Food Distribution Supply Chain & Purchasing Process Improvement Consultant ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchasing & Demand Planning Operating System Transformation Project Summary: Wilcox Foods is seeking an experienced Supply Chain Operations Consultant to help design and implement a scalable Purchasing & Demand Planning Operating System that supports our continued growth. This is not a purchasing execution role, nor is it simply a documentation project. We are looking for a consultant who understands food distribution, replenishment planning, demand forecasting, inventory management, and process improvement well enough to evaluate our current operation, challenge existing assumptions, and design a more effective way of working. Today, many of our purchasing decisions rely on institutional knowledge and informal processes. Our objective is to capture that knowledge and transform it into documented systems, repeatable workflows, decision frameworks, reports, dashboards, and training materials that enable purchasing to operate consistently regardless of who performs the work. The consultant will work closely with leadership and our current purchasing team to understand how replenishment decisions are made today, identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce manual work, and design the operating system required to successfully transition routine purchasing responsibilities to a remote Purchasing Coordinator over time. The engagement will include documenting and improving purchasing workflows, demand planning processes, inventory management practices, vendor management, freight coordination, purchasing governance, and operational review cadences. The consultant will also help define the reports, KPIs, dashboards, and exception-based management processes needed to proactively identify changing customer demand, inventory risk, vendor pricing changes, slow-moving inventory, and other purchasing risks before they become operational problems. A key objective is to strengthen the connection between customers, sales, and purchasing by designing better processes for collecting customer forecasts, monitoring forecast accuracy, identifying meaningful demand changes, and ensuring purchasing decisions evolve as customer needs change. Success will be measured by leaving Wilcox Foods with a scalable purchasing operating system that reduces dependence on tribal knowledge, improves purchasing decision-making, supports remote execution, and creates a repeatable foundation for future growth.