Description

As employees of a farmer-owned cooperative, we come to work every day trying to honor the tireless effort and care these farming families put in every day, all day, 365 days a year. Our farmer-owners tend to think in generations, with some of our farms being run by the same families for over a century. We carry this approach into our business, knowing that each and every one of us makes a difference in allowing these generational traditions to continue, taking pride in knowing that we nourish our friends, neighbors, nation, and even the world with healthy and delicious dairy products. Our products include milk, flavored milk, yogurt, dip, sour cream, cottage cheese, Italian cheese, and ice cream mix marketed under the Upstate Farms®, Bison®, Milk for Life®, and Intense Milk® brands.

Job Summary: The Director of Distribution will lead and oversee all inbound and outbound Transportation planning and execution for the Culture and Specialty product categories for Upstate Niagara Cooperative including the management of 4 plant warehouses space as well as that of 5+ third-party Warehouse partners and 50+ Transportation providers. This role will focus on collaboration with Planning, Sales, Manufacturing Operations, and Third-Party providers to design the distribution network capabilities and capacities to support demand growth and operational efficiency objectives of the Cooperative. The Director of Distribution will be a key contributor to achieving operational excellence and supporting the Cooperative’s mission of nourishing lives with high-quality dairy products.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Distribution Leadership

• Develop and drive compliance with standard operating procedures that ensure product and associate safety and that meet goals for operational efficiency, product security and traceability, and customer experience.

• Work with the Sales, Customer Service, and Planning Teams to maintain an understanding of customer requirements, as well as existing and potential customer demand opportunities over 24 – 36-month horizon to align network capabilities and capacities.

• Develop, audit and maintain an accurate understanding of the warehouse performance regarding inventory and shipment accuracy, product care, warehouse space, and truck utilization.

• Stay abreast of market conditions that may impact cost or available capacity as well as emerging technologies relevant to temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution to inform strategic decisions.

Operational Distribution Management

• Oversee the accurate receipt, storage, and line delivery of raw materials and packaging to support manufacturing strategies and execution.

• Monitor internal and manage third party performance, ensure timely and accurate transactions management, quick identification and addressing of performance failures, while ensuring compliance with best practices in the Transportation and Warehousing functions.

• Collaborate with sales, production, quality assurance, procurement, and planning teams to address supply chain challenges, to design network flow and capabilities to maintain seamless operations.

Cost Optimization and Efficiency

• Monitor overall distribution network performance to achieve distribution cost per pound and customer case fill objectives.

• Identify and develop opportunities to lower demand fulfillment costs without compromising quality or operational reliability.

• Analyze and refine warehousing processes to enhance efficiency and transparency of Supply Chain capabilities and Costs.

• Leverage data analytics to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and improve decision-making.

Risk Management and Compliance

• Recommend and implement risk mitigation strategies to ensure safe operations of our facilities.

• Assess and mitigate risks related to imbalances of customer demand and supply chain capacities through the development of dock management and storage space utilization plans.

• Establish contingency plans to address potential demand fulfillment shortages.

Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing distribution and transportation teams.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the department.

• Continually assess team members’ skills and knowledge and provide training and support to build capabilities and competency.

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field. A Master’s degree or professional certification (e.g., CPSM, CSCP) is preferred.

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in Transportation or Warehouse management, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

• Experience in temperature controlled and short shelf-life food environment is highly desirable.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong understanding of Warehousing and Transportation industry drivers, concepts, best practices, and inventory management.

• Familiarity with the unique distribution support needs of the dairy manufacturing environment including product traceability, positive release programs, and short shelf-life management.

• Proficient data analysis, reporting, and presentation skills. Proficiency in tools such as Power BI and Tableau preferred.

• Proficiency in the management of interfaces between ERP systems and offline or integrated warehouse management systems (WMS) and transportation management system (TMS) software (e.g., SAP Hana, E2Open, Transcorp or similar systems).

• Strong understanding of Inventory Management best practices

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships across all levels of the organization.

• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a diverse team in a fast-paced environment.

Other Requirements

• Willingness to travel ss needed to customers, manufacturing plants, distribution providers, and other relevant locations.

• Commitment to Upstate Niagara Cooperative’s values of collaboration, integrity, excellence, and making a difference.

Pay: $150,000 - $200,000 a year*

*The salary range indicated in this posting represents the minimum and maximum of the salary range for this position. Actual salary will vary depending on factors including, but not limited to, budget available, prior experience, knowledge, skill and education as they relate to the position’s qualifications, in addition to internal equity. The posted salary range reflects just one component of our total rewards package. Other components of the total rewards package may include participation in group health and/or dental insurance, retirement plan, wellness program, paid time away from work, and paid holidays.

Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. is committed to equal employment opportunity for all, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)