drive end-to-end procurement execution, owning category strategies, sourcing, and replenishment of used equipment to ensure availability at the right cost, quality, and time. This role collaborates with Operations and Finance to forecast demand, convert plans into purchase orders, and manage supplier performance—negotiating pricing, terms, lead times, and rebates while enforcing SLAs and resolving shortages, expedites, and quality issues. You will maintain accurate item masters, safety stocks, and reorder points in the ERP, analyze MRP signals, and optimize inventory turns across branches and the central DC. Acting as the primary liaison to vendors and OEMs, you will qualify new sources, execute RFQs, evaluate total cost of ownership, and mitigate supply risk through multi-sourcing and continuity plans. Additionally, you will coordinate inbound logistics, collaborate with AP to reconcile discrepancies, and drive cost-savings projects, contract compliance, and data integrity.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, and pursue national used equipment opportunities for ice machines, storage bins, condensers, and other assets to support inventory growth and cost optimization.
• Translate demand plans and MRP signals into accurate, timely purchase orders; maintain optimal safety stocks, reorder points, and lead-time parameters.
• Source, qualify, and manage suppliers/OEMs; run RFQs, compare total cost of ownership, negotiate pricing, terms, rebates, and delivery/service commitments (SLAs).
• Monitor supplier performance (on-time delivery, quality, fill rate); drive corrective actions, expedites, and recovery plans for late, short, or defective shipments.
• Balance inventory across branches/DC: execute transfers, set min/max levels, and proactively prevent stockouts and slow-moving or obsolete inventory.
• Partner with Operations, Field Service, and Technical Services to introduce new equipment and sunset obsolete SKUs; coordinate change notices and cut-in dates.
• Manage PO lifecycle end-to-end: confirmations, ship dates, ASN/doc collection, delivery appointments, and receiving issue resolution with warehouse teams.
• Collaborate with Logistics to choose freight modes and carriers; optimize landed cost while meeting service levels for urgent field needs.
• Reconcile pricing and quantity variances with AP; resolve invoice discrepancies, credits, and returns/RMAs with vendors.
• Lead cost-reduction and value-engineering initiatives with quantified savings tracked to KPIs.
• Produce and maintain procurement dashboards: cost, OTD, inventory turns, PPV, and supplier scorecards; present risks and mitigation plans to leadership.
• Ensure policy and contract compliance (ethics, approvals, delegation of authority); support audits and maintain complete purchasing documentation in the ERP.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, operations, business, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
• 3–5 years of purchasing/buying experience in equipment (ice machine industry preferred).
• Proficiency with an ERP/LSC (item master, MRP, PO lifecycle, vendor master); strong Excel/Sheets skills (vlookup/xlookup, pivot tables).
• Demonstrated supplier management experience: RFQs, price/term negotiation, lead-time agreements, rebates, and SLA enforcement.
• Data accuracy discipline: version control, units of measure, costs, locations, and audit-ready documentation.
• Inventory planning competency: safety stock, reorder points, MOQ/EOQ, lead-time variability, and transfer balancing across DC/branches.
• Logistics coordination: carrier selection, freight mode trade-offs, incoterms, delivery appointments, and landed-cost awareness.
• Variance resolution: experience reconciling pricing/quantity discrepancies with AP; handling returns/RMAs and credits.
• Analytical mindset with KPI ownership (OTD, fill rate, PPV, inventory turns); ability to build and interpret dashboards.
• Strong communication and vendor-relations skills; able to escalate, influence, and drive corrective action cross-functionally.
• Organization and prioritization in a fast-paced environment; able to manage many open POs and expedites simultaneously.
• Integrity and policy compliance: understanding of delegation of authority, competitive sourcing ethics, and contract adherence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with OEM suppliers; multi-site service or field-operations support.
• Basic SQL or BI tool familiarity.
• Supplier relationship agility: ability to de-escalate tense situations, influence outcomes, and secure win-win terms.
• Advanced spreadsheet and data skills (index/xlookup, power query, pivot modeling); comfort with BI dashboards.
• Cost/price analytics (should-cost, price-break modeling, freight impact, TCO sensitivity analysis).
• Continuous-improvement mindset (Kaizen/Lean basics) applied to procure-to-pay and inventory accuracy.
• Clear written documentation for ERP item/vendor records, change notices, and SOP updates.
• Curiosity and market awareness: tracks OEM changes, lead-time risks, and alternates to mitigate supply disruption.

Work Environment

Work primarily in a climate-controlled office environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential. The role involves sedentary work with frequent sitting, walking, and occasional lifting (overhead, waist level) from the floor, bending, and frequent near-vision use for reading and computer tasks. Extended periods of sitting and visual acuity for computer work are required.