Commodity Manager

Company and Position Information:

Del Monte Foods (DMFC) is a multi-national food company headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA, with a powerful portfolio of brands, including iconic Del Monte, Contadina and College Inn. Our premium-quality meal ingredients, snacks and beverages can be found in six out of ten U.S. households.

At Del Monte Foods, we believe in supporting one another. In helping our people shape their own careers - in letting them grow outward, upward and across disciplines. We are tending to the greater good, providing accessible, nourishing, great-tasting food for all. We are Del Monte Foods - Growers of Good.

The salary range for this role is:

Responsibilities:

This role is responsible for the procurement and continuous ownership of a wide variety of ingredients across a breadth of Del Monte facilities. The category's annual expenditure is $30M and includes 250 items. The Commodity Manager is a highly visible role across many organizational functions and provides frequent updates and presentations to members of the Executive Leadership Team. Primary responsibilities include participating in all aspects of the sourcing process, preparing budgets and other financial analysis, and managing high visibility cross-functional projects. A key aspect of the role is constantly identifying cost-friendly initiatives and managing their implementation by collaborating with internal and external groups. The role is also accountable for several Procurement Department tasks which provide exposure to other areas of the business.

• Accountable for 20 categories of globally sourced ingredients.
  • Responsible for establishing optimal sourcing and purchasing timeframes to limit cost and improve supply continuity.
  • Lead the decision-making process cross-functionally with respect to Materials Management, Planning, Business Units, and Operations to optimize inventory.
  • Act as in-house expert on procurement ERP system data. Ensure accuracy and implement
  • procurement aspects of the ERP system so they are understood by the plant purchasing group (SAP
  • contract creation, source lists, lead times, MOQs, lot sizes, purchase requisitions, etc.).
• Manage and develop over 100 domestic and international vendors.
  • Practice the principles of the 7-step sourcing process from category strategy to continuous
  • improvement.
  • Includes supplier identification, specification and volume gathering, RFP proposal creation, contract term negotiations, contract implementation and continuous monitoring.
  • Govern several ingredient bids at the same time.
  • Ensure contracts placed and supply continuity confirmed in time to meet plant production
  • requirements.
  • Consistently report RFP updates and estimates to executive leaders.

• Budget for significant company spend and present findings to senior executives.
  • Articulate reasons behind budgeted rates and use a forward-thinking mindset to plan yearly financials.
  • Budget for categories down to the individual SKU level.
• Leverage category knowledge to identify and drive cost-savings projects.
  • Work with internal and external stakeholders to see projects through to completion.
  • Maintain and update a savings tracker to capture timing and value.
  • Manage and track multiple projects in parallel.

• Review and report on Purchase Price Variance (PPV) on a monthly basis.
  • Investigate large variances and work with cross-functional group to resolve.
  • Present impacts and actions to ELT.
• Constantly monitor and navigate volatile global supply chain conditions that impact ingredient availability and price (crop yields, weather conditions, economic and political factors) and report relevant findings to ELT (Executive Leadership Team).
  • When issues arise and supply is at risk, quickly pivot to find mutually beneficial solutions for multiple stakeholders.
  • Act as the primary point of contact between plant buyers and vendors.
  • Present weekly supply chain updates for large cross-functional meetings.
• Act as the primary liaison between Del Monte Ingredient R&D and external vendors.
  • Coordinate formulation/volume changes and negotiate to mitigate risk of supply disruption and cost increases.
• Support new product launches from an ingredient procurement standpoint.
  • Present weekly updates and recommendations to executives.
  • Establish standard costing of new SKUs.
  • Negotiate agreements for new ingredients to guarantee project timing and financial success.

General Department Responsibilities:

• Resolve Accounts Payable (AP) issues.
  • Monitor incoming invoices with large variances and take appropriate investigative action.
  • Ensure past-due invoices are paid.

• Manage, maintain and coordinate graphics related activities with suppliers and stakeholders:
  • Participate in the artwork routing systems setup, review, and approval process relevant to procurement tasks for printed packaging items.
• Maintain master data and complete business required tasks for business system platforms:
  • Entering item specific master data into business systems, i.e. SAP, MDG, Mediabox, PLM, Trace Gains.
• Obtain quotes with assistance from the category managers.
  • Maintain database to use for reference; responsible for routing new art to vendors and often expediting projects and communicating with procurement partners.
• Review ongoing specification change requests from our suppliers and provide recommendations/feedback to cross-functional partners and external stakeholders regarding changes.
• Review cost change requests from vendors to assure that they are in-line with Master Agreements.
• Ensure corrective action reports are coded and properly recorded in the quality system, Trace Gains.
• Act on Past Due Purchase Order Reports (distributed to team).
• Assist with sourcing events. * Assist with expediting or leading assigned initiatives.
• Assist with Order Acknowledgement report.
• Assist with invoice workflows and supplier Statement of Accounts.
• Any other duties as assigned.

Del Monte Foods Leadership Behaviors:

As leaders we:

Ground Our Teams

• Connect our teams to a clear strategy.

• Provide the support our teams need for success.

• Hold ourselves and our teams accountable.

Create the Climate

• Solve problems together with our teams.

• Enable smart risk taking.

• Empower our teams to make decisions and take action.

Nurture the Good

• Are intentional about building trust.

• Lead with empathy.

• Grow and develop our teams.

Qualifications:

• BA/BS in Accounting, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or equivalent is required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Procurement or Supply Chain.
• Knowledge and experience with all aspects of the sourcing process.
• Strong track record of vendor relationship management.
• Demonstrated experience leading cost savings initiatives.
• Ability to effectively communicate updates and reports to senior management.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize and track multiple priorities.
• Capability to navigate significant workload with minimal guidance.
• Ability to effectively interface with multiple cross-functional groups on a variety of topics.
• Relevant financial planning/annual budgeting experience and understanding.
• Demonstrated ability to use market information and data to improve an organization's position through continuous improvement actions.
• Track record of using feedback from management to quickly reach beneficial outcomes.
• Deep understanding of contractual terms and conditions.
• Ability to work under significant pressure with tight deadlines.
• Strong negotiation and presentation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Previous experience with SAP or other ERP systems with a procurement focus.
• Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Travel may be required up to 15% of the time

WE OFFER:

• Competitive salary.

• Comprehensive benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401(k).

Please be advised that your application is not complete until you fill out, sign, and submit an Application for Employment for a specific position for which Del Monte Foods is actively recruiting. Your application must reflect that you possess the required qualifications for the position.

No sponsorship is available for this position.

No agencies or 3rd party vendors.