Supply Chain Director

Director of Supply Chain - Food Distribution

• Industry: Food & Beverage / Consumer Packaged Goods
• Reports To
  :
  Vice President, Supply Chain & Operations

Our client is an established Canadian food and beverage organization representing a diverse portfolio of consumer brands. They are seeking an experienced Director of Supply Chain to lead a critical function spanning inventory, replenishment, inbound logistics, imports, supplier performance and service levels across a multi-distribution-centre network.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands how to balance customer service, inventory investment and working capital while managing the complexities of an imported food portfolio.

The Director of Supply Chain will lead the supply chain team and work closely with Sales, Marketing, Operations, suppliers and logistics partners to ensure the right inventory is available at the right time and cost.

• Lead and develop the Supply Chain and Replenishment Buying team, ensuring timely and effective purchasing decisions.
• Manage inventory to achieve targeted service levels, order fill rates and inventory turns while balancing working-capital requirements.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to improve forecasting, demand planning and inventory decisions.
• Develop tools, processes and KPIs that improve inventory management and overall supply-chain performance.
• Manage supplier performance and develop effective supplier scorecards, identifying gaps and driving corrective action.
• Oversee inbound transportation, freight forwarders, customs clearance and the flow of imported goods into the Canadian distribution network.
• Work closely with warehouse operations to ensure an efficient flow of products through the network.
• Manage import documentation, customs brokers and regulatory requirements associated with bringing food products into Canada.
• Partner with Quality Assurance on CFIA requirements, vendor documentation, audits and food-safety compliance, including participation in the SQF program.
• Evaluate freight-forwarder performance, service and rates while maintaining strong relationships with suppliers, shipping partners and logistics providers.
• Drive continuous improvement across cost, service, inventory and supply-chain execution.

The successful candidate will bring meaningful leadership experience within supply chain, purchasing, inventory management or replenishment, ideally within food, beverage, CPG, distribution or another import-intensive environment.

Experience with forecasting and demand planning, freight management, customs/import processes and Canadian regulatory requirements will be particularly valuable. Exposure to CFIA-regulated products and imported food categories is a strong asset.

You should be a strong analytical and commercial operator who can negotiate effectively, build relationships across functions and suppliers, and translate supply-chain data into practical decisions. This position requires someone equally comfortable developing strategy and working directly with the team to solve day-to-day inventory and logistics challenges.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a broad supply-chain mandate within an established Canadian organization where service levels, inventory optimization, supplier performance and international logistics directly impact business performance.

The role offers significant interaction with senior leadership and cross-functional teams and provides the successful candidate with the ability to materially influence how the organization manages inventory and serves its customers.