Vice President, Branch Operations

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

• Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President of Branch Operations is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of Worldpac's network of more than 300 branch warehouse locations across North America and Puerto Rico.
• Branches in Worldpac are each committed to a variety of key performance indicators ("KPIs") focus on reflecting the most critical components of branch operations including safety, quality, delivery, and cost metrics.
• This Vice President is a senior leader in Worldpac and is expected to partner closely and collaborate regularly with other functional leaders and executives (i.e., Sales, DC Operations, Transportation, Inventory Management, Purchasing/Merchandising) and at a variety of levels in the organization, including the CEO, executive leadership team, hourly branch and warehouse associates, drivers, as well as contractors.
• The preferred candidate will not only possess strong expertise in managing and transforming wholesale distribution and "last-mile" fulfillment operations, but also exceptional people-leadership skills.
• Travel to branch locations, distribution centers, and other company's facilities is expected.

KEY PRIORITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversee the receipt, stocking, and inventory management of inbound product for the branch warehouses, the picking of products for customer orders, staffing of pre-defined and dynamic routes to deliver customer orders, alternative customer fulfillment methods including Will-Call and parcel shipments.
• Manage and execute a delivery network which makes over 45,000 stops at customer locations each day, delivering items in a time-sensitive, highly competitive environment where speed, accuracy, and service have a direct impact on revenue and customer satisfaction. Manage a fleet of delivery assets of 2,000 company vehicles and over 3,000 independent contractor courier resources.
• Process reverse logistics and returned products to ensure process integrity/standards are meant according to warranty and defect policies.
• Manage a current team of 6 Senior Directors (regionalized) in the U.S. and Canada who are each responsible for approximately 60 branches that are led by Regional Managers (ROMs) and their collective teams, including Branch Managers (BOMs) and staffers. Overall employee (employee and contracted) population is in excess of 6,000 total headcount.
• Assess, evaluate, and implement corrective actions to optimize processes, systems, personnel by utilizing data-driven, Lean/Continuous Improvement ("CI") principles that are well-aligned with the Company's financial, operational, and strategic initiatives as well as cultivate a customer service mindset.
• Provide leadership across all branch operations, including inventory, fulfillment, returns, transportation, safety and compliance, and personnel while standardizing processes and procedures, as well as monitoring performance across all departments.
• Establish standards and best practices/training to minimize returns and implement policies to inspect and reduce fraudulent transactions.
• Strategically plan, manage, and review capital and operating budgets that achieve functional improvements, enable sustained results, while meeting EBITDA/profitability objectives.
• Establish, monitor, and report operational KPIs (e.g., on-time delivery, order error rate, pick order rate, safety, etc.) to assess daily performance and initiatives. Create and track branch and team goals in collaboration with executive leadership team.
• Direct last mile delivery strategy and execution, including assessment and implementation of enterprise-class routing software that optimizes efficiency and costs; collaborate with the IT team and support rollout of other IT solutions that enhance warehouse systems (i.e. pick/pack), improve customer satisfaction, and streamline operations.
• Proactively identify and lead process optimization initiatives; define and execute Lean/CI strategies to improve efficiency, on-time delivery, and productivity; must foster a culture of continuous improvement, tracking and reporting, and deliver results/efficiency gains through data-driven decisions as well as analytical problem-solving.
• Prepare the network for growth with new branch locations by developing talent, systems, and tools to scale the business. Manage through real estate portfolio changes which may require relocating, closing, expanding, and opening new branches.
• Assess, redesign, and implement optimized branch warehouse locations/layouts and processes to improve market coverage, delivery efficiency, customer accessibility, and safety; build flexibility into fulfillment processes to support market expansion and new opportunities.
• Motivate, mentor, and coach team members to achieve high performance in safety, quality, efficiency, and engagement; equip branch operators with the tools and decision-making capabilities necessary for success.
• Promote a culture of excellence and continuous improvement by identifying and nurturing strong talent, providing leadership and coaching, and addressing performance gaps; must lead by example, provide real-time feedback, and encourage team participation in continuous improvement initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned/needed.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• Over 15 to 20 years of demonstrated track record in leading large, comparably-sized, "final-mile" national/North American wholesale/retail distribution, branch-related and/or customer fulfillment operation with at least 5 years in a leadership role of a large, geographically-dispersed operating network.

• Must possess proven functional expertise and knowledge of inventory management techniques (e.g., cycle counting, put-away of inbound product, management of old/obsolete), routing solutions and optimization techniques (fixed routes and dynamic routing solutions), and demonstrated success managing and improving dated/manual picking operations (i.e., process and/or technical automation upgrades); experience in supply chain management, i.e., materials planning, logistics, is a plus.

• Well-developed financial and business acumen, including proven and astute annual operational budget and expense management experience of comparable size (~$150M to $200M).

• Domain knowledge in lean/CI principles with a track record of deploying standard work, standardized problem solving and continuous improvement techniques (i.e., experience implementing lean problem-solving techniques such as 8D, 5-Why, root-cause, countermeasure thinking) to affect positive, long-term operational changes; must possess a continuous improvement mindset.
• Prior/current success defining and implementing a system of standard work (across a distributed network of locations) for defining activities, training team members, and certifying competencies.
• Proven ability to build and engage a high-performing team of geographically dispersed branch managers, including the experience in establishing KPIs in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer service. Must also possess a track record in successfully engaging and consistently motivating the entire workforce in achieving KPIs and stretch goals.
• Must be analytical and data-driven with proven ability to synthesize large amounts of data into actionable insights, define critical paths, remediation plans, key milestones, KPIs, etc. to effectively address performance shortfalls and deliver targeted results.
• Highly-effective, proven, and well-developed people leadership skills with a successful track record for creating and directing high-performing multi-level teams; must possess experience coaching/developing incumbents to achieve new levels of performance as well as upgrading those who are unable to meet expectations and/or accountable for team/personal objectives.
• Strong IT proficiency and accustomed to utilizing routing/logistics software tools in a large distribution/warehouse network.

EDUCATION:

• Must possess a four-year undergraduate degree, preferably in a technical, operational, or engineering field (i.e., supply chain, logistics, math/statistics, economics).
• Graduate or advanced-degree (i.e., business, logistics, supply chain, engineering) is desirable.

PERSONAL / LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES:

• Unquestionable personal and professional values, ethics, and integrity; must embrace the core values and culture of Worldpac and positively lead and influence by example.
• Must be a hands-on, execution-focused operator who is highly-motivated, exceptionally hard-working, reliable, and resourceful; an executive who is truly capable of "rolling up the sleeves", but is also effective at collaborating, delegating, and empowering others.
• A bias for speed and action; utilizing analytics to test, measure, adjust, and develop insights, but avoiding analysis paralysis.
• Must be an organized, detail- and process-oriented, results-driven individual with proven change management experience; personal desire to make things happen and to achieve levels of performance not previously achieved by the Company; able to multi-task effectively and complete projects/tasks efficiently, on-time, within budget, and with absolute accuracy.
• Highly comfortable operating in a fast-paced, and operationally rigorous environment with demonstrated ability to accept and embrace disruption and change; able to continuously adopt and problem solve individually and collectively as well as have difficult conversations to positively challenge thinking and behavior.
• Possess a positive and can-do attitude with a continuous learning mindset who is energized to tackle challenges, receptive to feedback, self and situational aware.
• Excellent verbal and written communicator; must possess well-developed professional presentation skills to diverse stakeholders, including C-suite executives, colleagues, suppliers, and vendors.