Position Title: Supply Chain Manager
Location: Salisbury, NC – onsite 5 days/week
About the Company:
For more than 50 years, McKenzie Creative Brands has empowered taxidermists, artists, and creators with the industry’s highest-quality forms, supplies, and innovative products. As a private-equity-backed manufacturing and distribution leader, we operate a multi-warehouse network and a hybrid manufacturing/resale model that requires strong materials planning, inventory accuracy, and supplier performance.
We are building a modern supply chain and materials management function—and we are seeking a hands-on, analytically driven Supply Chain Manager to lead these efforts during a transformational period of operational improvement and growth.
Position Summary:
Reporting to the CFO, the Supply Chain Manager is the top supply chain leader for McKenzie and is responsible for master scheduling, inventory policy, reorder point strategy, purchasing execution, supplier performance, warehouse replenishment, and freight coordination across all McKenzie sites(NC, WI, TX, UT, PA).
This role ensures the business achieves the right balance of service, cost, and working capital, including implementing data-driven inventory models (ROP, safety stock, COV-based variability assessments), converting select items between MTS/MTO, and supporting production with accurate signals and plans.
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves leadership role in a fast-paced environment that requires analytical depth, strong cross-functional influence, operational curiosity, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
Key Responsibilities:
Inventory Strategy & Planning
- Own the inventory policy for all manufactured and resale SKUs across all warehouses.
- Implement and continuously refine data-driven reorder point models, safety stock formulas, and max-on-hand settings based on demand patterns, variability, and lead times.
- Identify SKUs that should shift from Make-to-Stock to Make-to-Order(and vice versa) based on demand stability, economics, and service requirements.
- Lead monthly Inventory Review with Operations, Finance, and Commercial to align on working capital targets and service-level objectives.
- Maintain accurate parameters (lead times, order quantities, ROP, min/max) within the ERP.
Master Scheduling & Production Support
- Partner with Operations to create a forward-looking master production schedule aligned to seasonality, demand trends, capacity, and available labor.
- Provide accurate materials signals to manufacturing based on inventory policies and demand forecasts.
- Identify production bottlenecks driven by material shortages and drive corrective actions.
Purchasing & Supplier Management
- Lead all purchasing for manufactured and resale items (excluding or limited carve-outs based on your org design).
- Manage supplier relationships, negotiate pricing/terms, and monitor supplier reliability, on-time delivery, and quality.
- Develop a multi-source strategy to reduce single-thread risk and improve supply continuity.
- Implement supplier scorecards and quarterly reviews.
Demand & Data Analysis
- Use transaction-level data to calculate average monthly demand, demand variability (Std Dev & COV), and reorder point settings.
- Build dashboards (Power BI or equivalent) to monitor:
- Service levels
- Turns & MOH
- Forecast accuracy vs. actuals
- Backorders & stockouts
- Supplier performance metrics
- Conduct root-cause analysis for inventory inaccuracies and service failures.
Warehouse Replenishment & Logistics
- Own the replenishment strategy for WI, TX, UT, and PA warehouses, including transfer quantities, frequency, and stocking rules.
- Coordinate freight movements between sites to optimize cost and service.
- Partner with warehouse leaders to ensure strong cycle counting, bin accuracy, and inventory control processes.
Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement
- Build and lead the SIOP/S&OP cadence for Materials.
- Improve ERP item setup, cleanliness, and system usage across the organization.
- Lead kaizen initiatives focused on reducing stockouts, lowering working capital, and increasing planner/buyer productivity.
- Develop materials management SOPs and training for buyers, schedulers, and inventory control personnel.
Leadership
- Lead and develop the Supply Chain team (buyers, inventory control, planners/schedulers, and replenishment roles).
- Build a culture of accountability, data-driven decision making, and continuous improvement.
- Serve as the primary cross-functional liaison between Operations, Finance, Commercial, Warehousing, and IT.
Qualifications:
Required
- Experience in a manufacturing + distribution environment.
- Strong analytical skills; comfortable using Excel/BI tools to analyze demand patterns and determine stocking levels.
- Demonstrated experience improving service levels while reducing working capital.
- Familiarity with reorder point methodologies, safety stock formulas, and planning parameters.
- Hands-on, detail-oriented, and thrives in a fast-paced environment.
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, or related field and Experience with Acumatica or similar ERP systems or 8+ years of progressive supply chain experience.
- APICS/ASCM certification (CPIM or CSCP).
- Experience managing multi-site materials operations.
- Background working in a private-equity-backed environment.
What We Offer:
- The opportunity to build and lead the top supply chain function in a growing organization.
- Direct exposure to Operations, Finance, and Executive Leadership during a period of transformation.
- A key role in improving customer service, freeing up working capital, and modernizing the supply chain.
- A culture focused on continuous improvement, innovation, and results.
