Position Title: Inventory Control & Receiving Supervisor
Reports To: Production Manager
Direct Reports: Inventory Control & Receiving Team
Who we are:
Wholesome Kids Catering is a leading catering company with a purpose to Nourish Lives. We provide healthy, delicious, child-friendly meals, and snacks to childcare centres and schools. Our caring, experienced staff are passionate about providing great food and great service to all our customers. Tasty, child-focused menus reflect our successful ‘Eat Grow Thrive’ philosophy, which combines excellent nutrition with flavors and foods children love to nourish their life. Our culture is one where we value trusted partnerships, enable growth and the ability to excel and be fully engaged, value integrity and focus on making an impact on our clients, customers, co-workers, and communities.
Wholesome Kids Catering’s priority for the next five years is top line growth to support the capacity in our new state of the art custom designed facility and overall strategic long-term plans. We have a proven track record in growth, and we want to deliver on a ‘Five Star” Customer Experience to retain our customers and live out our competitive difference of being a Trusted Partner with all our customers.
As we nourish children with wholesome food to help them grow and thrive in the GTAA, we would love you to join us and become a part of our dynamic team.
The role:
The Inventory Control & Receiving Supervisor will maintain inventory levels and ensure adequate staging / recording of returns or losses to ensure production needs are met. The person in this role will provide support to the Production Manager as well as work in collaboration with the Production team. The Inventory Control & Receiving Supervisor will engage in creating relationships with suppliers as well as sourcing new suppliers for menu items. Using Wholesome Kids Catering’s ERP system, it is expected this person will also prepare daily consumption reports and receipts of all purchase orders. The goal is to ensure that daily operations meet and exceed daily performance expectations to increase the company’s overall market share. Finally, the person will continually seek better pricing (food and non-food items), ensure quality processes are met within the Inventory & Receiving Department, and ensure direct reports have current material handling licenses.
Success
The successful candidate will be focused on reducing costs and improve efficiencies through purchasing and food cost management, while creating a high-quality product. This will enable Wholesome Kids Catering to operate at maximum efficiency. The Inventory Control & Receiving Supervisor will be engaged, committed and seek continuous improvement. Experience with HACCP certified facilities and operations will also contribute to the candidate’s success. Through daily inspection of the warehouse inventory and sales orders, supply and inventory challenges will be dealt with proactively. With a high level of organizational and problem-solving skills the Inventory Control & Receiving Supervisor will be a valuable member of the Wholesome Kids Catering team.
Required Education and Experience
- Diploma or bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or food related industry
- 3-5 years working in the Food Service, Retail, or Food Production experience.
- 3-5 years working experience as a buyer and inventory control
- Food Handlers Certification
- Certificate in Supply Chain with a focus on buying and inventory control is considered an asset
- Thorough understanding of distribution/vendor network
- Experience in maintaining HACCP and GMP standards
- Experience in inventory and other modules in an ERP / MS Navision
- Experience or knowledge of Lean Manufacturing practices
- Is licensed to operate a reach truck, walkie and scissor lift, and license is maintained.
- Possess strong analytical and negotiating skills
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Results oriented and able to multi-task
- Have a great attitude
- Excellent planning skills
- Ability to meet deadlines
Key Responsibilities
1. Team Supervisor and Management
- Supervisory duties and oversight for inventory control team
- Assist in the recruitment process by selecting A Players
- Lead and be a role model for culture within the team
- Ensure that all new employees are effectively orientated and trained
- Manage performance through performance review process and coaching
- Effectively coach and counsel employees in dealing with employee relations matters
- Responsible for staff planning, scheduling and payroll processing for their department
- Maintaining a regular cadence with the team (huddles, meetings, 121s)
2. Inventory Management and Control
- Daily inspection of the warehouse to ensure the inventory levels are maintained and FIFO process is being utilized and proper HACCP receiving, and storage are being followed.
- Ensures inventory team thoroughly checks products when receiving for quantity, quality, temperature (and other HACCP requirements) and the product received matches the product ordered.
