Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for National Food Distribution Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The National Food Distribution Manager is responsible for planning, directing and optimizing end-to-end national distribution operations for food products across multi-state or nationwide networks. This leader owns distribution strategy, transportation and warehouse operations, cold chain integrity, vendor and carrier relationships, regulatory compliance (FSMA, HACCP, USDA/FDA), and distribution P&L. The role is highly cross-functional and requires expertise in route optimization, inventory management, demand forecasting, warehouse management systems (WMS), transportation management systems (TMS), and continuous improvement to deliver safe, on-time and cost-efficient delivery of perishable and non-perishable food products.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Regional Distribution Manager (Food and Beverage)
Logistics Manager / Transportation Manager
Supply Chain Planner or Inventory Manager with distribution experience

Advancement To:

Director of National Distribution / Director of Logistics
VP of Supply Chain or VP of Operations
Head of Distribution & Fulfillment or Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO)

Lateral Moves:

Procurement & Vendor Management Director
Retail/Wholesale Supply Chain Director
Cold Chain Operations Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute the national distribution strategy for food products, aligning transportation, warehousing, inventory and cold chain practices to company growth plans while reducing total landed cost and improving service levels.
Manage, mentor and scale a multi-regional operations team (regional distribution managers, warehouse managers, transportation planners) to meet on-time delivery, case fill-rate and spoilage reduction targets across all channels.
Own distribution P&L including forecasting distribution costs, controlling freight and warehousing spend, approving carrier contracts, and identifying measurable cost-to-serve savings while protecting product integrity.
Design and implement a robust cold chain program for perishable products, including temperature monitoring, validated refrigerated transport protocols, SOPs for handling, and corrective actions to minimize spoilage and food safety risk.
Lead carrier strategy and procurement: negotiate national and regional carrier contracts, establish KPIs (on-time pickup/delivery, claims ratio), load-planning rules, and manage a contracted carrier network to support seasonal volume peaks.
Implement and optimize Transportation Management System (TMS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS) processes, driving automation, routing optimization, mode optimization and integrated shipment visibility for real-time decision making.
Drive inventory optimization across multiple distribution centers: set safety stock policies, cycle count programs, replenishment strategies and SKU stratification to reduce stockouts and expiration-related losses.
Own network design and capacity planning: evaluate DC locations, labor models, slotting and throughput to scale distribution capacity with seasonal demand and new product introductions.
Collaborate with demand planning and procurement teams to align forecasts, production schedules and inbound logistics; proactively manage exceptions, shortages and order prioritization to maintain SLA compliance.
Establish and maintain food safety, regulatory and audit readiness programs (FSMA, HACCP, USDA/FDA, third-party audits), including CAPA management, supplier and carrier qualification, and documentation for traceability and recall readiness.
Lead cross-functional projects to reduce lead times and improve fulfillment velocity, e.g., DC consolidation, cross-docking, direct-store-delivery pilots and vendor-managed inventory initiatives.
Develop and track operational KPIs and dashboards (OTIF, fill rate, cost per case, shrink, claims, on-time pickup/delivery) and present monthly performance reviews with actionable improvement plans to senior leadership.
Manage logistics exceptions and claims lifecycle from investigation to resolution; reduce claims frequency by implementing root cause analysis, carrier scorecards and strengthened packaging guidelines.
Oversee national returns and disposition processes for expired or damaged food products, ensuring compliant handling and minimizing financial write-offs through salvage, donation or rework programs.
Coordinate contingency and business continuity planning for distribution (weather events, carrier disruptions, facility outages), developing rerouting plans, backup carriers and emergency inventory staging.
Drive continuous improvement and Lean/Six Sigma initiatives across distribution operations to improve labor productivity, reduce touchpoints, increase throughput and lower distribution costs.
Build sourcing and vendor management strategies for third-party logistics partners, cold storage providers and pallet providers, including SLAs, KPIs, performance reviews and contract renegotiations to improve service and cost.
Lead safety, training and workforce development programs at DCs and carrier partners: implement safety audits, DOT compliance, driver qualification files and enablement programs for seasonal labor.
Partner with quality assurance and regulatory teams to lead product recall response and traceability investigations, ensuring rapid identification, communication and execution of product holds or withdrawals.
Develop and execute sustainability initiatives across the distribution network such as route optimization to reduce miles, load consolidation, reusable packaging pilots and cold chain energy efficiency measures.
Drive commercial alignment with sales and customer success teams to define service expectations, customize fulfillment solutions for key accounts and support new distribution channel launches (e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, club stores).

