Vice President Distribution

About Us

Join us at WinCo Foods, where we're more than just a grocery retailer - we're a growing family of over 140 supermarkets in 10 states with over 22,000 employee owners. Our purpose is to make the lives of our customers and employee owners better by offering the lowest possible prices to feed their families. Currently, WinCo is the second largest Employee-Owned company in the United States. With more than 500 millionaire employee-owners in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Our benefits, including top-tier medical plans and tuition support set us apart. In your role, you'll be instrumental in making a real impact in the communities we serve, embodying our purpose every day.

Overview

Job Summary

Responsible for all aspects of WinCo Foods’ distribution network, including Warehouse and Transportation operations from product receipt through store delivery. Provides Executive oversight of operations, facilities, technology, inventory control, staffing, safety, compliance and third-party service-providers to ensure reliable service, support business growth, manage costs, and maximize productivity.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversees the operational and financial performance of Warehouse and Transportation, including the private fleet, third-party logistics strategy, and equipment and maintenance decisions. Ensures productivity, quality, service levels, and cost-effective management of resources.
• Develops and manages Distribution operating and capital budgets and key performance objectives, including cost, productivity, and safety. Monitors performance against budget and department P&L objectives and identifies opportunities to reduce the overall cost to serve retail stores.
• Partners with executive management team to establish and execute multi-year distribution and transportation network strategy to promote increased revenue, profitability and growth.
• Leads Warehouse and Transportation leadership teams ensure alignment with business needs and performance objectives and to promote teamwork, accountability, and employee engagement.
• Leads and promotes excellence in product flow and service delivery to Retail Operations as priority. Proactively address deficiencies and service issues.
• Provides communication and transparency regarding Distribution performance and activities. Partners with Finance, Industrial Engineering, and other departments to evaluate operations, establish labor standards, and identify opportunities to improve performance.
• Identifies, develops, and mentors talented employees with a focus on leadership succession and ensuring talent to support current and future needs of Distribution. Expand organization capability and overall workforce readiness for automation and scalability.
• Leads continuous improvement initiatives addressing operational effectiveness, safety, capacity, productivity, and changing business needs.
• Oversees automation tools, works to improve throughput and effectiveness of automation and digital tools. Develops future use cases for automation that realize operational value. Leads identification and selection of new technologies, explicitly including robotics and AI, to improve productivity.
• Owns overall distribution network resilience, business continuity and recovery planning to minimize risk of disruption.
• Manages, sources, and builds relationships with service providers and business partners in support of Distribution operations.
• Partners with Labor Relations to establish Distribution labor strategy and ensure consistent administration of labor contracts and EAC agreements across Warehouse and Transportation operations.
• Ensures development, implementation and conformance to policies, standards and procedures to ensure compliance with Federal regulations (FSMA, DOT, FMCSA, DEQ, NLRA, OSHA) and state and regulations (DOT, labor dept., DEQ/CARB, OSHA) in WinCo’s operating areas.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Education:

• A bachelor’s degree in a related discipline such as Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations Management Business or Retail Management.

Experience:

• At least 10 years Distribution/Supply Chain experience in a retail environment
• With at least 5 years of management leadership experience managing multiple, geographically-diverse facilities
• Experience with warehouse automation, supply chain software(WMS), and technology
• Strong working knowledge of Federal, State and local regulations and laws pertaining to distribution operations and the food industry
• Experience developing request for proposal (RFP), negotiations and vendor selection
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and other productivity software

Ability to:

• Exhibit exceptional communication skills, attention to detail, critical thinking, initiative and persistence
• Utilize strong analytical and problem-solving skills with keen attention to detail in order to effectively monitor progress and complete assignments.
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of P&L and company/division financials.
• Frequently work in a warehouse/distribution center. Typically a warehouse environment is subject to exposure to extreme temperature changes, moisture, noise, odors, and moving equipment.
• Travel required up to 50%.

Preferred Education, Experience and/or Credentials:

• Master of Business Administration or other advanced degree
• Direct experience with grocery/perishables retail warehouse environment.
• Relevant certifications for Supply Chain and Logistics
• Project Management certification or demonstrated project management experience

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of work performed by the employees assigned to this job. All employees must comply with company policies and applicable laws. The responsibilities, duties, and qualifications required of personnel may vary.

EEO/Inclusivity

As the WinCo Foods community continues to grow, our variety of perspectives and wide range of experiences are essential to our strategy and success. We are committed cultivating and celebrating an inclusive environment in which all employees are valued and respected.

Fraud alert: WinCo advises job seekers to be cautious of unsolicited job offers and to verify the authenticity of any communication claiming to be from WinCo by checking the official WinCo careers website.