I get to spend my days procuring, negotiating and tasting various food ingredients needed for manufacturing the world’s best tortellini, ravioli and manicotti manufacturer. I also take pride in procuring necessary equipment and materials for our QA, R&D and maintenance teams.

Specialized in sourcing all varieties of flours, grains and pulses for use in organic baby foods, snacks and non-dairy ice creams.

I managed inventory for four product categories in Canada. Main drivers of my day are forecasting accuracy and promotion planning as well as working closely with supplier partners for the correct forecasting of new and mature products.

Managed as many as 14 team members. I was responsible for a multi-million dollar inventory portfolio with a heavy focus on private brand merchandise; build orders in containers to maximum cube or kilograms; my main focus is driving the team towards their key metrics including fill rate (customer satisfaction), inner margin / increased company profits and a reduction of excess inventory; monitor and adjust forecasts; collaborate with marketing and sales teams on promotions; prepare executive and high level summaries and analysis on daily supplier or item impacts; Managed and resolved issues for the team with both internal and external customers; prepared and reviewed yearly goals for team members; created training materials and evaluated new hires; interviewed potential candidates and mentored interns; traveled quarterly to distribution centers for collaboration on supply chain improvements.

Provide detailed information to internal customers as well as supplier partners on the overall performance of key product categories.

My responsiblities include the full development of an e-commerce assortment for three websites where none previously existed, all centered around offering a complete sleep system and sleep related items. I am building relationships with vendors, planning inventory,managing the drop ship process and creating SOP where none existed. As the company grows I am also building an in-store assortment of core key items such as pillows, sheets, comforters and miscellaneous sleep related items.I am lucky enough to work hand in hand with the Strategic partners group to develop a varied assortment of products for their specialty customers.My daily interactions are with inventory, operations, regional vice presidents, managers, store visual, sales and customer service professionals. One of my favorite but most challenging requirements is to speak with the new hires. They're eager to learn, often times full of energy and questions, but always enjoyable to speak with and learn from.

Create cohesive assortment worth approximately $1.75M annually Research and establish private label table cloth programsAttend open to buy meetings and stay within monthly buying budget guidelines Prepare merchandising guide for stores Plan and execute vendor product trainingsSupport stores during sales, bridal events and other in store promotionsManage support staff and their assignmentsResponsible for interdepartmental projectsCompetitive shopping done weeklyPlan and present marketing /advertising ideas and products

Purchase new and innovative items for the basic housewares departmentAnalyze weekly status reports to spot trends in the businessExecute changes to the assortment Provide web assortment, make suggestions, write copy and provide samples.Liaison between buyer and marketing/ public relations staffPrepare analysis of business trends, assortment changes, sales rates Negotiate vendor programsPrepare POS reports as neededAssist buyer with comprehensive assortment reviewsCreate and set up SKUS, new vendor agreementsResearch competitors in the market place, follow up on advertised merchandiseComplete competitive shopping trips monthly.