Associate Category Manager

Sorry, this job was removed at 08:10 p.m. (CST) on Monday, Jun 23, 2025
Be an Early Applicant
Columbia, SC
In-Office
55K-90K Annually
Food
The Role

ARE YOU A CURRENT US FOODS EMPLOYEE? PLEASE APPLY DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR INTERNAL WORKDAY CAREER SITE

Join Our Community of Food People!

Supports Area Merchandising by addressing and resolving escalated sales questions and requests in a timely manner, utilizing detailed knowledge of U.S. Foods products, systems and tools. Primary liaison between PSSA, RSC and Category Management as it relates to merchandising activities. Works closely with the area departments, particularly category management and replenishment to support efforts with vendors and suppliers to communicate important information.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES  

  • Act as the central escalation point of contact for all internal merchandising inquiries related to product, specifications, availability, and substitutions from PSSA
  • Become subject matter expert in US Foods systems and tools to quickly and accurately answer inquiries
  • Vacancy support and backup to COM and PSSA roles
  • Support Category Operations Managers with all analytics requests, local flyer item selection and rebate solicitation, Roll Out Book reviews and assortment projects – including E&O follow up, CASIS billings and vendor meeting preparation
  • Serve as gatekeeper of NIR process and tracking log – includes approval process, 30/60/90-day tracking follow-up, etc.
  • Support PSSA/COM with escalation requests for proprietary SKU tying
  • Enter DCT’s for COM’s on new items & local flyers.
  • Analyze weekly ATC communicates and disseminate direction to appropriate parties.
  • Develop broker and vendor contacts along with using internal resource pool to independently address and follow up on PSSA escalated inquiries.
  • Serve as escalation point of contact for RSC inquires
  • Support PSSAs/COMs with sourcing/market baskets/special pricing requests.
  • Gatekeeper of all COM related inquires; researching APN lookups, attaching vendors, items and pricing to later approve and send to buyer.
  • Other duties assigned by manager.

SUPERVISION: 
N/A

RELATIONSHIPS
•    Internal: Category Operations Managers, Marketing Managers, Replenishment (Local & RSC), Pricing team, Territory Managers, Account Executives
•    External: Local vendors and brokers, as needed.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

  • Onsite: The associate in this role is expected to perform assigned responsibilities inside a US Foods office-based environment.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

  • Must possess a minimum 5 years of purchasing, merchandising, sales or customer service experience is required, preferably in a foodservice distribution environment.
  • Must be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office especially Microsoft Word and Excel. 
  • Must be extremely organized, analytical and possess highly developed written/oral communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Must be external and internal customer service focused.
  • Ability to research, escalate and follow up on inquires with a great sense of urgency.
  • Must have the ability to overcome objections and obstacles, with a solution-based attitude
  • Education
  • College degree or equivalent distribution or food service supply chain experience required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Previous US. Foods experience preferred.
PRISM/Merlin/Tandem skills preferred.

PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS
•    Must be able to perform the following physical activities for described length of time
•    List the required physical activities including length of time performing each activity referencing the key below

OCCASIONALLY: 1% - 33 / FREQUENTLY: 34% - 66% / CONTINUOUSLY: 67% - 100% or NEVER

JOB REQUIRES WORKER TO:    FREQUENCY:
STAND :   OCCASIONALLY

WALK:   OCCASIONALLY

DRIVE:    NEVER

SIT:    FREQUENTLY

LIFT    
1-10 lbs (Sedentary):    OCCASIONALLY

11-20 lbs (Light):    NEVER

21-50 lbs (Medium):    NEVER

51-100 lbs (Heavy):    NEVER

Over 100 lbs (Very Heavy):    NEVER

CARRY    
1-10 lbs (Sedentary):    OCCASIONALLY

11-20 lbs (Light):    NEVER

21-50 lbs (Medium):    NEVER

51-100 lbs (Heavy):    NEVER

Over 100 lbs (Very Heavy):    NEVER

PUSH/PULL: NEVER

CLIMB/BALANCE: NEVER

STOOP/SQUAT:    OCCASIONALLY

KNEEL:    OCCASIONALLY

BEND:     OCCASIONALLY

REACH ABOVE SHOULDER:    OCCASIONALLY

TWIST:    OCCASIONALLY

GRASP OBJECTS: FREQUENTLY

MANIPULATE OBJECTS: FREQUENTLY

MANUAL DEXTERITY: FREQUENTLY

Compensation depends on relevant experience and/or education, specific skills, function, geographic location, and other factors as applicable by law (for example: state minimum wage thresholds).  The expected base rate for this role is between

$55,000 - $90,000

***EOE – Race/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Age/Genetic Information/Protected Veteran/Disability Status***

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The Company
Englewood, CO
22,022 Employees

What We Do

US Foods is one of America’s great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 300,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed.

With 28,000 associates and more than 70 locations, US Foods provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions.

US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, IL, and generates more than $28 billion in annual revenue. Visit usfoods.com to learn more.

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Rules of Engagement Statement:

We are proud to support community engagement on the US Foods LinkedIn page, and we're excited to see your comments, photos and videos. Please note that the views expressed by the community do not necessarily reflect those of US Foods.

Before posting, please take a moment to read our rules for community content. We reserve the right to remove content that violates these rules.

1. Don't break the law. Content that appears to break the law or that advocates for breaking the law also is not permitted.

2. Be polite and courteous to everyone, even those you disagree with. This also means you may not post anything that is threatening, harassing, abusive, bullying, discriminatory, profane, sexually explicit, obscene, violent, gruesome, or similarly objectionable.

3. Stay on topic for this community and dialogue. Off-topic content may include but is not limited to irrelevant or out of context material, spam, promotional content, and links to third-party sites.

4. Follow LinkedIn's Terms and Conditions.

5. All posts must be by a real person and from a real profile. Content from fake or anonymous profiles is not permitted.

6. Our employees must also follow all of our applicable policies and guidelines, including but not limited to our Code of Conduct and Electronic Social Networking Policy

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