- Proactively resolves variances with the vendors to ensure the food is ready and available for production to meet their demand along with resolving substitutes with the Menu Co-ordinator.
- Generate Daily production guide and cross check the menu, weekly purchasing reports from ERP and order accordingly- Direct Buy and Distributors.
- Ensure all the required food is on site 24-48 hours prior to being needed in production.
- Work closely with Production to ensure adequate inventory levels are maintained.
- Preparation and receipt of all purchase orders to ERP.
- Perform Daily Consumption, report yield vs. supplier related losses, shipping and closing of all production orders.
- Ensure all purchases meet all CFIA/HACCP requirements.
- Monthly physical inventory counts, data entries and analysis of results.
- Work with inventory and production team to ensure the freshest products are on hand and are donated / discarded appropriately.
- Proactively and in a timely fashion, communicate supply and inventory challenges (i.e. short or long inventory) to Production Supervisors, Customer Service and Management.
3. Vendor Management
- Evaluate, develop, and manage relationships with existing vendors; seek and develop new vendors.
- Negotiate and close both short-term and long-term purchasing contracts upon recommendation to and with approvals from Production Manager.
- Continuously gather and communicate market intelligence to understand and analyze current and future market conditions; use market information (pricing quotes) to assist in building sourcing strategies, involved in negotiations and purchasing decisions, and assist in pricing discussions with vendors.
- Attend and participate in vendor and tradeshow meetings as required.
4. Continuous Improvement
- Actively participates in cross departmental meetings by helping resolve issues or problems to optimize product/inventory and production flow and the customer experience
- Planning and optimizing labour and equipment resources
- Maintaining equipment and tools in good standing, and ensuring that health and safety practices are in place
- Focusing on CI initiatives and ensuring that this is happening regularly; and that CI initiatives are brought forward on a regular basis
- Fluency with technology and incorporating into CI opportunities
5. Food Safety & Quality
- Actively engaged as a member of the HACCP team
- Ensure all records, documents and elements of the HACCP program and Food Safety are trained and being fulfilled by inventory control team.
- Resolves food safety and quality issues as identified through the HACCP program.
- Ensure food quality and safety objectives are met including regular adherence to GMPs, and HACCP plans.
6. Leadership
- Live the Wholesome Values and supports others in living the Values
- Makes Level 3 recommendations for purchasing opportunities and continuous improvement efficiencies
- Implementing workflows that achieve KPI’s / metrics assigned for the department
- Developing “A” players to uphold a high performing inventory control team
- Follow the company’s talent program and evaluate staff quarterly, and bi-annually
- Ensuring that performance management is reviewed regularly, and any issues are documented in the employee file
- Having open and honest communication (being able to have tough conversations when necessary)
- Ensuring the inventory control team is trained in health and safety policies and procedures and health and safety is monitored.
- Implements JHSC recommendations as needed, and corrects or makes recommendations on health and safety improvements to avoid near misses or health and safety concerns.
- Any other duties as assigned
COMPETENCIES
- Strong Charter & Values alignment
- Change Management
- Results Focused
- Ability to communicate effectively in a diverse work environment and across multiple departments
- Strong ability to train new employees and transfer knowledge in a patient and consistent manner
- Ability to lead, motivate, coach, mentor and resolve employee conflicts
- Ability to improvise in a tight production deadline
- Ability to think critically, problem-solve, and make effective decisions
- Integrity (Purchasing / Gifting)
- Plays to Win!
- Represents the company in a professional manner
- Growth Mindset
KPI’S
- Inventory Turnover
- Health & Safety Incidents – 0% lost time
- Food Cost – according to budget requirements
- Manage Raw Material Inventory cost – According to budget requirements
- Manage spoilage / expiry – according to budget requirements
- 85% A players within the Inventory Control team
* Wholesome Kids Catering is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing accommodations in accordance with the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment and selection process, we will work with you to meet your needs. We thank all those applicants who have applied; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.*