About the Role
The Merchant is a commodity trader with developed trade skills. This role has responsibility to interpret a market, formulate and communicate market opinions and identify risk/reward positions for the Scoular company. A Merchant builds deep customer relationships and leverages those relationships into business growth.
Market Analytics:
- Assess market trends, key leading indicators and is proficient in the market
- Review product supply and demand and formulate opinions related to the market to make trade decisions that create revenue for the trade unit or product group.
- Manage a position or subset of the overall position for the business
- Expected to have opinion on market everyday
Logistics/Execution:
- Lead execution logistics planning and strategy. Includes fundamental knowledge of truck/rail execution and commodity arbitrage.
- Manage relationships with the freight providers.
- Negotiate freight contracts.
- Arbitrage the position for optimal execution.
- Expected to solve problems in midst of execution and day-to-day execution issues.
Customer Relationship Building:
- Develop customers and business that support the trade unit's business strategy.
- Develop and maintain extensive and varied business relationships in the marketplace.
- Provide customers with accurate market information and answers to questions about their business transactions, such as settlements.
- Build effective, on-going interaction with both current and potential customers.
- Act as a front-line negotiator for handling trading conflicts. Responsible for customer experience to ensure Scoular delivers a favorable customer experience (supplier, end user, carrier).
P&L Responsibilities:
- Manage the P&L for the assigned business or subset of the business.
- Prepare monthly, quarterly, annual P&L estimates for the trade unit or product group as needed.
- Manage daily position report for the assigned business within the trade unit.
- Accountable to maintain position limits, credit limits and in store inventories as defined by division leadership and trade finance.
- Create forecasts to inform the Trade Unit Manager/Product Group Manager.
Requirements:
About You
- 2+ years merchandising experience.
- College degree in business related field or equivalent experience.
- Proven critical thinking skills and ability to drive strategy forward.
- Demonstrated exceptional customer service skills and relationship building capability.
- Proven ability to perform in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated aptitude in accounting and financial practices and procedures.
- Highly skilled in problem solving techniques.
- Demonstrated understanding of grain markets, hedging, commodity flows and logistics.
- Knowledge of the agricultural industry's trading standards and procedures.
- Ability to travel, as needed
Preferred:
- Active involvement in industry agriculture association groups.
- Demonstrated knowledge of agricultural macroeconomics.
