Senior Purchasing & Logistics Specialist
Succession track to Purchasing Manager
Xenali Inc. | Edmonton, Alberta
11133 184 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5S 2L6 | +1.780.487.6669 | xenali.com
Reports to: VP, Finance & Operations
Employment type: Full-time, permanent, on-site
Compensation: $60,000–$70,000
Where this goes
This role is built to become the leadership of our purchasing function.
You start by owning sourcing, inventory and logistics decisions across the business. Do that well and the path forward isn't vague — there's a formal review at 12 months with a defined increase and expanded responsibility as you take on more of the function.
We're being straight about the starting salary. It reflects a role designed to grow, and we'd rather have that conversation upfront than lose someone a year in over expectations nobody discussed.
What this role is really about
Anyone can process a purchase order. We're hiring for the instinct underneath it.
The person we want reads a supplier quote and immediately wants to know what three other suppliers would charge. They notice a freight invoice that came in higher than last time and ask why before it gets paid. They see a price increase announced for next quarter and buy ahead of it. They spot that two purchase orders heading to the same port could share a container. They watch the exchange rate, because a significant share of what we buy is priced in USD, RMB or EUR and timing is money.
None of that appears in a job description as a task. It shows up as margin.
We also need you to see things coming. A vendor whose lead times have quietly slipped by ten days is a job site delay six weeks from now. A tariff change announced today is a cost we absorb in the fall unless somebody acts. You'll be expected to raise these before they land, not report them afterward.
About Xenali
Xenali is a commercial furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and Division 10 supplier based in Edmonton. We outfit schools, hospitals, municipal buildings and industrial facilities across Western Canada — lockers, washroom accessories, storage systems, casework and commercial furniture — for clients including ATCO Group, the City of Edmonton, Graham Construction and PCL.
Our supply chain runs from manufacturing partners in India, Asia and Europe through ocean freight and customs into our Edmonton warehouse, and out to job sites on schedules construction crews do not move for anybody.
Sourcing is not a back-office function here. It is how we win. When we land the same specified product at a better delivered cost than our competitors, we take the job. When we misjudge a duty rate or a freight lane, we hand the margin back.
The Role
You own sourcing decisions and inventory investment for the business, and you own them from day one.
The core discipline is total landed cost. A locker quoted from India may look 15% cheaper than a UK source and still be the wrong decision once duty, surtax, ocean freight, brokerage, transit time and the cash tied up in transit are priced in. We need someone who runs that comparison properly, defends the answer with numbers, and doesn't sort quotes by unit price.
Our Purchasing Associate handles transactional execution — issuing POs, tracking shipments, chasing vendors and brokers, setting up vendor records. You direct and quality-check that work, and own the analysis, negotiation and inventory decisions above it.
What you'll own
Sourcing and total landed cost
- Build true delivered-cost comparisons across sourcing options: unit price, duty, tariff and surtax, ocean and inland freight, brokerage, insurance, transit time and working capital impact
- Classify goods under the Harmonized System and apply that knowledge — classification drives duty rates, trade remedy exposure and available relief
- Identify, qualify and onboard new suppliers domestically and internationally to widen our options
- Negotiate pricing, payment terms, credit and volume commitments with suppliers
- Tender and negotiate freight, brokerage and consolidation; select carriers and lanes on delivered cost and reliability rather than habit
- Pursue cost recovery: price adjustment clauses, duty and surtax remissions, freight overcharges, damage and shortage claims
- Track and report the savings you deliver against a target
Proactive cost and risk management
- Monitor tariff, duty, surtax and trade action changes affecting our goods, and act before they reach our cost base
- Track FX exposure on foreign-currency purchases and time commitments accordingly
- Buy ahead of announced supplier price increases where the carrying cost justifies it
- Consolidate shipments across purchase orders to cut freight per unit
- Identify approved-equal and alternate products that meet specification at lower delivered cost, and bring them forward
- Flag drifting supplier lead times before they become site delays
- Bring us sourcing opportunities nobody asked you to look for
Proactive inventory management
- Set and maintain stocking strategy: reorder points, minimums, maximums and safety stock across stocked lines
- Plan purchasing against the project pipeline rather than reacting once a job site is already waiting
- Own the cash trade-off — full-container economics push toward larger orders, working capital pushes back, and somebody has to decide where that line sits
- Monitor aged and slow-moving stock and drive disposition before it becomes a write-off
