Procurement & Planning Manager

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We pride ourselves on being family-owned and operated and treating our employees like family. Working at a company where safety and quality are top priorities. Every day, Wawona Frozen Foods' commitment to excellence justifies its reputation for delivering superior quality, value, and service. Wawona's state-of-the-art production methods and facilities ensure consistent high-quality products - all while maintaining the highest food safety standards as required by the USDA and state regulators.

The Procurement and Planning Manager reports to the Director of Supply Chain to lead the buying and procuring of the company's supply of products and services. It is their responsibility to ensure the company sources quality and affordable products and builds out forecasting schedules to ensure production has what is needed to meet sales quotas and demands in a reasonable time.

Maintain relationships, understand production schedules, and evaluate buying strategies to ensure ample product is sourced to run production.

• Liaising with key company employees to determine their product and service needs.
• Perform all procurement activities, including pre-qualification, negotiating supplier agreements, preparation of contracts, and tender management.
• Supervise the purchasing and procurement process across all departments.
• Identifying areas for improvement to drive performance and business results continually.
• Manage the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of procurement for the organization.
• Developing solid relationships with business stakeholders and strategic supply partners to improve business.
• Creating policies and procedures for risk management and mitigation.
• Create Standard Operating Procedures for the Purchasing/Procurement department and process.
• Stay informed about market trends, industry developments, and changes in supply and demand to make informed purchasing decisions.
• Negotiate favorable terms, pricing, and delivery schedules with suppliers, ensuring that contracts are clear, enforceable, and aligned with organizational objectives.
• Monitor inventory levels to prevent overstocking or stockouts, optimizing the balance between availability and cost.
• Identify and mitigate potential risks in the supply chain, such as disruptions, quality issues, or regulatory compliance concerns.
• Maintain and report on KPI's, OKR's or other metrics, reporting to leadership with valuable trends, information, and for budgeting purposes.
• Regularly assess supplier performance based on key performance indicators (KPIs) and quality metrics and take corrective actions as needed.
• Collaborate with various departments, such as production, finance, and warehouse, to ensure that procurement aligns with their needs and supports overall business operations.
• Identify strategic sourcing, supplier consolidation, and diversification opportunities to enhance efficiency and reduce risk.
• Ensure invoices, pricing, and all purchasing is validated and tracked through budgeting systems. Oversee invoices verifications and approval to pay, validating inventory and pricing matches contract terms.
• Work closely with production and warehouse to ensure forecasting, lead times, and scheduling align with product on hand, production schedules, and sales orders.
• Partner closely with Field Operations and Quality teams to review fresh fruit quality, harvest timing, and supply readiness, ensuring raw materials meet specification, food safety standards, and production timelines.
• Conduct regular reviews of fresh fruit performance with field operations to align quality, maturity, availability, and delivery timing with production and customer requirements.
• Travel periodically to supplier and grower locations to assess vendor compliance, quality systems, food safety practices, contract adherence, and operational capabilities.
• Perform on-site supplier audits and relationship reviews to validate contract terms, strengthen partnerships, and identify opportunities for improvement or risk mitigation.
• Manages data analytics and forecasting on purchasing, planning, supply chain, and inventory in collaboration with sales, production, warehouse, and purchasing.
• Oversee and ensure collaboration between procurement, demand planning, supply planning, inventory, and consumption.
• Collaborate with product development teams to source materials and components for new products, considering factors like cost, availability, and lead times.
• Implement process improvements, technology enhancements, and best practices to streamline procurement processes and achieve greater efficiency.
• Generate reports and analyze data to track purchasing trends, measure performance, and provide insights for decision-making.
• Knowledge of raw material purchasing, packaging purchasing, and fresh fruit commodity purchasing process and quality standards. Lead the sourcing team to ensure timely consumption of…