Director, Sourcing & Inventory Management

At Caribou Coffee we create day-making experiences that spark a chain reaction of GOOD!  This is our purpose.  Our team brings this to life by focusing on what’s really important around here – TEAM, GUEST, BUSINESS!  It’s that simple.  If you’re ready to work somewhere you can be yourself while making an impact on your community, creating life-long relationships, and serving the best coffee around, join our herd!  Apply today and be part of the ‘Bou Crew!

Position Overview:

As Director, Sourcing, and Inventory Management, you lead Caribou’s strategic sourcing and inventory management functions to manage direct (beverage ingredients, food, packaged coffee, merchandise, retail packaging) and indirect (store supplies, store equipment) sourcing, demand planning, supply planning, and inventory management capabilities for all business channels. Your team delivers value to Caribou by developing and maintaining a reliable, diverse supplier network and inventory strategies that drive global retail sales growth, achieve cost and expense objectives, and support unit growth through efficient use of inventory assets.

To be successful in this role, you will clearly articulate the Sourcing and Inventory Management vision and roadmap and put transparent measures in place to stay on track while maximizing resources and growing company value through rigorous cost management, planning, and prioritization. You lead cross-functionally by partnering with the Product Innovation, Store Operations, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Legal, and Finance teams to implement sourcing, demand planning, supply planning, and inventory management strategies and tactics in support of delivering Caribou’s company goals and objectives.

Core Responsibilities:

Strategic Sourcing

• Develop a Sourcing vision and roadmap that supports Caribou’s growth objectives and sourcing-related ESG commitments and informs the company’s annual operating and long-range planning processes
• Oversee the management of Caribou’s supplier matrix to ensure the company maintains reliable, cost-effective access to all inventory, store supplies, and store equipment required to deliver sales, profit, and quality objectives in all business channels
• Partner with Culinary R&D, Category Management, and Supply Chain teams to develop and enable sourcing solutions that fully integrate into the company’s Product Lifecycle processes
• Foster the creation and maintenance of efficient processes for supplier identification, qualification, approval, contracting, onboarding, and item specification management
• Lead the contract management process and oversee the negotiation and implementation of new/renewing purchasing contracts for relevant product, supplies, and equipment categories
• Maintain an item cost management model that provides visibility to all item cost components – as inputs to related and dependent processes – and supports ongoing cost monitoring with suppliers and Caribou’s distribution partners
• Champion item data management to ensure all purchasing- and logistics-related item attributes are maintained in the system(s) of record to enable an accurate view on the company’s inventory assets

Demand Planning

• Lead the development of annual planning inputs for COGS and profit based on sourcing strategies and in coordination with product category sales and store operations plans
• Oversee processes to collect, validate and aggregate multi-channel demand forecasts to support Product Lifecycle processes, inbound supply planning, efficient inventory flow, reliable outbound replenishment, and optimized store inventory levels
• Enable the integration of store segmentation into demand and supply planning to support store-level inventory optimization
• Oversee the management and execution of new item launch and limited time offering store-level inventory allocation planning
• Partner with cross-functional teams to enable the creation of inventory forecasting and efficiency KPIs and metrics that directly support financial objectives and resource utilization targets

Inventory Management

• Oversee inventory purchasing and movement through the supply chain to support replenishment, new item launches, promotions, limited time offerings and new store openings
• Enable inventory management tactics that are directly connected to sales and demand plans, ensuring the complete integration of the inventory management capability into Caribou’s business planning processes
• Oversee processes and systems to create orders, track and manage purchase order logistics, and troubleshoot replenishment and forecast metrics in order maintain optimized inventory levels within our distribution centers

Skills and Requirements:

• Lead a high-functioning team by consistently demonstrating and championing Caribou’s culture and core values:  Support One Another, Take Ownership, Make Fun Happen, Serve with Love, Be Yourself
• Strong business and financial acumen - prioritize guest and team when establishing plans and decision frameworks
• Strategic vision – establish clear roadmap and vision for success and impact to the organization
• Decision making – demonstrate confidence to make strong decisions, eensuring rationale, decisions, and outcomes are transparently communicated
• and admit mistakes while instilling confidence in overall abilities and capabilities
• Build teams – foster and explore diverse perspectives to ensure voices are heard and ideas are evaluated on their merit and rationale
• Drive results and manage performance - foster a results-oriented mindset that drives continuous improvement in team and business performance. Elevate Caribou’s talent and culture through transparent performance management
• Develop strong relationships - build and maintain productive, trusted relationships with leaders, peers, and cross-functional partners
• Influence others - create buy-in and excitement through ability to influence internal and external partners
• Organizational agility and flexibility - create structure in ambiguous situations to enable forward progress while preserving flexibility

Qualifications:

Required:

• 4-year degree in relevant field
• Minimum 10 years of experience working in a retail or foodservice company with product sourcing/purchasing and supply chain experience and an understanding of how to bring new products to market
• Minimum of 2 years of experience leading people
• Proven experience in strategic planning, financial planning, and contract management

Physical Requirements:

The physical requirements for this position include sitting, standing, bending, lifting, and moving intermittently during working hours. These physical requirements must be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodation.

The duties of this position may change from time to time. Caribou reserves the right to add or delete duties and responsibilities at the discretion of Caribou or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Caribou Coffee Operating Company, Inc. and its affiliates are proud to be Equal Opportunity Employers to all applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. 

Address: | 3900 Lakebreeze Ave N , Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 55429 |

Compensation Range:

$108,678.00 - $181,130.00 per year

*Starting pay is subject to Local and State Minimum Wage regulations.

**Ranges reflect what employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such position.

The physical demands for this position are reaching, lifting up to 50 pounds, sitting, standing, for 4 to 8 hours, bending, and moving intermittently during working hours. These physical demands may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodations.

The duties of this position may change from time to time. Caribou Coffee reserves the right to add or delete duties and responsibilities at the discretion of the company or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Caribou Coffee Operating Company, Inc. and its affiliates are proud to be Equal Opportunity Employers to all applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on any characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Brand:

Caribou Coffee