- Partner with the warehouse on receiving discipline, cycle counts and inventory accuracy
Landed cost and margin protection
- Allocate freight, duty, brokerage and landing charges across shared-container purchases so inventory carries its true cost
- Reconcile freight, brokerage and duty invoices against quotes and shipping documents, and dispute discrepancies before payment
- Analyze cost variance by supplier, lane and product line, and act on what it shows
- Work with Finance at month-end so landed costs land in the correct period
Overseeing purchasing execution
- Review and release purchase orders raised by the Purchasing Associate — verifying pricing, specification, quantity and project margin before anything reaches a vendor
- Handle complex, high-value and new-supplier purchasing yourself
- Set the standards and routines the associate works to, and cover during absences
- Build documented supplier intelligence, lane knowledge, customs history and pricing precedent — this information belongs in the business, not in one person's head
Logistics
- Own the freight forwarder and customs broker relationships, including rate negotiation and service performance
- Oversee ocean and air freight from overseas suppliers through customs clearance to Edmonton delivery
- Keep customs documentation and compliance accurate — errors cost money in both directions
- Oversee domestic LTL, FTL and courier movement to warehouse and job sites
- Escalate supply risk to Projects early enough that it can still be solved
What you bring
Required
- 3+ years in purchasing, procurement, logistics or supply chain, with demonstrated ownership of sourcing and supplier negotiation — not order processing
- Hands-on experience with international shipping: incoterms, ocean freight, customs clearance and duty
- A track record of finding savings others missed. Come with specifics: what you found, how you found it, what it was worth
- Working command of HS classification and how duty and tariff exposure affect delivered cost
- Strong analytical ability and advanced Excel; you build your own analysis rather than waiting for a report
- Real attention to detail — this role reconciles numbers where a transposition error becomes a margin problem
- Comfort pushing back: on a supplier's price, a broker's invoice, or an internal assumption
- ERP experience (NetSuite an asset; SAP, Dynamics, Sage or similar considered)
- Legally entitled to work in Canada
Assets
- Landed cost allocation across mixed-SKU containers
- Direct sourcing experience in India, China or Southeast Asia
- Fluency in Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Punjabi or Mandarin — a real advantage in supplier negotiation given where we buy
- Customs compliance, trade remedy measures, remission or drawback claims
- Inventory planning: reorder points, stocking levels, obsolescence management
- Construction, building products, manufacturing or project-based distribution background
- SCMP, CSCP, CPSM or international equivalent
- Post-secondary education in supply chain, business or a related field
Who does well here
You read a quote and immediately wonder what it would cost from somewhere else — then you go find out. You follow up without being asked twice. You're willing to tell a long-standing supplier their price isn't competitive anymore, and willing to dig through a spreadsheet to prove it. You'd rather flag a problem early and occasionally be wrong than let one surface at month-end.
You'll have real autonomy here and direct access to decision-makers. The flip side is that nobody will chase you for status updates.
What success looks like
By 3 months — You know our vendors, lanes and product lines. You're releasing POs independently and reconciling freight and duty invoices without help.
By 6 months — You've built a total landed cost comparison that changed a sourcing decision, negotiated at least one improved supplier or freight rate, and you're managing reorder points across our core stocked lines.
By 12 months — You're running sourcing and inventory independently with documented savings behind you, and we're having a serious conversation about you taking on the function.
What we offer
- $60,000–$70,000 starting salary, with a formal review at 12 months tied to expanded scope and pay
- Health and dental benefits
- A defined path to leading the purchasing function
- Unusual breadth for the level: sourcing, negotiation, inventory and international logistics in one role
- Direct reporting to the VP, Finance & Operations, with visibility to company leadership
- A growing company where sourcing decisions visibly move the bottom line
How to apply
Submit by applying via Indeed
In your cover letter or email, tell us about a time the cheapest option turned out to be the wrong answer, and how you worked that out. We read every one.
Xenali is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Pay: $60,000.00-$70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Mileage reimbursement
- On-site parking
- Vision care
Application question(s):
- Do you have 3 or more years of urchasing, procurement, logistics, or supply chain experience?
- Have you negotiated pricing directly with suppliers?
- Do you have experience with international purchasing, freight, customs, or Incoterms?
- Have you used an ERP system such as NetSuite, SAP, Dynamics, or Sage?
- Tell us about a time the cheapest option turned out to be the wrong answer, and how you worked that out.
Work Location: In person
