Purchasing Agent

**Position Overview**

The Purchasing Agent is responsible for identifying purchasing needs, suppliers, researching goods and services, processing purchase orders, and verifying delivered items to support Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services. This role will critically assess suppliers, products, and services, and negotiate the best possible deals, with respect to the demands of the operation. The goal being to maximize opportunities for cost savings, as well as maximizing efficiency of the operation.

**Essential Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Researching and comparing suppliers, goods, and services.
- Selecting the most suitable suppliers in terms of reliability, product quality, and cost-efficiency.
- Monitoring inventory levels and determining purchase needs.
- Developing reports to identify quantity and timing for purchasing wine packaging based on long range bottling plan. These reports may need to be created externally by the company ERP system.
- Leverage NetSuite to develop planning reports where applicable.
- Assisting Winemaking and Cellar departments with purchasing of ingredients, materials, and tirage bins.
- Requesting cost proposals and negotiating contracts and prices.
- Developing reports to determine total landed costs for key materials.
- Preparing and processing purchase orders.
- Maintaining records of all transactions, purchase orders, receipts, and payments.
- Scheduling and verifying purchase deliveries.
- Developing reports to assist in budgeting and accounting.
- Building and maintaining positive, long-term supplier relations.
- Embraces and acts as a role model for a company culture that strives for a safe and teamwork-oriented environment that focuses on customer gratification by delivering high quality goods and service.
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

**Qualifications and Requirements**:

- High school diploma or GED required.
- Degree in business administration, procurement, or a related field preferred.
- Previous experience as a purchasing agent or in a similar position. Wine industry experience is preferred.
- Proficiency in ERP and inventory management software programs.
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
- Strong organization and documentation skills.
- Strong research and analytical skills.

Established in 2007 in Northern California by wine industry veterans Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist, Rack & Riddle was founded with the mission to craft superior sparkling wines. Through years of steadfast dedication and thoughtful expansion, Rack & Riddle has become the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States with 3.5 million cases of capacity. An exceptional winemaking team dedicated to the mastery of sparkling wine supported by state-of-the-art technology, delivers turnkey grape-to-bottle, wine-to-bottle, and private label sparkling wine services with tank sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000 gallons. Four modern wineries located in Healdsburg, Geyserville and Lodi specialize in Méthode Champenoise, Charmat, and in-line carbonation solutions producing the best of all things sparkling. The company prides itself on being an upstanding member of the communities in which it operates and is committed to operating fairly, ethically, and sustainably.

**Rack & Riddle is a drug-free workplace and an Equal Opportunity Employer.