Buyer, Supply Chain​/Logistics

Greenberg Fruit Company has been distributing fresh fruits and vegetables throughout Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa since 1936. Greenberg Fruit Company was the vision of Elmer Greenberg who started the business in a warehouse on the corner of 11th and Howard in Omaha’s historic Old Market. Elmer handed control of the business to his son Don in the 1950s. Greenberg Fruit was a fixture in the Old Market until moving to the current location of 9705 I Street in 1973.

Although 9705 I Street was considered a West Omaha location in the early seventies, the business is now centrally located to conveniently serve all of Omaha and Lincoln and is within one mile of Interstate 80 providing easy access to all points East, West, North and South.

• Own the daily purchasing of all fresh produce for Greenberg Fruit
• Review customer orders, inventory, production requirements, and upcoming demand to determine purchasing needs
• Monitor daily produce markets, availability, seasonality, weather, and supply conditions
• Purchase from growers, shippers, wholesalers, brokers, and other suppliers while maintaining competitive costs and reliable supply
• Make informed decisions on daily, forward, and opportunistic purchases while managing the risk of overbuying
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels based on product movement, shelf life, customer requirements, and market conditions
• Take ownership of the profitability of the purchasing function
• Evaluate purchases based on total delivered economics, not simply case cost
• Understand the relationship between purchase cost, selling price, yield, freight, processing, repacking, labor, shrink, and finished-product margin
• Negotiate competitive pricing, freight, terms, pack sizes, quality, and service with suppliers
• Identify opportunities to improve gross profit through sourcing, market timing, supplier selection, pack configuration, and purchasing discipline
• Identify and address margin erosion caused by poor quality, low yield, excess inventory, freight, shrink, or unnecessary handling
• Monitor purchasing performance against market conditions, historical costs, budget, and expected margins
• Communicate significant cost or market changes and their financial impact to the General Manager
• Continuously look for ways to improve gross profit dollars, margin, inventory turns and return on working capital
• Manage purchasing requirements for Greenberg Fruit's significant school business, including menus, delivery schedules, specifications, pack sizes, and seasonal demand
• Coordinate purchasing with fresh-cut production requirements and understand raw-product yield, trim, waste, and finished-product economics
• Purchase bulk product based on expected finished-product requirements and usable yield rather than simply case volume
• Support repack operations by purchasing appropriate master-case quantities, pack sizes, and product specifications
• Work closely with production and operations to ensure product availability while minimizing excess inventory, handling, and processing costs
• Understand how customer-specific requirements affect product cost and profitability
• Build and maintain strong relationships with growers, shippers, wholesalers, brokers, and other suppliers
• Maintain multiple sourcing options for key commodities when appropriate
• Evaluate suppliers based on cost, quality, availability, fill rate, service, communication, and reliability
• Maintain high standards for freshness, condition, grade, maturity, size, and pack quality
• Address rejected, damaged, shorted, or poor-quality products with suppliers
• Balance purchase price with actual usable yield and product quality
• Monitor inventory levels and product age daily
• Identify slow-moving, excess, and aging inventory before it becomes a significant…