About Lumi
Lumi helps ecommerce brands produce memorable and sustainable packaging through our online platform and worldwide network of factories. Tens of millions of packages are being shipped every year with Lumi products.
By joining Lumi you will have a front row seat to the rapidly changing way people buy things, and the supply chain behind everything that gets shipped to your doorstep. Learn more →
Our network of suppliers and manufacturers is the bread in our Lumi sandwich. It holds everything together. As our Senior Buyer you will work within our manufacturing network team to ensure the numbers make sense for vendors, customers and Lumi.
You will collaborate with an existing (and ever expanding) network of suppliers and manufacturers to source a wide variety of packaging products from corrugated mailers to printed inserts. You'll put your knowledge of the packaging and printing industry to use when negotiating pricing, specify jobs with accuracy and always deliver in a timely manner.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee vendor pricing negotiations
- Maintain and improve relationships with manufacturing partners to improve quoting turnaround and overall responsiveness
- Operate with a sense of urgency to ensure timely turnaround times for customer proposals
- Identify the best sources from our network to match our customers’ project needs
- Optimize total cost for Lumi and our customers by analyzing the cost tradeoffs between different combinations of manufacturers and logistics partners
- Calculate and monitor the impact of pricing with win/loss ratios and total gross margin health metrics
- Structure long-term contracts with strategic vendors to deliver improved pricing over time and effective flow of communications
- Improve internal tools as well as customer-facing pricing and estimating processes to increase pricing speed and enhance product margins
- Ensure quotes and product specs are correct and carefully input into our systems
- Collaborate with our sourcing team to identify and grow Lumi’s manufacturing partner network strategically
- Research industry trends that affect packaging pricing and lead times
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of vendor relations, pricing, and buying within the print or packaging industries.
- Excellent negotiation skills with the ability to sell yourself & Lumi’s vision to manufacturing partners
- Demonstrated success building personal relationships and strategic partnerships with vendors and manufacturing partners
- Strong financial understanding and acuity with pricing and margin calculation
- Creative problem solving and critical thinking skills
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Genuine curiosity about manufacturing processes and vendor capabilities
- Experience in the printing and/or packaging industry is required
- Experience doing market research, competitive analysis, and cost analysis
- Proficiency with basic software, including Excel and Google Sheets
What we look for
Our team is made up of people from diverse backgrounds, often working remotely across the world. We believe cross-pollination is one of the best ways to foster community and new ideas. For that reason we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to any of our positions.
Creating a great environment for everyone on the team is something we care deeply about. There are a few qualities we look for in anyone joining Lumi. Here are some of the questions we'll be asking ourselves when reviewing your application:
Curiosity: Your role will evolve as time goes on. Do you have an eagerness to learn new skills, adapt to new situations and get out of your comfort zone?
Communication: Whether it is in written or spoken form, are you able to communicate clearly and concisely with others?
Empathy: Do you collaborate well with others? How do you deal with disagreements? Do you relate to the challenges we seek to solve for our customers?
Work ethic: Do you have a can-do attitude? In the ever-moving world of logistics, will you do your best to not keep others waiting? Can we rely on you to bring rigor and enthusiasm necessary to your work?
Good taste: Are you attentive to details? Do you care about creating an elegant, pleasant experience for customers and those around you?
Note that due to the volume of applications we are not able to reply to everyone. Rest assured, we do read every application. Thanks for considering us!