What are the responsibilities and job description for the Merchant Operations position at Mid-States Distributing, LLC?
Position Title: Merchant Operations
Classification: Exempt
Reports To: Manager of Merchant Operations
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: Full Time/Typical hours are M-F, 8:00am-5:00pm.
Who We Are
Mid-States Distributing is the leading Farm, Ranch, and Home Retail Organization. Our 71 year old company is owned by 29 independent Farm, Ranch & Home retailers (“Members”) who operate approximately 700 stores across the US and Canada with combined annual sales in excess of 7.5 billion dollars. Our member/owners retail items such as agriculture parts & supplies, petroleum products, hardware & tools, pet food, lawn & garden, animal health supplies, apparel & footwear, sporting goods, and various other products for the Farm, Ranch, and Home.
We are looking for enthusiastic people who like to win! We place a tremendous amount of emphasis on creating a dynamic and positive company culture. Most of our employees will tell you that Mid-States is the best place they’ve ever worked. We value high-energy people with positive mental attitudes who believe in the concept of “serving to wow”! Our consumers are primarily rural people raising kids, pets, cows, and crops so traditional values like God, family, and patriotism are important virtues. So, if you are enthusiastic, competitive, have a great attitude, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, like to build strong relationships, like to win, and refuse to eat meat grown in a lab – Mid-States may be the place for you! If you are not, please apply with our competitors!
Position Overview
This support role is responsible for assisting procurement & merchandising functions of the company. This individual works with both internal and external (i.e., suppliers) cross functional teams (i.e., Merchandising, Category Manager(s), Finance, Supply Chain and Replenishment, Member Services, Distribution Center) to support growth as well as continuous maintenance of the business. This position requires effective communication, collaboration, cross-functional teamwork, presentation and building consensus through influence skills.
Key Responsibilites
Generally, the job requires 80% sitting, 10% walking, and 10% standing. This job is performed in a generally clean environment. The usual and customary methods of performing the job's functions require the following physical demands: some lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling, some stooping and significant fine finger dexterity.
Travel
Limited Travel Required.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
A Few Words From Our COO
I have had the pleasure to work for some incredible companies during my career, but Mid-States is truly the best company I have ever worked for. Lead by our dynamic CEO, Tom Mahlke, our team strives to provide a unique, exciting, fun, and fulfilling work environment for our staff. Things like drama, laziness, and entitlement have no place in Mid-States, which makes Mid-States a refreshing place to work. We offer competitive salaries, have a fantastic benefits package, and believe in rewarding those who produce. We serve a wonderful industry, and we are financially sound and growing rapidly. If you are an enthusiastic, high-energy person with a positive attitude and the skills described above, you may have just found the last job you will ever apply for! I look forward to meeting you. – Jeff Rash, COO
Classification: Exempt
Reports To: Manager of Merchant Operations
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: Full Time/Typical hours are M-F, 8:00am-5:00pm.
Who We Are
Mid-States Distributing is the leading Farm, Ranch, and Home Retail Organization. Our 71 year old company is owned by 29 independent Farm, Ranch & Home retailers (“Members”) who operate approximately 700 stores across the US and Canada with combined annual sales in excess of 7.5 billion dollars. Our member/owners retail items such as agriculture parts & supplies, petroleum products, hardware & tools, pet food, lawn & garden, animal health supplies, apparel & footwear, sporting goods, and various other products for the Farm, Ranch, and Home.
We are looking for enthusiastic people who like to win! We place a tremendous amount of emphasis on creating a dynamic and positive company culture. Most of our employees will tell you that Mid-States is the best place they’ve ever worked. We value high-energy people with positive mental attitudes who believe in the concept of “serving to wow”! Our consumers are primarily rural people raising kids, pets, cows, and crops so traditional values like God, family, and patriotism are important virtues. So, if you are enthusiastic, competitive, have a great attitude, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, like to build strong relationships, like to win, and refuse to eat meat grown in a lab – Mid-States may be the place for you! If you are not, please apply with our competitors!
Position Overview
This support role is responsible for assisting procurement & merchandising functions of the company. This individual works with both internal and external (i.e., suppliers) cross functional teams (i.e., Merchandising, Category Manager(s), Finance, Supply Chain and Replenishment, Member Services, Distribution Center) to support growth as well as continuous maintenance of the business. This position requires effective communication, collaboration, cross-functional teamwork, presentation and building consensus through influence skills.
Key Responsibilites
- Participate in data collection, segmentation and analysis of categories, subcategories, and segments
- Assist and maintain execution of supplier on-boarding (i.e., set up, startup and maintenance)
- Collect product content data from supplier and work with Data Team to set up/maintain in ERP system (item setup, item changes, cost changes)
- Ensure that negotiated programs are communicated and understood by all key stakeholders
- Validate data and provide analytical support as necessary
- Perform key project management duties as assigned
- Assist Members and Suppliers with any Inquiries/Concerns
- Control communication/traffic to internal & external customers
- Other Duties as Assigned
- Bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university in business, retailing, management, sales, or marketing preferred or minimum 3 years of professional experience in a retail and/or distributor/wholesale environment
- Knowledge of one or more areas of Product Management (brand management, supply chain, manufacturing, pricing, marketing/sales)
- Proficient in MS Office applications such as Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint (Emphasis in Excel).
- Analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail
- Advanced interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills needed to interact with all levels of the organization
- Team player with a positive attitude
- Self-directed associate with the ability to drive results, take balanced risks and make decisions
- Ability to multi-task, define long and short-term objectives and establish priorities
- Understands the complexities of supply chain cost and pricing structures
- Ability to offer opinions and support senior management and business leaders (internal)
- Demonstrated integrity and ethical standards
Generally, the job requires 80% sitting, 10% walking, and 10% standing. This job is performed in a generally clean environment. The usual and customary methods of performing the job's functions require the following physical demands: some lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling, some stooping and significant fine finger dexterity.
Travel
Limited Travel Required.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
A Few Words From Our COO
I have had the pleasure to work for some incredible companies during my career, but Mid-States is truly the best company I have ever worked for. Lead by our dynamic CEO, Tom Mahlke, our team strives to provide a unique, exciting, fun, and fulfilling work environment for our staff. Things like drama, laziness, and entitlement have no place in Mid-States, which makes Mid-States a refreshing place to work. We offer competitive salaries, have a fantastic benefits package, and believe in rewarding those who produce. We serve a wonderful industry, and we are financially sound and growing rapidly. If you are an enthusiastic, high-energy person with a positive attitude and the skills described above, you may have just found the last job you will ever apply for! I look forward to meeting you. – Jeff Rash, COO