Description:
Work Location & Schedule:
This position is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and requires full-time, on-site attendance Monday through Friday during standard business hours. This role is not eligible for relocation assistance or remote work. Regular in-office attendance is an essential function of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.
Position Summary
The Supply Chain Manager is responsible for leading the end-to-end supply chain for wholesale salt products, including procurement, supplier management, Sales & Operations Planning, inventory planning, transportation, warehousing, logistics coordination, and customer fulfillment. This role ensures that bulk, packaged, and specialty salt products are sourced, stored, and delivered efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively.
A key deliverable for this position is building and running a disciplined Sales & Operations Planning process that connects site-level demand with supplier-side supply signals, identifies inventory gaps in advance, and supports proactive decisions around sourcing, storage, allocation, and transportation. The role also owns supplier performance management, including quarterly business reviews, supplier scorecards, and key performance indicators.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience managing commodity-based supply chains, freight and logistics operations, vendor relationships, inventory controls, supplier performance, and seasonal demand fluctuations. Experience with road salt, water softener salt, agricultural salt, industrial salt, food-grade salt, or other bulk mineral products is preferred but not required.
Requirements:
Key Responsibilities
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Manage the full supply chain process for wholesale salt products, including procurement, inbound freight, storage, inventory control, outbound logistics, and delivery coordination.
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Build, lead, and continuously improve a formal Sales & Operations Planning process on a regular cadence, aligning customer demand, site-level requirements, supplier capacity, inventory availability, transportation constraints, and seasonal supply needs.
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Partner with sales, operations, finance, customer service, and site leadership to consolidate demand forecasts, evaluate supply commitments, identify inventory gaps or excess positions, and recommend proactive sourcing, allocation, storage, or transportation actions.
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Overlay demand from company sites and customer commitments with supplier-side supply signals to identify potential shortages, timing gaps, inventory imbalances, transportation constraints, or service risks ahead of time.
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Develop and maintain strong relationships with salt mines, producers, importers, packaging suppliers, transportation providers, warehouses, terminals, and third-party logistics partners.
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Serve as the primary relationship owner for key suppliers, maintaining regular communication regarding availability, pricing, lead times, service expectations, quality standards, contract obligations, capacity, and potential supply risks.
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Lead quarterly business reviews with key suppliers, including preparation of performance materials, review of supplier KPIs, discussion of service levels, quality, pricing, lead times, responsiveness, issue resolution, capacity planning, and forward-looking supply risks.
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Develop, monitor, and manage supplier performance KPIs, including on-time delivery, order accuracy, lead-time reliability, product quality, cost performance, fulfillment reliability, responsiveness, issue resolution, and overall supplier scorecard results.
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Monitor inventory levels across bulk terminals, warehouses, yards, and customer-facing distribution points to ensure product availability while minimizing excess carrying costs.
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Plan for seasonal demand, especially for deicing and road salt, by forecasting inventory needs, securing supply commitments, coordinating storage capacity, and preparing transportation plans in advance of peak season.
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Coordinate inbound and outbound transportation, including truckload, rail, barge, vessel, and intermodal shipments, where applicable.
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Negotiate freight rates, supplier terms, storage agreements, and logistics contracts to improve cost efficiency, service reliability, and supply continuity.
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Monitor supply availability, customer demand, pricing, transportation capacity, and seasonal inventory needs to determine when sourcing allocations should be adjusted among suppliers, terminals, warehouses, or distribution points.
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Recommend and execute allocation shifts to support supply continuity, cost efficiency, customer commitments, and overall service reliability.
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Track and analyze supply chain performance metrics, including freight cost, inventory turnover, on-time delivery, supplier performance, stockouts, demurrage, detention, and order fulfillment accuracy.
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Use supplier QBRs, performance scorecards, S&OP outputs, and market conditions to drive supplier accountability, improve supply reliability, support allocation decisions, and strengthen long-term strategic supplier relationships.
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Ensure compliance with applicable safety, transportation, environmental, food-grade, and quality requirements, including DOT, OSHA, FDA, SQF, or other relevant standards depending on product type.
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Oversee product handling, storage, and quality controls to prevent contamination, moisture damage, caking, loss, or deterioration.
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Identify and resolve supply chain disruptions related to weather, transportation delays, supplier shortages, labor issues, equipment availability, or demand spikes.
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Support budgeting, cost forecasting, procurement planning, and margin improvement initiatives.
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Maintain accurate records in ERP, inventory management, transportation management, or warehouse management systems.
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Lead, train, and support supply chain, purchasing, logistics, warehouse, or inventory personnel as assigned.
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Continuously evaluate opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, strengthen supplier performance, and enhance customer service.
Required Qualifications
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Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience may be considered.
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5 or more years of experience in supply chain, logistics, procurement, distribution, or operations management.
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Experience in wholesale distribution, bulk commodities, minerals, chemicals, construction materials, agriculture, food ingredients, or industrial products strongly preferred.
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Strong knowledge of transportation modes, including truckload freight; rail, barge, vessel, or intermodal experience is a plus.
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Proven experience with inventory planning, vendor management, supplier performance management, freight coordination, and cost control.
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Experience building, leading, or actively participating in S&OP, demand planning, supply planning, or inventory planning processes.
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Ability to manage seasonal demand cycles, supply constraints, inventory risk, and time-sensitive customer delivery requirements.
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Strong analytical, negotiation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
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Proficiency with ERP, inventory management, Microsoft Excel, and logistics or transportation systems.
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Ability to work cross-functionally with sales, operations, warehouse, customer service, human resources, and finance teams.
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Knowledge of safety, quality, and regulatory requirements related to bulk product handling and transportation.
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience with road salt, deicing products, water softener salt, food-grade salt, agricultural salt, or industrial salt.
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Experience working with municipalities, DOT contracts, commercial accounts, distributors, or industrial customers.
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Familiarity with bulk storage yards, covered storage, silos, rail sidings, port terminals, or transloading operations.
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APICS, CSCP, CPIM, CLTD, Lean, Six Sigma, or logistics-related certification preferred.
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Experience managing third-party warehouses, freight brokers, carriers, terminal operators, or strategic supplier relationships.
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Experience developing supplier scorecards, leading supplier business reviews, or managing supplier performance improvement plans.
Physical and Work Environment RequirementsThis position is primarily office-based but may require regular visits to warehouses, terminals, storage yards, production facilities, customer sites, or logistics locations. Must be able to work in environments where salt dust, moisture, heavy equipment, truck traffic, rail activity, and outdoor weather conditions may be present. May require occasional lifting, walking on uneven surfaces, climbing stairs, wearing PPE, and working around bulk materials and industrial equipment.
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Some travel may be required to visit suppliers, carriers, warehouses, terminals, or customer locations.
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Peak seasonal periods may require extended hours, especially during winter weather events or high-demand shipping periods.
