Supply Chain Manager

U.S. Waffle Company; Hazelwood (MO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Waffle Company seeks an experienced Supply Chain Manager to lead procurement, planning, and ERP-driven supply chain execution at the Hazelwood, MO facility. You will own material requirements, supplier negotiations, and inventory optimization to ensure on-time production.

The role requires hands-on operation on the production floor, strong Excel and ERP/MRP skills, and collaboration across Production, QA, Finance, and Logistics to mitigate risks and accelerate improvements.

Qualifications

• University degree in business or supply chain preferred.
• 5–10 years of supply chain experience.
• ERP/MRP systems proficiency required.
• Advanced Excel, data analysis, and dashboard skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams.
• Experience with BOMs, master data, and planning parameters.
• Experience in the food industry is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own procurement and purchasing activities for ingredients, packaging, and production materials.
• Translate customer demand and production requirements into material requirements with 8–12 weeks outlook.
• Maintain ERP data accuracy: master data, BOMs, lead times, safety stocks.
• Drive planning in PLEX and promote ERP as source of truth.
• Analyze ERP data, Excel reports, and forecasts to identify issues and opportunities.
• Lead supply planning to ensure material availability and inventory optimization.
• Own production planning and scheduling balancing customer needs and constraints.
• Collaborate with suppliers and internal teams to prevent shortages.

Skills

Procurement

ERP/MRP systems

Excel & data analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Inventory planning

BOMs & master data

Negotiation

Food industry knowledge

Education

University degree in business or supply chain

Tools

PLEX ERP

Excel

Job description

Supply Chain Manager
Job Title: Supply Chain Manager
Department: Supply Chain
Reports To: Director of Supply Chain
FLSA Status: Exempt

Professional Profile:

Cérélia’s newly established Frozen Breakfast Business Unit – US Waffle - is driving an ambitious growth strategy, backed by two manufacturing facilities, Liberty, SC, and Hazelwood, MO. To effectively support the rapid scaling of operations at our state‑of‑the‑art Hazelwood facility, US Waffle is seeking a dynamic and skilled Supply Chain Manager to join our team in Hazelwood, MO.

This is a hands‑on position. The successful candidate must be highly proficient with ERP/MRP systems, Excel and data analysis and be comfortable personally working through material requirements, inventory, BOMs, purchasing requirements, production schedules and supply constraints. This position requires regular presence on the production floor and in the warehouse.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own procurement and purchasing activities for ingredients, packaging, and other production materials, including issuing and managing purchase orders, supplier negotiations, pricing, lead times, order confirmations, expediting, and ensuring materials are available to support the production schedule

• Translate customer demand and production requirements into short-, medium-, and long-range material requirements for ingredients, packaging, and other production materials.

• Maintain a rolling material requirements outlook of at least 8–12 weeks, identifying shortages, long‑lead‑time materials, and potential supply constraints before they impact production.

• Own planning processes within PLEX, including master data accuracy, inventory visibility, planning parameters, lead times, safety stocks, and overall system utilization.

• Ensure BOMs, routings, item masters, supplier lead times, purchasing parameters, and other critical supply‑chain master data are accurate and maintained in PLEX.

• Become a PLEX power user and drive the organization toward using the ERP as the primary source of truth rather than relying on offline spreadsheets.

• Personally analyze ERP data, Excel reports, production requirements, inventory, purchasing information, and forecasts to identify issues and opportunities.

• Demonstrate advanced computer and analytical skills, particularly Excel, ERP/MRP systems, data analysis, reporting, and dashboard development.

• Lead supply planning activities, ensuring material availability, production capacity alignment, and inventory optimization to support customer demand.

• Own production planning and scheduling processes, balancing customer requirements, inventory, labor, changeovers, production capacity, and operational constraints.

• Conduct routine material‑readiness reviews to confirm all ingredients and packaging are available before production is committed to the schedule.

• Identify shortages early, establish recovery plans, and elevate risks before they result in production downtime or missed customer orders.

• Develop and maintain inventory policies, safety‑stock strategies, reorder points, minimum/maximum levels, and replenishment parameters.

• Drive inventory accuracy through cycle counting, reconciliation, root‑cause analysis, and corrective actions.

• Monitor slow‑moving, obsolete, expired, and excess inventory and develop actions to reduce inventory exposure and working capital.

• Identify, communicate, and mitigate supply‑chain risks related to materials, capacity, suppliers, transportation, inventory, and customer demand.

• Work directly with suppliers to resolve shortages, expedite critical materials, and establish corrective actions for recurring performance issues.

• Understand warehouse capacity requirements and assist in developing storage, racking, and material‑flow strategies to support current and future production volumes.

• Work with warehouse operations, carriers, and third‑party logistics providers to ensure seamless inbound and outbound execution.

• Monitor freight and logistics costs and identify opportunities to reduce expedited freight and unnecessary transportation expenses.

• Work directly with Production, Warehouse, FSQA, Finance, Sales, and Maintenance to resolve day‑to‑day supply‑chain issues.

• Take ownership of problems from identification through resolution rather than simply communicating the issue to another department.

• Perform root‑cause analysis on material shortages, inventory discrepancies, missed shipments, planning failures, and supplier issues and implement corrective actions.

• Drive continuous improvement across planning, inventory management, procurement, logistics, customer service, and supply‑chain processes.

• Train and develop supply‑chain personnel and establish clear accountability for execution

• Support new product launches and first production runs by ensuring BOMs, materials, packaging, suppliers, inventory, and system requirements are established before launch.

• Support future plant growth by modeling material, inventory, warehouse, labor, and supply‑chain requirements as production volumes and the number of operating lines increase.

• Maintain a strong sense of urgency and communicate emerging supply risks clearly, including the problem, business impact, recommended solution, owner, and timing.

Qualifications:

• University degree in business or supply chain preferred

• Minimum 5-10 years of supply chain experience

• Proven expertise in transport optimization

• Ability to lead and engage cross functional teams

• ERP implementation experience is preferred but not required

• Experience within the food industry is preferred but not required

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with other departments and build strong working relationships, combined with an approachable disposition

• Enthusiastic learner and proactive individual with the ability to effectively manage various projects concurrently

• Strong time management and organizational skills. A results‑oriented individual with excellent problem solving and organizational skills and the ability to multi‑task and deliver high‑quality results within specified time frames

• Attention to detail, ability to prioritize and make judgments, and a sense of urgency will be important to the candidate’s success

• Must be comfortable working in an entrepreneurial spirited, fast‑paced and changing workplace environment with a desire to make a strong impact on the business

• Must have excellent initiative, be a self‑starter with a keen attention to details

OTHER DUTIES

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

DIRECT REPORTS

• None

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK

• This is a Full Time, permanent position
• Exempt position 40 hours per week, and it may require working additional hours depending on business need requirements.
• This is an on‑site position and not a candidate for remote work.