Supply Chain Manager

About Cinnabar Valley Farms

Cinnabar Valley Farms has spent more than five decades producing soil products and distributing horticultural goods to independent garden centres, retail chains, and other customers across Western Canada. The company’s manufacturing site and head office are in Nanaimo, BC, and it is now launching a new distribution centre in Pitt Meadows to serve the Lower Mainland, Interior British Columbia, the Prairies, and additional Canadian markets.

The business is looking for a practical, experienced Supply Chain Manager who is ready to help build the new site from the ground up and take ownership of key parts of the Canadian supply chain.

Role Overview

Reporting to the General Manager, this position will oversee inventory control, buying, demand planning, replenishment, transportation, and regional logistics. It also carries senior operational responsibility for the Pitt Meadows Distribution Centre.

A Warehouse Manager will handle the day-to-day supervision of the warehouse team, while this role provides broader leadership, planning, coordination, accountability, and operational direction.

This is a high-impact role for someone who can pair long-term planning with hands-on execution, build systems, improve workflows, work with data, manage people, and step in directly when issues arise.

Key Responsibilities

Inventory planning and forecasting

• Direct inventory planning and replenishment across the distribution network.
• Create seasonal and annual stock forecasts using sales trends, customer demand, supplier lead times, purchase commitments, and growth expectations.
• Set and maintain practical minimum and maximum stock levels.
• Track availability, stock turnover, excess inventory, shortages, aged items, and service performance.
• Strengthen inventory accuracy through cycle counts, physical counts, reconciliations, and root-cause investigations.
• Coordinate product transfers between Nanaimo and Pitt Meadows.
• Prepare inventory reports, forecasts, risk summaries, and recommendations for senior leadership.
• Support working capital goals by balancing product availability with disciplined inventory investment.

Purchasing and supplier management

• Oversee purchasing for distributed products, packaging, supplies, and other assigned categories.
• Review demand and inventory needs, then create purchase orders based on forecasts, lead times, stock levels, and sales requirements.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with local and overseas suppliers.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, freight arrangements, and service commitments.
• Monitor outstanding purchase orders and respond quickly to delays, shortages, quality issues, and mismatches.
• Work closely with finance, sales, operations, production, and warehouse teams so purchasing decisions align with business priorities.
• Find ways to lower costs and improve purchasing efficiency without sacrificing quality or service.

Transportation and logistics

• Lead transportation planning for shipments outside Vancouver Island, including the Lower Mainland, Interior BC, the Prairies, and Eastern markets.
• Manage carrier partnerships, freight pricing, delivery schedules, claims, service levels, and transportation spend.
• Build efficient routing, load-building, consolidation, and delivery approaches.
• Track freight performance and resolve delays, damages, missed deliveries, and capacity challenges.
• Support seasonal logistics planning during high-volume periods.

Pitt Meadows Distribution Centre oversight

• Help set up the new Pitt Meadows Distribution Centre’s systems, processes, layout, stock controls, and service standards.
• Provide senior guidance and support to the Warehouse Manager.
• Define expectations, accountabilities, reporting lines, and performance measures.
• Monitor productivity, inventory accuracy, order fulfilment, shipping, receiving, safety, and labour efficiency.
• Support staffing plans, training, performance management, and day-to-day problem solving.
• Ensure warehouse activity stays aligned with company inventory, customer service, and financial goals.
• Foster a safe, orderly, accountable, and improvement-focused workplace.

Leadership and continuous improvement

• Create practical supply chain policies, procedures, controls, and performance dashboards.
• Identify bottlenecks, risks, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities across the supply chain.
• Lead process improvements in purchasing, inventory, warehouse flow, transportation, reporting, and communication.
• Define meaningful KPIs and provide routine performance updates to senior management.
• Collaborate across sales, finance, production, warehousing, customer service, and transportation.
• Help build a supply chain function that can support long-term growth.
• Coach and mentor employees while building accountability at all levels.

Qualifications and Experience

• At least 5–10 years of progressive experience in supply chain, purchasing, inventory management, logistics, warehousing, distribution, or operations.
• Prior experience at supervisor or manager level.
• Hands-on experience in several of the following areas: purchasing and procurement, inventory management, demand forecasting and replenishment, warehousing and distribution, transportation and freight management, supplier and carrier negotiation, and operational leadership.
• Experience supervising supervisors or operational teams.
• Strong working knowledge of inventory controls, purchasing processes, warehouse operations, freight, and supply chain performance.
• Experience using ERP, inventory, warehouse, or purchasing systems.
• Strong analytical ability and comfort using spreadsheets, forecasts, reports, and operational data.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, organization, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, make decisions, and follow through reliably.
• Willingness to stay hands-on and involved in day-to-day execution.
• Valid driver’s licence and the ability to travel occasionally between Pitt Meadows, Nanaimo, suppliers, customers, and other company locations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Training, diploma, degree, or professional education in supply chain management, operations, logistics, business, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as SCMP, CSCP, CPIM, CLTD, Lean Six Sigma, or a similar designation.
• Background in seasonal businesses, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, horticulture, agriculture, building materials, consumer products, or another physical-product environment.
• Experience opening, expanding, relocating, or improving a warehouse or distribution centre.
• Experience managing a large and varied SKU range.
• Experience with domestic and international purchasing.
• Experience creating dashboards, KPIs, SOPs, and standardized processes.

The Right Candidate

The ideal person will be a grounded, confident supply chain professional who can understand the full operation while still managing the details. You should be comfortable challenging existing methods, recommending improvements, creating structure, and taking full ownership.

This role is not limited to one specialty area. You should understand how purchasing, inventory, forecasting, transportation, warehousing, customer service, and cash flow influence each other.

This opportunity is best suited to someone seeking a meaningful long-term leadership role with the chance to shape how the company’s supply chain is built and run.

Compensation and Employment Details

This is a full-time, permanent management position. Compensation is competitive and aligned to the market, based on qualifications, experience, and demonstrated capability.

The role offers the chance to play a central part in the launch and development of a new Distribution Centre, along with the possibility of long-term career growth within an established and growing Canadian company.

Location and Travel

This is an in-person position based at the new Cinnabar Valley Farms Distribution Centre in Pitt Meadows, BC. Occasional travel to the company’s Nanaimo operation and other locations will be required.