Strategic Sourcing Analyst

The Strategic Sourcing Analyst will find new and existing ingredients, products, suppliers, technology, and trends, for all NOW Health Group (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. Manage 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 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 the financial stability of vendors or service providers. Retains, files, and organizes useful information related to purchasing.

-Participates in risk assessment and control. May function as NHG quality representative for the following:

Make 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 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 ensure 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. Send 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. Obtain legal advice as needed 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.

-Assists in the rollout of new products and product improvements by securing supply and identifying and risks in the supply process. Creates project tracking documentation and ensures that projects risks are identified. Works with cross-functional teams to ensure project timeline is achieved.

-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 the annual vendor evaluation process and in vendor’s meetings.

-Assists in direct importing duties, including evaluating tariffs, freight classifications, mode of transportation, and import brokers, with the eventual goal of leading this process.

-Comply with safety and GMP requirements.

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 accommodation will be provided 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. A minimum of 10 years of experience in a sourcing role within the natural products/dietary supplements or food industry is required. This experience should include globally sourcing dietary supplements, natural ingredients, and food 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. The ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Excellent computer skills; primarily with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Word). Prior experience with Oracle, or other ERP system, is highly desirable. Good attention to detail is required. Promotes teamwork, possesses a positive attitude, and exhibits flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing priorities in a challenging 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 accommodation 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 email, to log in to information, and to manage products and samples. Employees are 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 accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.