At Viking, we provide Office Supplies, Services and Solutions to help our customers work better, whatever their workplace. Serving businesses across all industries and sizes, we offer a single source of the solutions and services our customers need to be more productive, including the latest technology, core office supplies, print and document services, business services, facilities products and furniture.
We are searching for a proactive, results-driven Procurement specialist to join us based from our Leicester office in Beaumont Leys.
This role will be for our UK & Ireland region only and focus specifically on incremental/ad-hoc product solutions and incremental sales opportunities outside of those from our core assortment and central category/purchasing teams in Europe.
These are requests that will likely and typically come direct from our customers or local sales teams, will sit outside of our existing category portfolios but where a customer need has resulted in an incremental sales opportunity arising.
This could be anything from an ad-hoc product opportunity, through to a specific category that a customer is looking for.
Most opportunities are likely to be fast moving, with short deadlines to turn around so reaction time, set up, execution and exit will be critical to this role. Your speed to react will make the difference between winning and losing.
The critical factor is that this will be customer owned product, meaning that they will take full responsibility for the ownership of the stock to ensure we have no risk/exposure and limited liability.
You will possess a keen eye for detail, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a solid understanding of procurement and commercial best practices.
You will be a very strong communicator and highly commercial with excellent negotiation skills. Being able to think on your feet and make sound judgements are critical to your personal characteristics.
Accustomed to working autonomously within a matrixed organisation, you will be delivering best in class commercial terms, interact daily with our local sales colleagues and vendor base for UKIE region in relation to the special purchase of spot buy products that fall outside of the core categories of Viking; optimizing cost, product quality and supply and offering a compelling customer proposition as a result.
Your Responsibilities:
- Working closely with the UKIE sales team ensuring strong collaboration and understanding of the specific incremental sourcing product requirements at a local level and the commercial parameters directly involved in such opportunities.
- Ensuring that we work to a very robust set of commercial controls and parameters for the purchasing of such goods that will be "customer owned" products.
- Ensuring with Sales that before the purchase of any such goods that the customer has signed a legally binding contract with us to ensure we have no or limited risk before we undertake the onboarding of any such suppliers or purchasing of goods, stock liability etc.
- Stock management, Price management, Supplier onboarding and exit will be fundamental responsibilities in this role.
- Where it makes sense to do so share vendor product and general intelligence with the centralised procurement team as appropriate.
- Undertake an appropriate negotiation strategy with vendors including price, rebates (possibly), quality and delivery conditions for products.
- Actively monitor and evaluate vendor delivery performance and product quality in line with contractual agreements
- Proactively mitigates the supply risk. Leads the corrective and preventive action plan process.
Your Profile:
- Academic level of thinking in a business-related discipline with 2-6 years of relevant experience
- Part CIPS qualified or equivalent professional buying qualification/ experience
- Strong Sales and Customer focus and awareness
- Strong negotiation skill set and commercially high calbre
- A results-driven, proactive trading mentality with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment
- Fluent knowledge of English, spoken and written
- Must be responsive to internal customer requests from Sales and the end customers