Director, Supplier Management

KeHE Distributors, LLC•Naperville, IL

About The Position

The Director of Supplier Management leads a team responsible for monitoring, measuring, and maximizing supplier profitability and operational performance, identifying opportunities, and managing business relationships with supplier partners. The team aims to build strategic connections with suppliers and support their success by improving the ease, cost, and speed of doing business with KeHE. The role collaborates with leaders in Category Management, Supply Chain, Finance, Pricing, and Freight to optimize business processes and supplier relationships, particularly in administrative and support activities. The Director also promotes continuous improvement, accountability, and innovation in supplier partnerships. The position requires domestic travel, occasionally over weekends, for about 20% of the time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business or a related field of study.
At least 5 years of experience within the food and/or distribution industry.
At least 4 years of experience leading and developing teams.
Ability to manage teams and provide effective leadership.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to present, articulate ideas, and persuade effectively.
Ability to negotiate agreements with suppliers ranging from small or emerging entities to large, established entities.
Strong negotiation skills and ability to influence change.
Ability to synthesize data and provide clear, concise recommendations.
Strong relationship management skills and ability to guide higher management levels internally and externally.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Attention to detail and a sense of urgency.
Ability to manage multiple tasks, often with minimal direction.
Ability to analyze, budget, and manage profit drivers such as gross margin, promotional spend, spoilage, fees, and other program expenses.
Ability to turn analysis into fact-based, action-oriented presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
Willingness to travel domestically about 20% of the time, occasionally over weekends.

Nice To Haves

Experience with data mining software such as SAP or Cognos.

Responsibilities

Lead Supplier Managers in identifying, monitoring, and tracking supplier profitability and operational performance opportunities.
Improve supplier brand scorecards and ensure compliance with inbound and outbound service standards.
Oversee execution and negotiation of supplier policies and procedures, inbound routing guide expectations, and administrative aspects of supplier partnerships.
Hold the team accountable for improving supplier profitability and operational performance, including negotiations, deduction management, dispute resolution, on-time delivery, and delivery quality compliance.
Set expectations for timely, accurate, and efficient handling of supplier questions and disputes; provide performance metrics and facilitate processes and supplier improvement initiatives.
Ensure suppliers are accountable for key indicators, including terms, spoils, value-added programs, inbound fill rate, on-time quality, and delivery.
Educate new and small suppliers on policies and procedures, inbound routing guides, deduction management, and dispute resolution.
Host regular business reviews with supplier partners to compare expectations with actual performance and identify improvements and opportunities.
Foster a supplier-friendly environment focused on relationships, continuous improvement, accountability, and innovation.
Lead managers who support suppliers with root-cause research and resolution for administrative partnership matters.
Collaborate with internal cross-functional teams to improve business processes affecting suppliers’ administrative and support activities.
Perform other duties and projects as assigned.