TITLE                          Procurement Specialist

REPORTS TO            Product and Supply Chain Manager

GENERAL INFORMATION

Location:                     3445 36th St. Kentwood, MI 49512

Hours & Schedule:      Full-time on-location, Monday to Friday 8 AM – 5 PM

Compensation:           Salary TBD

COMPANY INFORMATION – WHO WE ARE

Howies Hockey Tape is a locally owned and fast-growing business that has been around the Grand Rapids area since 2002 with another distribution facility operating out of Burlington, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. Our focus is selling high quality hockey tape, accessories, apparel, and many other sporting goods. Over the years we have become a staple in the hockey community, and we are currently working with every team in the NHL, AHL, and the majority of division 1 colleges around the country.

In 2015 we launched our sister company, Howies Athletic Tape. This allowed us to branch into new markets and has given us the opportunity to work with all sports. We have built this side of the company to an elite level that allows us to supply products to MLB, NFL, MLS, and NBA teams. We are also supporting D1 football programs like the University of Michigan, Alabama, and Michigan State, as well as thousands of high schools across North America. If someone needs tape or sports medicine products, we want to be the ones to supply it.

All in all, we pride ourselves on providing the world’s highest quality products to pro shops, retail stores, teams of all levels, and international distributors. Another facet we are focused on is expanding our internet sales business directly to consumers so everyone can use Howies. Our team-oriented culture, industry-leading customer service, and ability to fulfill orders quickly and error free across all sales channels sets us apart from the competition.

POSITION INFORMATION

"One Thing": Ensure that Howies has a dependable supply of the world’s highest quality products possible at the best possible price.

Responsibilities:

• Monitor product usage and collaborate with sales to maintain a forecast for products
• Create and submit purchase orders to ensure that inventory is available when needed
• Develop relationships with suppliers and vendors
• Exercise outstanding problem-solving skills in cooperation with our vendors when problems arise
• Negotiate with suppliers to achieve optimal price, quality, delivery, and terms
• Manage incoming product shipments and logistics including international shipments
• Assess, manage, and mitigate supply chain risks
• Track and report supply chain metrics
• Track supplier performance and hold them accountable to goals for cost, quality, and delivery
• Collaborate with product development to identify and evaluate vendors for new products
• Clearly communicate with suppliers, sales, operations, and product development
• Continuously improve the areas of your responsibility to get better every day

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, or related field.
• Proven working experience as a Procurement Specialist or in a similar role
• Knowledge of sourcing and procurement techniques
• Talent in negotiating and problem solving
• Experience in collecting and analyzing data
• Aptitude in decision-making and working with numbers
• Strong written and verbal communication

General: As a small business there are many other tasks that will be required.

• Data entry projects as needed.
• Administrative, IT, or cleric duties as needed.
• Communication with entire team - top to bottom.
• Engage the entire team on both the operations and sales sides of the business - team effort.
• Represent Howies Hockey / Athletic Tape at tournaments and tradeshows as needed
• Order fulfillment – know how to process and pack all orders
• Work with management and marketing to develop new marketing pieces
• Work with management and sales to develop new sales ideas
• Communication and relationships with the entire team – top to bottom
• Engage both the operations and sales sides of the business daily
• Anything else required from Howies to be a best-in-class business

OUR COMPANY MANTRA

Here at Howies, we take the phrase “work hard, play hard” very seriously. When we are not busy assisting our customers, we are busy playing hockey and having a good time. When the days are just too perfect to be working, we will take a quick trip to the driving range, play pickup basketball, throw the football around, or get some batting practice in to stay seasoned for our summer softball league. In the wintertime, we will crack open a couple of cold ones and watch the Red Wings or even pop downtown and catch a Griffins game at the Van. All in all, we are always up for a good time, both in the office and out. We strive to make the office an awesome environment that our team is excited to come to on a daily basis and put in a hard day’s work.

APPLY HERE