Secondary Functions

Provide regular and ad-hoc data analysis and reporting to support strategic decisions—translate operational data into recommendations to reduce cost, improve throughput and enhance service.
Partner with IT to define requirements and roadmap for WMS/TMS upgrades, EDI/API integrations and real-time shipment telemetry for improved visibility and exception management.
Support new site onboarding and stand-up activities including layout planning, labor modeling, systems configuration and SOP rollout for consistent operational standards.
Participate in cross-functional leadership forums to represent distribution priorities during product launches, promotional planning and capacity planning cycles.
Lead pilot programs and proof-of-concepts for emerging distribution technologies (IoT temperature sensors, route optimization algorithms, autonomous material handling) to evaluate ROI and operational fit.
Coordinate vendor and carrier audits, corrective action plans and continuous performance improvement processes to mitigate risk and elevate service quality.
Facilitate training programs for distribution staff and regional managers on food safety, regulatory requirements, and operational best practices to maintain consistent compliance and performance.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven expertise in national logistics & distribution strategy, including TMS and WMS implementation and configuration.
Strong cold chain management experience: temperature control protocols, monitoring technology (IoT), validation, and CAPA processes.
Advanced knowledge of inventory optimization techniques (safety stock calculations, demand variability management, SKU segmentation).
Experience negotiating and managing carrier contracts, freight pricing, contract logistics and service-level agreements (SLAs).
Proficiency with supply chain and planning tools: TMS, WMS, ERP systems (SAP, Oracle/NetSuite), Advanced Excel, Power BI/Tableau; familiarity with EDI/API integrations.
Regulatory and compliance knowledge: FSMA, HACCP, USDA/FDA labeling and traceability best practices, and third-party audit readiness.
Data-driven decision making: ability to analyze large datasets, develop dashboards, interpret KPIs and lead root-cause analysis for operational issues.
P&L ownership and cost-to-serve modeling experience with demonstrated ability to deliver cost savings and operational efficiencies.
Experience with route optimization, mode selection (TL/LTL/dedicated), and freight tendering strategies.
Project management experience for cross-functional distribution projects, DC openings/closings, system rollouts and process redesign.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership: ability to develop and communicate a multi-year distribution strategy and drive adoption across a national footprint.
Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management with Sales, Procurement, Quality, Finance and IT.
Strong communication and executive presentation skills, able to translate operational metrics into business impact for senior leadership.
Problem-solving mindset and bias for action—rapidly diagnose distribution issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Change management and people leadership—experience scaling teams, developing leaders, and driving culture change in operations.
Customer focus—orient distribution decisions around end-customer service expectations and commercial priorities.
Negotiation and influencing skills for managing carriers, 3PLs and internal stakeholders.
Time and priority management, capable of balancing strategic planning with day-to-day firefighting during peak seasons.
High attention to detail for regulatory documentation, food safety records and compliance evidence.
Resilience and adaptability to operate in fast-changing environments with seasonal peaks and supply volatility.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Food Science, Agriculture, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MBA, MS in Supply Chain) or relevant certifications (APICS/CPIM, CSCP, Lean/Six Sigma, HACCP certification).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management / Logistics
Food Science / Food Safety
Business Administration / Operations Management
Agricultural Business / Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

7–12+ years of progressive distribution, logistics, or supply chain experience with at least 3–5 years managing multi-site distribution or national logistics operations.

Preferred:

10+ years in food or perishable goods distribution with demonstrated experience owning national distribution P&L, managing cold chain complexity, implementing TMS/WMS, and leading cross-functional teams across operations, quality, and commercial functions.