Route Sales Trainee - Boise

Flowers Foods

1d•$23•Onsite

About The Position

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) is a leading producer of packaged bakery goods in the United States, with 2024 sales of $5.1 billion. The company is known for brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, and Tastykake. Flowers Foods fosters a culture that values Honesty & Integrity, Respect & Inclusion, Sustainability, Passion, and Humility. The Route Sales Trainee (RST) position is a training role designed to develop the necessary skills to become a successful Route Sales Representative (RSR) or Route Delivery Driver (RDD). This training encompasses learning to sort, inventory, build, load, deliver, and merchandise daily product orders to retail customers. RSTs will also learn to accurately invoice products at the point of delivery, ensuring customer satisfaction and adherence to established best practices. The role involves training and servicing accounts during customer-designated service windows, which may necessitate working non-traditional business hours, weekends, or holidays, and potentially include overnight travel. RSTs will be required to safely and efficiently operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) exceeding a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 lbs., adhering to all State and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules and regulations. Daily interaction with the general public and customers is expected, and a neat, professional appearance, potentially including a specific uniform, is required.

Requirements

Ability to obtain DOT medical certification and re-certification to drive a CMV.
Meet the Fleet insurance Guidelines in relation to your MVR (Motor Vehicle Record).
Eagerness to gain industry knowledge and to learn the skills necessary for success.
Neat, professional appearance (may require a specific uniform).
Ability to safely and efficiently operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) – a vehicle used to deliver products in the stream of interstate commerce exceeding a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 lbs.
High school diploma or GED.
Ability to acquire and maintain a DOT medical card.

Nice To Haves

Minimum of 1-year related experience in retail sales, DSD sales, and/or business-to-business sales.

Responsibilities

Train to learn the required skills to be a successful Route Sales Representative (RSR) or Route Delivery Driver (RDD).
Learn the sorting, inventorying, building, loading, and delivering and merchandising daily orders of products to retail customers.
Learn how to accurately invoice products at the time of delivery to retail customers by meeting customer expectations and following established best practices.
Train and service accounts during customer designated service windows, which may require working non-traditional business hours, weekends, or holidays.
Potentially travel overnight outside of normally assigned location.
Interact with the general public and customers on a daily basis.
Safely and efficiently operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV).
Deliver to retail stores at assigned times each day and complete service within the expected duration.
Obtain DOT medical certification and re-certification to drive a CMV.
Meet the Fleet insurance Guidelines in relation to your MVR (Motor Vehicle Record).
Perform all required daily vehicle inspections.
Maintain accurate vehicle records.
Immediately report vehicle maintenance issues.
Complete daily driver's logs and time records (including hours of service) as required.
Adhere to all FMCSA/DOT rules and regulations, as well as similar local rules and regulations.
Cooperate with DOT roadside inspections.
Maintain cleanliness of an organized workspace and vehicle.
Secure and organize inventory in the truck to prevent product damage.
Leverage internal sales data and company marketing plans to drive growth with customers through proper planning, ordering, and execution.
As needed, operate company routes, and provide coverages of routes for RSRs and RDDs time-off.
Learn all tasks and objectives outlined in the Route Sales Operations Manual.
Establish and maintain strong customer relations to effectively communicate sales solutions and improve customer satisfaction.
Order product using an online state-of-the-art order planner to ensure customers are receiving the freshest product possible.
Increase sales through shelf space expansion and the use of in-store promotions and displays.
Adhere to the company assigned route structure, stop sequence, and established service times to drive efficiency and to ensure continued customer satisfaction and consistent service times.
Know and follow all retailer/account standard operating procedures, including, but not limited to, check in/check out and service windows.
Adhere to the fresh market policy by appropriately rotating products and removing damaged or out-of-code products as necessary.
Follow the shelf-life cycle of each brand/product.
Ensure shelf life is maximized with proper rotation of products to ensure that backstock is rotated and stocked first before the next fresh delivery is merchandized on shelves/displays.
Perform daily route settlement requirements: verifying product quantities, accurately invoicing the proper account, and adhering to the cash collection policy.
Perform an accurate weekly inventory in the handheld computer device at select accounts on specific days designated by the company.
Support the introduction of new products to the marketplace based on the retailer playbooks and gain additional shelf space and promotional displays to execute the rollout and drive consumer trial.
Obtain authorization (i.e., "sell in") from accounts' key decision makers for promotional product displays.
Properly place and assemble displays to maximize exposure to consumers and to increase sales penetration.
Review weekly route analysis to identify voids and sales opportunities.
Review key performance indicators to reduce costs and drive sales.
Adhere to customer required shelf schematic/plan-o-gram to ensure customer compliance and to meet the objectives of brand teams.
Master the best practices of the Route Sales and Route Delivery training program.
Ensure compliance with all company policies and procedures (Safety, Equal Employment Opportunity, Harassment, Sarbanes – Oxley, etc.).
Perform other duties deemed by management to be an integral part of the position, including but not limited to fulfillment of work schedules, adherence to attendance policies, and other applicable operating rules, policies, and procedures.