Plant Buyer

Clesen Wholesale is a premier grower and distributor of seasonal annual flowers and plants selling to independent garden centers, professional landscapers and mass markets in the Upper Midwest. We are the largest single source of winter décor for outdoor holiday containers, decorating and landscape beds serving the entire US. Established in 1941, our fourth-generation family business is enthusiastic and passionate about quality, selection and service. We have three greenhouses facilities located in Evanston, Lake Villa and Grayslake, IL along with a distribution center in Northbrook, IL. We are a thriving business with years of continuous strong growth and an exciting vision for the future. We are building a stronger culture with great teams and great individuals to help create beautiful environments for the public and private sectors.

The Plant Buyer position is responsible for executing forecasts of live plants and hardgoods from cradle to grave with vendors. This includes purchase order management, item scheduling, quality assessments, item availability management, and achieving order fulfillment goals. In addition this position is responsible for providing product support to the sales and marketing teams.

Responsibilities and Duties:

1. Purchase Order Management. Generate initial orders from forecast plan, make updates as required, and communicate changes effectively. Monitor purchase orders from placement through receipt.

2. Manage Vendors. Maintain and improve existing relationships in addition to building new relationships. Seasonally evaluate and improve contracts by maximizing product fit to so that quality specs are met. Negotiating cost to maintain product margin.

3. Manage Product Lines. Communicate product schedules to vendors and modify as needed. Stay current with industry trends and evaluate new items within product line assignment.

4. Availability Management. Adjust purchase orders to meet sales order demand. Maintain appropriate inventory levels to fulfill orders and drive sales with additional availability.

5. Product Waste. Meet and/or exceed waste goals by maintaining planned schedules, product quality throughout contract cycle, and weekly availability throughout season.

6. Product Support. Communicate product availability issues and solutions, data reports, and product status details to internal teams

7. Vendor Freight Management. Manage vendor-direct deliveries and coordinate with Transportation department on third-party deliveries.

Qualifications:

· Bachelor’s Degree preferably in a related field

· 2-4 years of purchasing experience

· Horticulture industry experience required

· Strong project management and financial analysis skills preferred

· Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel

· Hands-on experience utilizing purchasing software

Physical Requirements

This position requires the ability to occasionally lift office products and supplies, up to 20 pounds.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Position Type/Position Location/Expected Hours of Work:

Exempt, salaried

Evanston Location

Full-time regular, Overtime expected during peak seasons

Other Duties: As agreed upon with supervisor.

Benefits:

· One week of PTO to accrue within first year of employment

· 8 company paid holidays

· Very competitive compensation

· Excellent benefits, including three medical plan offerings with employer contribution for employees and dependents, company paid basic life insurance, dental, vision, voluntary life, short term disability

· 401k with up to 4% company match annually

Clesen Wholesale is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national orgin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at HR@clesen.com.