Produce Category Manager

FreshPoint Oahu, Ltd. (FreshPoint Hawaii, LLC); Florida; On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Sysco Central Florida, Inc. is seeking a Category Manager to drive profitable produce sales in the Florida region. The role collaborates across sales, supply chain, revenue management, and regional teams to optimize pricing, product availability, and customer satisfaction.

The ideal candidate will have 3+ years of management experience, strong communication skills, and solid expertise in the produce industry. Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required; Master's a plus.
• 3+ years management/professional experience; 5+ years preferred.
• Significant produce industry experience, sales, merchandising, or operations in retail/wholesale/distribution preferred.
• Strong written & verbal communications skills.
• Strong Excel skills preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategy for the produce segment within the region.
• Collaborate with Sales, Supply Chain, Revenue Management and other entities to drive profitable growth.
• Provide training, product information, regulatory guidance, and market cost guidance to customers and internal teams.
• Analyze data and market insights to identify consumer needs and pricing opportunities.
• Coordinate onboarding of new customers and support contract programs for key regional clients.
• Assist with forecasting and demand planning for product categories.
• Ensure compliance with SOPs and support QA/Operations in product quality.

Skills

Team leadership

Sales strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytics

MS Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Excel

Job description

Company:

US0022 Sysco Central Florida, Inc.

Sales Territory:

None

Zip Code:

34761

Travel Percentage:

0

COMPENSATION INFORMATION:

The pay range provided is not indicative of Sysco's actual pay range but is merely algorithmic and provided for generalized comparison. Factors that may be used to determine rate of pay include specific skills, work location, work experience and other individualized factors

Brief Role Description:

Responsible for driving profitable sales growth of the produce category within a region
Collaborates cross functionally (Sales, Supply Chain, Revenue Management) and across entities (Market, Corporate, Specialty)
Category expert that provides training, product information, regulatory guidance, and market cost guidance to internal and external customers in support of the produce category.

PRIMARY AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Category Strategy

• Align with SMS Produce teams to execute strategies
• Identify category development opportunities, coordinate with sales teams (leaders, specialists, sales consultants) to propose new business
• Ensuring expected compliance and proper support of SMS Produce and Freshpoint.
• Analyze data and market insights to understand consumer needs and wants
• Research competitors and suggest appropriate pricing
• Manage site specific market cost decisions on a weekly basis
• Collaborating with Regional Revenue Management Director and Regional VP of Merch, utilize available contract programs and resources to provide customer specific pricing for key Regional customers
• Provide field feedback on strategies including advising on marketing materials to improve sales
• Provide planning team with forecasts for product demand trends
• Coordinating new customer on boarding activities
• Addressing the needs and concerns of key CMU/LCC contacts within the Region

Assortment Management

• Providing product assortment and SKU rationalization recommendations that are aligned with your Region demand
• Ensure product availability
• Design exit strategies for unsuccessful products

Category Training

• Providing SC support through business reviews, customer insight encounters with targeted training and education.
• Schedule and manage category sales training of Sales Consultants
• Provide timely and effective communication with Sales force including but not limited to market conditions, product quality and availability, new items and applications.

Product Quality/Quality control

• Develop and monitor SOPs ensuring that pick locations are checked daily
• Collaborating with Operations and Food Safety teams
• Work cross-functionally with QA and Operations to generate PDN's - ensure accuracy, timely completion, and submission. Ensure resulting claims are tracked and settled appropriately

Mitigate Expense/Shrink

• Works with inventory control to manage expiration dating through SWMS reports.
• Works closely with Quality Assurance lead(s) and in conjunction with Operations and Transportation Management
• Establish and maintain accountability that all inbound product is inspected thoroughly
• Collaborate with QA and Product Support Advisors to ensure quality and integrity of all inbound and outbound Category 11 products
• Manage market adherence to GAP/GMP Compliance

Education/Experience:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in lieu of degree sufficient to successfully perform essential job functions required. Master's degree a plus.

3+ years management/professional experience required (5+ years preferred). Significant produce industry experience, sales, merchandising and/or operations experience within a retail, wholesale or distribution environment preferred.

Strong written & verbal communications skills required

Strong excel skills preferred

Ability to manage & implement innovative strategies to maximize sales & gross profit potential while driving customer loyalty & MA engagement

Skills:

• Ability to build high performing teams and enable best practice sharing and support culture
• Ability to motivate high-performing teams & enable a culture of best practices
• Ability to manage conflict and reach quick resolution with facts and dialogue
• Ability to work cross functionally and build relationships across the organization/enterprise
• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals of different backgrounds
• Collaborative change leader who uses multiple influencing styles to drive change
• Analytical thinker who can draw sound business conclusions based on a strong fact base
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment

BENEFITS INFORMATION:

For information on Sysco's Benefits, please visit https://SyscoBenefits.com

OVERVIEW:

Sysco is the global leader in foodservice distribution. With over 71,000 colleagues and a fleet of over 13,000 vehicles, Sysco operates approximately 333 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 700,000 customer locations.

We offer our colleagues the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, to contribute to the success of a dynamic organization, and to serve o