Operations Manager

The Sauce Plant Ops Manager is responsible for the end-to-end material flow of the Pedros Sauce Plant, from supplier to plant to the Pedros Distribution Centres. The role owns DC replenishment planning, procurement of raw materials and packaging, warehouse operations and distribution, ensuring that Production always has the materials it needs and that QA-released finished sauces reach every DC on time, in full and traceable by batch. The Sauce Plant Ops Manager leads the supply chain and warehouse team and upholds food-safety, traceability, safety and quality standards in line with HACCP, GMP and FSSC 22000 requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage the end-to-end material flow of the Sauce Plant across DC replenishment planning, procurement, warehouse operations and distribution to the DCs.
• Translate DC demand and stock positions into weekly finished-goods requirements per SKU for the Production Manager.
• Set and review finished-goods cover targets per DC, allowing for longer lead times to the distant DCs.
• Maintain a rolling 12-week raw materials and packaging plan and represent DC demand and material supply in the weekly planning review with Production and Quality.
• Place purchase orders for raw materials and packaging with approved suppliers, to specification and within delegated authority and the group procurement framework.
• Manage supplier lead times, minimum order quantities and delivery performance, and flag single-source and supply risks.
• Work with Quality Assurance on supplier approval, non-conforming deliveries and supplier returns.
• Oversee raw materials, packaging and finished-goods stores, including receiving, put-away, FIFO / FEFO rotation, allergen segregation and issuing to Production.
• Ensure quarantine and QA hold areas are physically controlled and that stock status changes only on Quality Assurance instruction.
• Ensure stock accuracy through cycle counts and month-end stock takes reconciled with Finance, and approve the investigation of stock variances.
• Agree fixed dispatch days per DC and plan full, cost-efficient loads with transport providers.
• Manage carriers, delivery documentation, batch details per load and proof of delivery.
• Resolve DC receiving discrepancies, damages and rejections, including returns and credits.
• Maintain a plant-to-DC service level agreement covering delivery standards and transfer of ownership.
• Ensure every batch can be traced from supplier lot to DC within 2 hours, and support Quality Assurance in mock recalls before each new DC goes live.
• Plan and support the supply roll-out to the KZN and Gauteng DCs, followed by Cape Town, East London and Polokwane.
• Lead, coach and manage the supply chain and warehouse team, including the Warehouse Supervisor, Business Analyst, Buyer and Admin / Procurement Clerk.
• Recruit vacant roles in priority order and conduct performance management and disciplinary procedures in line with company policy.
• Ensure compliance with SOPs, Health & Safety requirements, forklift operator certification and racking and loading safety, working with the Safety Officer.
• Keep stores and dispatch areas audit-ready and ensure audit findings are corrected within agreed timeframes.
• Own supply chain master data and stock transactions, and act as the plant's lead user for ERP and WMS requirements.
• Monitor and report supply chain KPIs, including DC OTIF, stock accuracy, cover, write-offs and freight cost, to the Plant Manager.
• Identify and implement improvements to planning, procurement, warehouse and distribution processes to improve service, accuracy and cost.

Requirements:

• Degree or national diploma in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations Management or Industrial Engineering - essential.
• SAPICS or APICS / ASCM (CPIM or CSCP) certification - advantageous.
• Minimum 7 years' supply chain or logistics experience, including at least 3 years managing a team.
• Experience in a food manufacturing or FMCG environment - strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience running a food-grade warehouse with batch traceability, FIFO / FEFO and QA hold controls.
• Experience planning secondary distribution to multiple DCs, ideally on national long-haul routes.
• Working knowledge of ERP and WMS systems and advanced MS Excel.