Manager, Distribution

Manager, Distribution (Go to Market Optimization)

Bimbo Canada is a market leading producer and distributor of packaged fresh bread, bakery and snacking products with brands such as Dempster’s®, Villaggio®, POM®, Bon Matin®, Ben’s®, Stonemill,® McGavins,® Orowheat®, Vachon® and Takis®. The company operates 16 bakeries and employs approximately 4,200 associates across Canada. Bimbo Canada pursues the goal of creating value by being at the forefront of manufacturing and service delivery innovation in the baking industry through the continued improvement and refinement of its supply chain network. Bimbo Canada serves major grocery chains, retail outlets and food service operations across Canada with a robust offering of both branded and private label products.

Bimbo Canada reaches its 50,000 points of sale through various distribution models, including independently operated Direct to Store (DSD) routes, direct ship from plant, third party distributors, customer warehouse, and others. The majority of our volume is distributed via DSD, but while this method is ideal for many of our fresh shorter shelf-life products and allows us to offer enhanced merchandising services to our strategic customers, other categories and customers may warrant a different approach. The Transformation & Sales Optimization office within Bimbo Canada is responsible for our go to market strategy to ensure we bring our products and services to the market in a way that’s targeted to customer segments, value proposition, sales channels, and cost effectiveness, with the objective of ensuring we can consistently exceed the expectations of each customer and achieve our business objectives. #LI-Hybrid #LI-RM1

The Go to Market Manager is part of this dynamic team. We are dedicated to supporting Field Sales through project management, innovation, and continuous improvement in distribution, ordering, selling, and merchandising. This role works closely with other team members within Transformation & Sales Optimization, and collaboratively, they problem solve, build and manage processes and tools, facilitate learning, mitigate risk, and enhance productivity. Their guiding principles of lean thinking and respect for others power the skills and tactics to support Bimbo Canada’s strategic objectives of business simplification, transformation, and driving profitable customer growth.

The Go to Market Manager provides leadership and governance around our secondary distribution models, with a particular focus on identifying and piloting new opportunities, measuring success, and establishing guidelines and parameters for which models are best applied based on customer and business requirements. He/she conducts ongoing analysis of current and potential distribution models, develops tools to support and guide business decisions in this area, and leads the deployment of strategic initiatives that directly impact results.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Project Management, Innovation, & Continuous Improvement

• Offers leadership through project management and process design to drive identified strategic priorities. Effectively organizes resources and activities into streamlined work plans that deliver timely results.
• Develops a deep understanding of Field Sales and business requirements and identifies opportunities for innovation. Engages with associates and leadership across functions to facilitate the development of creative solutions and tools, and leverages communication and change management tactics to implement work with sustainable results.
• Seeks ongoing opportunities for continuous improvement of secondary distribution processes. This includes an emphasis on activities to evolve the business and eliminate waste. Measures results by establishing and monitoring KPIs.

Go to Market Models

• Works closely with cross-functional commercial partners to understand product categories, customer segments, business objectives, and competitive landscape. Identifies and evaluates go to market opportunities based on these parameters, and with clearly defined value proposition.
• Creates and implements an agile go to market plan that defines objectives, strategies, tactics, and metrics.
• Designs distribution models that are aligned to objectives; develops hypotheses and implements plans to pilot and test.
• Coordinates and aligns the efforts of cross-functional teams involved in implementation of new go to market models, including commercial engineering, sales, legal, and business technology.
• Monitors and measures the performance of secondary distribution systems and impact of the go to market strategy using data and inputs from various sources.
• Optimizes and iterates the go to market strategy based on results and learnings from each stage and test.

Oversight & Transformation

• Provides ongoing leadership, coaching and support to Field Sales associates with regards to secondary distribution models, objectives, and evolution.
• Designs and oversees processes and rhythms associated with secondary distribution related decision making.
• Oversees the management & maintenance of processes to support legal & financial administration of distribution models, including contract amendments, updates to Schedules, valuation and settlement of business, revenue and incentive reconciliations, and viability assessments.
• Performs complex analyses to evaluate impact of potential changes and decisions on distribution models.
• Tracks and measures key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with business objectives in this area, and provides ongoing updates to senior leadership using a balanced scorecard approach.
• Communicates and reports on progress and outcomes of the go to market strategy, including initiative benchmarking, milestone sprints, contingency planning, and risk mitigation.
• Provides recommendations to support strategic decision making, backed by strong influencing skills to drive change.

PREFERRED HIRING CRITERIA

• Experience in sales operations with strong knowledge of DSD and other distribution models. Proven track record of developing and executing successful go to market strategies.
• Strong analytical skills and business acumen, with the ability to use various tools and sources to collect, interpret, and present data and insights.
• Highly collaborative and team oriented, with the ability to work effectively within and across functions and geographies while managing multiple priorities.
• Agile, adaptable, and flexible, with the ability to respond to rapidly changing conditions. Ability to think strategically and effectively tie in business objectives with field level tactics.
• Highly organized, with excellent planning and project management experience.
• Creative and innovative, with the ability to generate and test new ideas.
• Detail oriented, able to develop and lead complex processes.
• Powerful communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate and convey strategic objectives to various audiences. Able to build strong relationships of influence and trust.
• Ability to work with a positive attitude and in a professional manner.
• Action-oriented bias, requiring minimal supervision, with a keen focus on delivering results on time and within budget.
• 3 – 5 years of managerial experience.
• Intermediate to advanced PC proficiency (MS Excel, Power point).
• Post-secondary degree in business, logistics, or related field is an asset.
• Moderate travel within North America.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both English and French required