Supply Chain and Commercialization Manager

Job Title: Supply Chain and Commercialization Manager

Reports to: Plant Director
Number of Direct Reports: 4-5
Key Internal Partners: Operations, Purchasing, Quality, Distribution, Corporate Supply Chain, Corporate Supply Planning
Key External Partners: Arnold, CH Robinson, Excel Fruit
Project Management: Yes
Location: Nampa, ID

Job Summary:

The Supply Chain and Commercialization Manager is responsible for assuring the development of the production plan, the scheduling and the logistics of the plant. He/she will ensure appropriate raw material and packaging inventories, and manage shipping, receiving and production materials delivery activities, on-site and external warehousing, and production waste management. He/she will also play a key role in the development of the supply chain roadmap and deployment of best practices in Nampa and throughout the MOM Group organization.

This position will also function as the link between many business functions and the factory. He/she is responsible for the integration of innovation projects (product, technologies and processes) into ongoing operations. He/she will manage portfolio complexity and anticipate risks to project deployment or existing operations. This individual is key to balancing ongoing operational needs with needs driven by innovation and future business interests. This position will also be the site leader with responsibility for promoting effective change management processes and principles.

Job Responsibilities & Tasks:

General Responsibilities

• Serves as the primary liaison between the NPA factory team and the North American and Global supply chain teams by facilitating the alignment of NPA's operational aspects with the requirements of the global and downstream supply chain.

• Actively participate as a member of the plant's core leadership and steering team.
  • Lead cross-functional teams and leadership groups to define project priority levels and resource needs.
  • Act as the supply chain representative of the plant management team to support and execute plant initiatives, including SQF, HACCP, and food defense programs.
  • Positively impact the plant culture by modeling and reinforcing the company values.
• Provide leadership and oversight for the plant Supply Chain and Commercialization department
  • Balance external expectations (service level) with internal expectations (cost adherence).
  • Establish and manage the plant supply chain department budget.
  • Define and report on Key Performance Indicators for the department and projects.
  • Ensure proper implementation, training, and adherence to established procedures, GMPs, and employee safety practices.
  • Ensure that Visual Performance Animation (VPA) communication meetings are occurring according to standard protocols.
  • Ensure adherence to industrial safety processes, company policy and other regulatory standards.
  • Ensure that training standards are rigorously applied, and that training is conducted according to published standard operating procedures.
• All other duties as assigned.

Supply Chain Responsibilities

• Establish work schedules and effectively manage team member activities.
  • Organize and manage receiving activities, raw material and finished product storage and shipment of finished goods.
  • Manage raw apple quality and mellowing activities. Ensure processes are in place to minimize losses. Ensure appropriate apple blends are defined in partnership with the R&D department.
  • Oversee activities related to management of internal raw materials, semi-finished goods and packaging in the plant.
  • Manage priority shipments and sorting for the supply planning group.
  • Ensures consistent application of FIFO principles to maintain a proper stock rotation.
  • Champions the process for managing non-conforming material.
• Accountable for the design and implementation of the supply chain roadmap
  • Lead transformative initiatives to revolutionize warehouse operations and inventory management at NPA, delivering substantial impact on the corporate supply network.
  • Lead project teams that include cross-functional representation locally and globally.
  • Implement strategic and tactical optimization locally and then facilitate the sharing of these practices across the MOM Group system.
• Oversee the production plan. Manage and report plan changes as necessary.
  • Develop the short-term production plan based on the global demand plan in collaboration with the Plant Director and US Production Planner.
  • Ensure that demand planning needs are met by creating, updating and disseminating the production plan to the Plant Director and other departments.
  • Establish a manufacturing schedule that fulfils demand planning orders, while optimizing operational efficiencies and product cost.
• Coordinate the business transactions and relationships with 3PL warehouses.
• Site expert for ERP (production plan, manufacturing schedule, inventory, and shipments).
  • Ensure the accuracy of the inventories in the VIF ERP system.
  • Coordinate the periodic and annual physical inventories in Materne warehouses. Ensure completion of weekly cycle counts.
• Oversee the management and maintenance of all forklifts in collaboration with vendor.
• Own the process for forklift operator certification and training for the plant.

Commercialization Responsibilities

• Manage, develop and support a direct report with primary responsibilities for organizing plant trials.
• Represent the interests of the manufacturing site on multiple Steering Committees.
  • Leverages understanding of operational requirements in order to anticipate risks and propose action plans to facilitate delivery of key business initiatives.
  • Participate actively in plant, business unit and end to end (E2E) steering committees as required.
  • Influence effective management of the product portfolio for the manufacturing plant.
    • Collaborate with business leaders and other manufacturing locations (as applicable) to drive efficiency related to product mix and portfolio while also balancing the business needs and market demand.
• Coordinating and executing various projects during commercialization and execution phases
  • Ensure proper coordination and planning for trials and production qualifications
  • Facilitate proper hand-off of ownership from the innovation and technical teams to the manufacturing teams.
  • Collaborate with technical teams responsible for commissioning of new technology and manufacturing lines.
  • Facilitate Return on Experience (ROE) discussions to enhance future project successes.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

Shipping Lead Time
Performance to Budget (operational and/or capital budgets).
Project related KPIs as defined in the project charter.
Weekly/Monthly manufacturing order (MO) attainment
Weekly/Monthly tonnage produced compared to tonnage targets
Inventory cycle-count
Apple inventory levels
Warehouse capacities

Position Requirements:

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Project Management or other related field is required.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt are strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 8 years of leadership experience in manufacturing, warehousing, or Supply Chain Planning.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing direct reports.
• Proven track record in project management encompassing multiple functions.

SKILLS

• Deep understanding of Supply Chain Management principles, methodologies and practices with demonstrated experience integrating this knowledge into effective operations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop Supervisors to be effective in their roles and responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience implementing Continuous Improvement and Project Management methodologies.
• Proficient in managing change within the department in an effective manner.
• Strong commitment to employee safety and food safety.
• Ability to understand technical processes and value streams.
• Must have the ability to synthesize complex data to identify/communicate opportunities for improvement.
• Strong interpersonal communication, leadership, training and coaching skills
• Ability to work collaboratively both internally and externally.
• Ability to lead thru influence and gain buy-in from others.
• Must be able to adapt in a rapidly changing environment.
• Must be able to understand how the various business departments work together to effectively manage projects.
• Must have a passion for being on the shop floor and being actively involved in projects at the ground level.
• Must have solid written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong computer skills (MS Office, ERP Systems)

PHYSICAL & TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Must be able to wear PPE.
• Must be able work in normal office conditions and in the manufacturing plant and warehouses.
• Must be able to work a minimum of 8 hours per day and be on his/her feet for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to travel via airplane within the U.S. and Internationally