Buyer

Job Summary

This role involves buying stock from established and new suppliers, and delivering the right stock at the time, driving the availability of the range. You will also manage Supplier relations and internal relations, find new products and suppliers, and then onboard them to work with the business.

What does this role Involve

• Order product from suppliers based on either forecasted demand, historical data, or specific sales requirements.
• Establish and maintain supplier relationships globally, manage between 75 - 150 suppliers, usually within a specific channel.
• Source new product and suppliers through liaison with existing suppliers and Group studios or existing 3rd party partners.
• Negotiate agreements and contracts with suppliers using commercial judgement, knowledge of industry pricing models and using forecasts on ordering volumes and supply chain information.
• Attend Trade Shows and make supplier visits both domestically & internationally to investigate new products, meet new suppliers and manage existing supplier relationships.
• Ensure product compliance with relevant safety standards, working with suppliers to ensure that the necessary certifications have been awarded and liaising with the internal QA specialist as necessary.  
• Review product stock holdings and monitor turn rate to ensure stock is at optimum levels taking into consideration perennial sellers, hot new lines and ensuring that the supply chain can meet the demands.
• Review product lines that have not sold and work with sales and marketing to investigate if the products need a boost or if the product should be off-loaded through the appropriate stock clearance process.
• Create weekly (and medium to long term) new release schedules based on supplier release dates for use by other internal teams.
• Prepare and review product pricing (domestic and international).
• Ensure that all product information is shared with colleagues in Sales, Marketing, and Operations, including information about new products, availability of products, dates for product releases and promotions plus any other competitor information that may be gleaned in the conduct of your role.
• Respond to changing priorities and achieve tasks quickly and efficiently.

What are we looking for

• 2 years plus proven sound experience of Buying and Merchandising.
• Positive and enthusiastic with a passion to learn.
• Always collaborative and empathetic both internally and externally.
• High level of numeracy skills.
• Advanced Excel skills and a high competency level in other MS Office applications.
• Confident communicator both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to multi-task and be adaptable to changing demands and priorities.
• Good negotiation skills.
• Work well under pressure.
• Strong team player but self-motivated and autonomous in approach.
• Ideally, a knowledge of the industry, or an interest and passion for board games, card games or role play games