Founded by Elwood Richard in 1968, NOW FOODS has grown from a small, family operation to a highly-respected manufacturer of natural health products. Today, NOW Foods manufactures and distributes over 1,400 dietary supplements, natural foods, sports nutrition, and personal care products. NOW’s state of the art manufacturing facilities are GMP-certified, and our quality testing labs are among the best in the industry.  The company has over 1,500 employees and its products are sold in more than 60 countries. The company remains family-owned and committed to its original mission: to provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW offers a competitive compensation structure and a comprehensive benefit package which includes medical, dental and vision plans from tier one companies, Paid Time Off, 401k match up to $6,500 per year, educational assistance and company-paid disability and life insurance.  NOW employees also enjoy a wide array of unique benefits such as company-paid profit sharing, quarterly bonuses, employee discount, wellness program, company-paid Teladoc and Rx’nGo, and much more!  Many of our benefits are 100% paid by NOW – this is why NOW Foods has been awarded as one of the “101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work for” in Chicago THIRTEEN years in a row, and on the National Level EIGHT years in a row!

To learn more about NOW Foods, visit nowfoods.com , like us on Facebook at facebook.com/nowfoodsofficial , or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/NOWFoods or on Instagram at instagram.com/nowfoodsofficial .

POSITION SUMMARY

The STRATEGIC SOURCING ANALYST - PURCHASING acts as NOW Health Group agent in finding new and existing ingredients, products, suppliers, technology and trends, for all NHG divisions.  Assists NHG divisions in gathering and evaluating information needed to make decisions involving vendor qualifications, sourcing and purchasing of raw materials, finished goods and packaging that meet NOW specs and pricing requirements. Assists in negotiating contracts, blanket purchase orders and individual purchases. Completes NOW quality inspections and audits with documentation.  Assists in fill rate improvement by sourcing critical supply items. Manages relationships with both domestic and international vendors.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Gathers information for purchasing, including normal product usage, seasonal variation, current inventory levels, general trends, projected sales data, scarcity of products, and projected future price changes.  Selects products for purchase by testing, observing, or examining items. Estimates values according to knowledge of market price.  Performs analysis of supply market trends regarding supply and pricing in order to assist with strategic, long-term decisions on material purchases and inventory levels.
• Obtains supplier information, including list of items or services purchased, product line, inventories, processing, quality and technical information, prices, lead time, terms, current sale prices, guarantees and insurance. Obtains general industry information regarding suppliers, including: organization, personnel, policies, and history, noting past problems and corrective actions. Evaluates financial stability of vendors or service providers.  Retains, files and organizes useful information related to purchasing.
• Participates in risk assessment and control. May act as NHG quality representative for the following:
  • Makes unannounced inspections to supplier facilities as needed
  • Monitors supplier performance to include metrics such as conformance to specifications, and responsiveness to corrective action requests and monitor, analyze, and work with QA Management to drive improvement in supplier performance through supplier performance improvement plans.
  • Follows up on vendor corrective action requests/complaint investigations.
  • Conduct training with suppliers in quality tools & techniques. Assist suppliers in developing improved product quality, process control improvement, and in problem-solving.
  • Ensure that NHG supplier quality procedures, and specifications are followed to ensure compliance with new regulations (i.e. FSMA) and NHG’s policy changes
  • Work closely with suppliers to assure all ingredients are from natural sources using non-GMO ingredients, where applicable.
  • Assists in the development and execution of purchasing / quality agreements with suppliers.
  • Stays current with regulations and requirements in various countries, and how they compare to the U.S. requirements.
• Prepares technical information and specification comparisons for accurate decision-making by the NHG divisions.  Refers samples of all new products and goods from all new suppliers to Quality Control for approval. Coordinates and supports facility audits in accordance with NOW Quality SOPs.
• Discusses defective or unacceptable goods or services with Quality Control personnel, users, vendors, and others to determine the source of trouble and takes corrective action. Sends out tests from Quality Control to various labs when required.  Works with Production, Research & Development, and Engineering departments on analysis and solutions. Reviews bid proposals and negotiates contracts within budgetary limitations and scope of authority.
• Determines method of procurement, such as direct purchase or bid.  Prepares purchase orders or bid requests and negotiates on purchase order exceptions to our standard form.  Obtains legal advice as needed in order to minimize risk to the company.  Confers with vendors to obtain product or service information such as price, availability, exchange rate and delivery schedule.  Approves invoices for payment when applicable.
• Completes various reports such as monthly purchasing/cost savings/quality improvement reports.
• Continually seeks new and existing products to purchase at cost savings for all NOW divisions.  Continually seeks better quality products that follow NOW’s corporate goals and values.
• Requires travel to trade shows and conventions and vendor sites. Assists in annual vendor evaluation process and in vendor’s meetings.
• Assists in duties of direct importing, including evaluating tariffs, freight classifications, mode of transportation, and import brokers, with the eventual goal of leading this process.
• Complies with safety and GMP requirements.

SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

• Supports a culture of safe production and operations; follows all safety rules and procedures.
• Actively participates in the safety program by: engaging in training activities to learn what constitutes a safety hazard; reporting safety concerns to the supervisor, submitting safety suggestions, and correcting or reporting to the appropriate people when an employee sees a workplace health or safety hazard, until it is resolved.
• Assists with communicating safety information to new employees.
• Fulfills responsibilities as outlined in the company safety management plan.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a purchasing/sourcing role within the natural products/dietary supplements industry is required.
• This experience should include globally sourcing dietary supplement and other natural ingredients as well as knowledge of key suppliers in the industry, the seasonal nature of ingredients, product/ingredient knowledge of botanicals, oils, and other natural ingredients.
• 10-35% travel (domestic and international) expected.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Speak and write English; Chinese is highly desirable; other languages a plus.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.

REASONING ABILITY

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent computer skill; primarily with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Word).
• Prior experience with Oracle, or other ERP system, is highly desirable.
• Good attention to detail skills are required.
• Promotes teamwork, possesses a positive attitude, and exhibits flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate with vendors by phone or fax, to log information, and to handle products and samples.  Employee is occasionally required to move from place to place in the warehouse, and to examine products by sight, taste or smell. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color differentiation.

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate..

It is the policy of NOW Foods to prohibit discrimination of any type, and to afford equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and prospective employees, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.

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