Director I In Stock

Position is responsible for leading In-stock Managers across multiple locations in the effective purchase and use of inventory to support our Great Local Brands. This role also has direct responsibility of setting targets and managing inventory Days of Supply (DOS) objectives for Non-Perishable warehoused products for all of warehouse facilities. This role will manage teams for over $2 billion annually of Purchase Orders and $250+ million in warehouse inventory. In addition, this role will lead planning in the areas of advanced analytics; project and IT design as needed for demand management. This role will interface with senior level CPG Supply Chain partners which exceed 2,000 suppliers, AD USA Supply Chain operations and Chief Merchants for all the Brands of ADUSA.
Responsible for leading management teams to follow and improve demand management best practices working within the Forecasting and Replenishment tool—ensuring that their teams consistently reduce forecast error and leverage Relex workflows to increase our inventory effectiveness. This position will provide overall strategic direction and leadership for their teams and promote proper planning and execution throughout the organization.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities (essential functions)
Set the strategy for the Forecasting and Replenishment solutions for all of ADUSA.

• Provide leadership and direction for Managers to achieve the goals for Vendor Fill Rate (VFR), Weekly Service Level (WSL), On Shelf Availability (OSA), DOS and OBI. Assess the chronic root causes as determined by the In Stock Managers for shortfalls in VFR, WSL, OSA, OBI and DOS at the Brand level and remove barriers to success.
• Recruit, mentor, direct, motivate and develop the In Stock Managers while maximizing their individual contribution, professional growth and their ability to function effectively and meet business goals.
• Drives In Stock results and performance through building a diverse and collaborative team working with purpose and establishing a culture of continuous improvement, change acceptance and innovation.
• Determine the assignment of category and vendor ownership to In Stock Managers for balancing workloads and enabling effective collaboration with control tower, brands, distribution and transportation.
• Work with leadership of procurement, control tower, multiple internal distribution centers, logistics, vendors/brokers, Brand Supply Chain and Brand sales/operation teams in a cost-effective manner to ensure OSA at best net cost and to meet company established inventory turnover and working capital targets.
• Conduct periodic Supply Chain reviews with managers on key suppliers as needed to maintain or improve performance across all of AD USA.
• Partner with Chief Merchants for Joint Business Planning process for key suppliers.
• Recommend and drive strategies and tactics to internal Category and Logistics teams for holding vendors accountable for failure to meet expectations.
• Stay informed on category trends, commodity or other supplier issues that impact Brand sales. Ensure the Managers are anticipating and act on supplier issues, seasonal changes, natural disasters, crop conditions, and manufacturing issues to protect our sales and OSA goals.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with internal leadership (Procurement, Category, Brand, Distribution Centers, Logistics, Trucking, Retail, Private Brand) and external leadership (vendors, brokers) customers.
• Ensure that In Stock Managers and their teams execute timely communication to necessary parties related to inventory transactions, resolving issues, short-term out of stocks, and responding to questions via phone, email or online.
• Communicate major supplier issues to AD USA leadership and Brands as needed and appropriate.
• Support the procurement team in finding solutions to issues as they arise in day-to-day work and serving as the decision maker for larger issues.
• Lead strategic initiatives to improve on-time arrivals, reduce cost, improve inventory position, improve compliance, and other departmental goals.
• Recruit, mentor, direct, motivate and develop the In Stock Managers while maximizing their individual contribution, professional growth and their ability to function effectively and meet business goals.
• Drives In Stock results and performance through building a diverse and collaborative team working with purpose and establishing a culture of continuous improvement, change acceptance and innovation.

Requirements Basic Requirements:

• Solid understanding of Supply Chain networks with clear understanding of future needs for Replenishment of Non Perishable departments across all of AD USA
• Expert in demand management best practices
• Advanced level of knowledge for company, business and industry practices
• Knowledgeable of the industry and the state of the suppliers business and the supply market overall
• Strong working knowledge of inventory planning, forecasting techniques as well as operational systems and warehouse management
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills to executive level management, both written and verbal
• Highly self-motivated, goal oriented, and works well under pressure
• Customer focused
• Strong People leader; This role should demonstrate behaviors across the “leading teams” level of My Leadership Journey
• Ability to foresee future problems by discovering trends across multiple vendors or categories
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously with excellent follow-up and attention to detail
• Able to operate in a fast-paced environment
• Strong ability with data analytics
• Ability to facilitate discussions to resolve conflicting processes, content, opinions
• Ability to demonstrate a high degree of passion and energy whilst maintaining a positive outlook
• Ability to influence the organization and manage team players
• Strong change management capability; have demonstrated ability to lead large scale change
• Possess the ability to interface up and down the organization