Responsibilities:

• Responsible for distribution and supply chain practices and outcomes including: Inventory trends, turns, forecast accuracy, delivery performance, planning parameters (cycle time, yield, demand) and how they impact delivery performance and inventory levels.
• Plays a lead role in reviewing, forecasting, and organizing internal and external logistics associated with product volumes, delivery, distribution, availability, and pricing to reduce supply chain lead time, and minimize inventory exposure.
• Engages cross-functionally and with 3rd-party stakeholders to clarify distribution logistics and priorities and communicate volumes and pricing information.
• Works on procurement-related business problems that are highly complex and diverse in scope, require input from divergent cross-functional teams and have global impact.
• Monitors regional and local operations in terms of market trends, local providers, customer behavior, seasonal changes, and competition.
• Provides decision support to leadership on a wide range of procurement-related trends, issues and opportunities.
• Works with Compliance and Legal teams to onboard all suppliers and to assures all certifications, insurance are current and on file.
• Forecasts product volumes based on historical and anticipated customer requests and availability estimates.
• Reads / observes market reports and situations, world crop production and usage reports, and inventory levels to ascertain current market status and predict future availability and pricing.
• Identifies high-quality importers / suppliers and initiates business and organizational partnerships.
• Negotiates with growers, ranchers, vendors, and suppliers to secure mutually beneficial and sustainable terms and agreements; ensures review and approval by WFM legal team, and posts legal documents and contracts in ONIT.
• Finalizes volume and FOB pricing with vendors.
• Monitors purchase orders and related documentation for pricing, delivery, freight, cost, and other information.
• Conducts weekly, monthly, and quarterly supply chain reviews; reports volume, pricing, coverage, and related trends / changes / concerns to leadership.
• Provides advice and counsel to Buyers, Foragers and other Team Members.
• Engages with growers, ranchers, vendors, and suppliers to ensure alignment with WFM quality standards.
• Ensures team has access to and applies state-of-the art technologies, methods and processes.
• Collaborates with category managers and other internal stakeholders to develop procurement objectives (cycle time, replenishment and delivery schedules, cost parameters, etc.).
• Monitors purchasing and procurement outcomes to ensure key objectives are met and costs are held in check.
• Identifies and resolves emerging issues.
• Drives and supports system and process improvement initiatives.

Skills:

• Demonstrates extensive knowledge of distribution / supply chain management and strategy.
• Able to analyze trends, data and information and develop insight-driven recommendations for leadership consideration with respect to supply chain, demand planning, and forecasting.
• Demonstrates strong analytical skills and use of data blending tools/languages including Everclear, Tableau, Alteryx, Excel, and SQL
• Leverages expert buyer / procurement understanding to influence and/or lead team and region processes.
• Able to identify potential suppliers / producers that will meet WFM delivery, quality and customer service expectations.
• Able to evaluate buying / procurement practices and proactively determine how to enhance or modify to better ensure quality, savings and efficiency maximization.
• Demonstrates exceptional interpersonal communication skills and levels of tact, diplomacy and confidentiality.
• Communicates effectively with all types of audiences, internally and externally, including senior leadership.
• Able to diplomatically resolve the most sensitive or controversial suppler / producer issues without damaging relationships.
• Effectively represents WFM to a wide range of customer, community, supplier and other external stakeholders
• Able to lead others in the evaluation and interpretation of multi-faceted and complex purchasing, procurement, contract, delivery, quality, pricing and other issues.
• Demonstrates strategic understanding of WFM’s and supported region / stores business objectives, competitive strengths and opportunities.
• Leverages knowledge of customer, market and industry trends and emerging challenges to make business improvement recommendations.
• Demonstrates exceptional knowledge of the WFM product mix, supply base and retail operations.
• Able to play a leadership role (formally and informally) working with others, in groups, in cross-functional settings and with diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Holds others accountable for exhibiting WFM principles and core values.
• Ensures team commitment to and delivery of excellent customer service.

Education & Experience:

• BA/BS degree and 6-8 years’ relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.