Purchasing Analyst

Shape What’s Next at Select Custom Solutions

At Select Custom Solutions, we don’t just make ingredients—we create possibilities. From La Crosse, WI, our team brings innovation and expertise to contract manufacturing, branded dairy and non-dairy ingredients, custom blends, and ingredient distribution. With modern facilities and cutting-edge capabilities, we help some of the world’s most trusted brands deliver products that make a difference in people’s lives.

With a strong focus on growth, innovation, and excellence, Select Custom Solutions offers opportunities to be part of meaningful work that impacts industries worldwide. Whether you’re working hands-on in manufacturing or supporting operations, your contributions help drive the future of food and nutrition.

We’re proud to be partnered with Select Milk Producers, one of the nation’s most progressive dairy cooperatives. With over 110 family-owned dairies and multiple processing plants and joint ventures nationwide, our partnership connects us to a powerful network driving the future of food and nutrition.

Join us—and help shape what’s next.

What Select offers you:

Comprehensive benefits package focusing on your physical, financial and emotional health to include the following perks as well as the standard benefit offerings (health, dental, vision, etc.):

• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays Off
• Uniform Program
• Shoe Allowance
• Onsite gym
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Leadership Development
• Opportunities to support our local communities
• Chance to apply best practices in sustainability and environmental initiatives
• Commitment to producing high quality nutritious products and providing nourishment around the world

What this role is all about:

We are looking for a Purchasing Analyst in La Crosse, WI.

Schedule: Monday – Friday, Normal Business Hours

The Purchasing Analyst is a strategic, data‑driven role responsible for analyzing demand, inventory, and supply performance across multiple locations to drive optimal purchasing decisions. This role goes beyond transactional purchasing to evaluate what to buy, when to buy it, and where to position inventory to balance service levels, working capital, and total landed cost.

The Purchasing Analyst partners closely with Purchasing, Planning, Operations, and Logistics to translate data into actionable insights that improve inventory health, reduce risk, and support business growth. This role is expected to challenge assumptions, identify trends, and proactively recommend improvements—not simply execute purchase orders.

Job Duties:

• Analyze inventory levels, consumption trends, and demand forecasts across multiple locations to identify risks, excess, shortages, and optimization opportunities.
• Develop inventory recommendations by SKU and location, including safety stock, reorder points, and stocking strategies.
• Evaluate inventory health metrics (turns, days on hand, excess & obsolete, service levels) and provide clear insights and action plans.
• Translate demand and inventory analysis into purchasing direction, including quantity, timing, and delivery location.
• Support buyers and purchasing coordinators with analytical inputs to improve purchasing decisions and reduce reactive buying.
• Assess trade‑offs between inventory positioning, transportation costs, lead times, and supplier constraints.
• Analyze inter‑plant inventory imbalances and recommend transfers or alternate sourcing strategies.
• Support network‑level inventory optimization, not just single‑site decision making.
• Partner with Logistics and Operations to align purchasing decisions with production plans and warehouse capacity constraints.
• Build and maintain analytical tools, dashboards, and reports (Excel, Power BI, ERP extracts) to support purchasing and inventory decisions.
• Identify trends, anomalies, and improvement opportunities using data and intelligence—not just historical norms.
• Present findings and recommendations clearly to purchasing leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Identify process gaps and inefficiencies in purchasing and inventory planning and drive data‑based improvements.
• Support standardization of inventory policies and purchasing rules across locations.
• Contribute to strategic initiatives such as working capital reduction, service level improvement, and supply risk mitigation.
• Understand and adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices and Safety Protocol.
• Stop any observed unsafe acts and obey facility safety rules and procedures.
• Correct or report any observed safety hazards.
• Support safety policies and programs.

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities, as management may deem necessary from time to time.

Qualifications:

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Analytics, Operations, Finance, or a related field required.
• Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be considered.

Experience Required:

• 2–5 years of experience in supply chain, purchasing analysis, inventory planning, or demand planning preferred.
• Experience supporting manufacturing or multi‑site operations strongly preferred.

Certification/Licensure Required:

• CPIM - Preferred

Where you’ll be working:

Our La Crosse, WI, plant is home to approximately 330 employees. This facility supplies the food, beverage, and nutritional industries with innovative functional ingredients and superior quality contract manufacturing services.

La Crosse, WI, is nestled between the Mississippi River and the rolling river bluffs. This town is home to a plethora of colleges, high-quality health care, community events, and cultural opportunities. If you want to enjoy outdoor activities there are many opportunities, such as hiking, cycling, skiing, and boating. The town hosts multiple events annually and is famously known for their Oktoberfest celebration as well as offering a minor league baseball team. Visit the La Crosse Chamber site https://www.lacrossechamber.com/ for more information on local events.

AA/EEO – Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity