Buyer - Commodities

Be part of a growing, successful company in an exciting and challenging field. Border States is 100% employee-owned, which means you’re empowered to make decisions, find solutions and receive rewards for your hard work.
 
This position will be located in: Fargo, ND  

Application Deadline: October 1, 2025.

Please note that the position may be filled before or after the listed application deadline. Applications will only be accepted while the posting remains active.

Job Summary

Facilitates daily purchasing and inventory management activities. Administers and coordinates the SAP/GAINS purchasing and inventory system functions on assigned product families including, but not limited to, stock purchase orders, branch to branch stock transfers, and related maintenance of SAP master records. Manages supply flow on assigned product families through consistent communication with applicable branch and supplier contacts.  Utilizes inventory service management tools and other exception reports and tools to identify critical low inventory situations. Improves inventory performance through reduction of overstock and non-stock inventories.  Analyzes inventory requests from sales or marketing teams and implement stocking parameter changes determined to be appropriate to support sales growth.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Maintains collaborative relationships with branch sales, warehouse, and operations staff. 
• Provides proactive and responsive support for branch staff and deliver excellent customer service in response to branch inventory requests.
• Responds to actual or predicted stock-outs and identifies larger trends in supplier service levels that affect the supply chain.
• Monitors and takes steps to ensure healthy inventory service levels on high velocity items, and products important to key customers.
• Facilitates review, submission, and expediting of stock purchase orders.
• Makes trade-off decisions with respect to inbound freight expenses, inventory services levels and inventory turnover.
• Maintains collaborative relationships with suppliers and manufacturer’s representatives.
• Evaluates excess inventory on products or product families with low inventory turnover and takes action to improve inventory turns including supplier returns, order point or order quantity adjustments, branch to branch stock transfers, de-expediting inbound supply orders, or sales promotion opportunities.
• Maintains expected delivery dates on inbound supplier orders to improve date confidence with branch teams and customers.
• Responds and resolves invoice, shipping, and carrier discrepancy issues in a timely manner

Non-essential Functions

• May work in close connection with our alliance customers
• Assist in training new team members
• Participates in training document reviews and creation
• Participates in inventory & purchasing projects, such as data cleansing, branch startup plans, facility relocations, process improvement initiatives, etc.
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervisor or designate

Qualifications

• Four-year business or technical degree or the equivalent in work experience. 
• Prior procurement, inventory management, or supply chain management experience with knowledge of electrical, utility, industrial products preferred.
• Solid understanding of customer service and conflict resolution, purchasing, purchase order management and supplier returns, inventory management and stocking parameters, such as reorder points and lead times 
• Competency with Excel or another spreadsheet application
• Previous knowledge of SAP or an MRP platform is preferred

Skills and Abilities

• Multitasking, organization, and time management skills
• Excellent customer service skills include being competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged

Physical Requirements

Frequency at which you would carry/lift in a typical day:
Occasionally 0 – 33% Frequently 34 – 66% Continuously: 67 – 100%

• Lift from Waist:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at all
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Not at all
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Lift from Floor:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Frequently
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Frequently
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Occasionally
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Carried for Distance:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at al