Senior Supply Chain Specialist
Planning, Procurement & Product Development
Location: Woodbridge, Ontario (on site)
Employment: Full-time, permanent
Salary: $70,000 – $80,000 per year
Reports to: Director of Purchasing & Marketing
About us
ITN Food Corporation imports, manufactures and distributes South Asian, Middle Eastern and international food brands across Canada. We supply independent ethnic grocers and national mainstream retailers from our head office and distribution centre in Woodbridge, Ontario, and a branch in western Canada. Our range covers frozen, ambient and chilled products from overseas partners, plus products we pack and produce in-house.
The role
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on supply chain professional with comprehensive knowledge of demand and supply planning, procurement, import logistics, production coordination, inventory management and product development. The successful candidate will be capable of independently managing key supply chain activities, supporting cross-functional operations and providing effective coverage across departmental responsibilities. This posting is for an existing vacancy at ITN Food Corporation.
What you'll do
Demand and supply planning
- Build and maintain SKU-level purchasing plans for each supplier from sales history, forecasts, seasonality, lead times, MOQs and inventory targets.
- Work with the sales team to challenge and agree forecasts, including seasonal and festive peaks and retailer resets.
- Keep stock cover within target bands, balancing stock-outs against overstock and shelf-life risk.
- Track forecast accuracy and bias, and improve the planning method over time.
International and local procurement
- Place and manage purchase orders with overseas suppliers (full-container loads) and local suppliers, from order sheet and proforma to delivery.
- Size orders to container capacity by volume and weight, and meet supplier order deadlines.
- Negotiate price, MOQs, payment terms and dispatch dates. Manage supplier performance, claims and escalations.
- Prepare cash-flow and payment schedules for approval, and keep purchase data accurate in the ERP.
Production and materials planning
- Plan raw materials, bulk ingredients and packaging (jars, caps, labels, cartons) for in-house production and repacking.
- Enter and complete production orders in the ERP on time, and maintain bills of materials and labour standards.
- Support make-vs-buy decisions with costing.
Logistics, customs and landed cost
- Track every shipment from booking to delivery, and coordinate drayage, appointments, 3PL and cold storage.
- Collect and compare ocean freight quotes. Audit freight, drayage and courier invoices before payment.
- Work with customs brokers on entries, duty, tariff classification and CBSA/CARM matters.
- Calculate landed cost per shipment and keep product costs current.
Inventory health and service level
- Report and act on missed sales and stock-outs, with root causes.
- Monitor short-dated and expiring stock, and agree clearance actions with sales.
- Reconcile ERP and WMS stock, and keep item status and availability data clean.
- Manage replenishment between our Ontario and western Canada locations and for key retail accounts.
New product development
- Take new products from idea to shelf: market and competitor checks, supplier sourcing and samples, testing, and go/no-go with sales and management.
- Cost new items (FOB to landed to selling price) against margin targets.
- Set up items in the ERP, including units of measure, case packs and GS1 barcodes.
- Coordinate packaging, artwork and product labelling requirements with designers, suppliers and QA, ensuring compliance with applicable Canadian regulatory requirements (CFIA/SFCR, Food and Drug Regulations, bilingual and Quebec French labelling, Nutrition Facts and allergen declarations), and completion of all required regulatory reviews and approvals before product launch.
- Plan launch quantities and track new-item performance after launch.
Compliance and finance support
- Help maintain supplier approval and label approval processes with QA.
- Support import and export documentation, registrations and permits.
- Reconcile supplier and carrier accounts, and support month-end with finance.
Reporting, systems and team leadership
- Produce accurate daily, weekly and monthly supply chain reports for management, drawing directly from ERP data.
- Improve and automate manual processes and reports.
- Write and maintain SOPs, cross-train the team, and run the weekly purchasing review.
- As the role grows: set priorities, coach and develop team members, and take part in hiring and performance reviews.
What success looks like:
First 30 days
You have learned our systems, suppliers and planning files, and spent time on each supply chain desk.
First 90 days
Independently manage production planning and ERP transactions, demonstrate the ability to execute international purchase orders from initiation through delivery, and actively coordinate ongoing product development and launch activities.
By 6 months
Demonstrate the ability to independently manage major supply chain functions, provide reliable backup coverage across departmental activities, and ensure critical processes are documented and maintained.
By 12 months
Take ownership of departmental planning and procurement standards, lead weekly purchasing reviews, and establish documented processes and cross-training arrangements to ensure effective backup coverage across key supply chain functions.
What you bring
(Required Qualifications)
- Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in supply chain, procurement or demand planning, preferably within the food or CPG importing, distribution or manufacturing industry.
- At least 2 years managing international container imports (FCL, Incoterms, supplier payment terms).
- Hands-on demand and supply planning across hundreds of SKUs with seasonal demand.
- Experience with production planning, MRP or bills of materials.
- Advanced Excel: large linked workbooks, lookups, pivots; able to audit complex formulas.
- Strong ERP skills (e.g. Spire, Sage, NetSuite, SAP Business One or similar).
- Comfortable with numbers: landed cost, margin vs markup, months of cover, container fill.
- Clear, concise written and spoken English.
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business, engineering or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and substantial practical experience.
Preferred
- Experience with South Asian, Middle Eastern or other international food categories and overseas suppliers.
- New product launches, including costing, artwork and Canadian food labelling (CFIA/SFCR, bilingual requirements).
- Canadian customs and CBSA CARM, duty and tariff classification.
- Experience supplying major retail chains and distribution centres, with knowledge of Canadian retail supply requirements considered an asset.
- Experience leading or mentoring a small team.
- SQL, Power Query or Python for reporting and automation.
- CSCP, CPIM or SCMP designation.
Compensation and working conditions
- Salary: $70,000 – $80,000 per year, based on experience.
How to Apply
Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and a brief cover letter through this job posting on LinkedIn or by email to hr@itnfoodcorp.com.
- In your cover letter, briefly describe an international purchase order or new product launch that you independently managed from start to finish, highlighting your key responsibilities, the outcome, and what you would do differently in retrospect.
