Director, Solutions Design

Job Title

Develop solutions, across functional disciplines such as: network design, facility design, WMS & emerging technologies.

Develop people, procedures, and training to ensure efficient and effective warehouse operations to achieve significant P&L contributions across UNFI business units.

Develop competitive solutions for customers to increase service levels and reduce OPEX. Lead solution development and drives the end-to-end development and solutioning of UNFI capacity projects through warehouse sizing, warehouse design, assessing network capacity, network supply chain design and developing an optimal design to meet all stakeholder demands.

Own delivery and financial performance of assigned solutions design projects. Effectively lead and organize other cross-functional teams in support of project development and execution, including but not limited to IT, automation, local sites, regional operations, transportation, warehouse slotting, finance and others as needed. Evaluate operational, service, and capital trade-offs.

Provide financial oversight for assigned initiatives. Identify cross-project risks and evaluate major trade-off decisions to reporting manager with recommended resolution paths.

Ensure project execution aligns with enterprise design standards, methodologies and design direction established by senior leadership. Lead continuous improvement and re-engineering initiatives such as, but no limited to process re-design and improvements, warehouse layout design, slotting, varying levels of automation.

Deliver improvements to UNFI's supply chain through various types of projects including facility design and automation business case development. Lead and develop Solutions Design Managers and Analysts. Foster team growth and inspire high performance.

Lead talent identification, recruitment, and development to build a strong, future ready team. Provide advanced analytical support on reengineering and continuous improvement projects. Incorporate appropriate business skills into design work (e.g. statistics, operations research, organizational behavior, finance, accounting, information technology etc.).

Develop and present capital investment recommendations and financial analysis for review by Senior Director and Vice President.

Design new tools and supports the development of national Facility Design standards and playbook.

Ensure Direct Reports are well trained, effective, and optimally used. Coach Managers regarding policy, procedure, and program changes. Conduct performance appraisals as required.

Formulates and implements corrective actions as needed. Recommends promotions, transfers, and salary adjustments as appropriate. Assume responsibility for ensuring professional business relationships are established and maintained with customers, vendors, the business community, and trade organizations.

Exhibit a commitment to excellence and to superior customer service – both external and internal – in every aspect of the warehousing function.

Work with warehouse leadership to analyze trends, implement new technologies and drive overall performance to maximize customer satisfaction, reduce costs, improve efficiencies and implement corrective actions to resolve any issues. Performs other duties as assigned.

Supervises 3 subordinates - Managers, Solutions Design and Managers Project Slotting Optimization

Master's degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Business Logistics Engineering, a related field, or a foreign equivalent plus 3 years of post-baccalaureate experience in job offered or any supply chain/logistics related job titles.

Applicants must have 3 years of experience in the following:

• Supply chain design, network optimization or operations transformation;
• Developing and defending capital investment business cases;
• AutoCAD and Ability to analyze data sets with Analytical Tools including MS Power BI, Access, Alteryx;
• Implementing new warehouse distribution centers and warehouse automation;
• Working in the wholesale food distribution systems and third party logistics providers;
• Optimizing warehouse performance, reducing operational costs, and enhancing…