The Role:

The National General Manager – Distribution Centres is accountable for the strategic and operational leadership of the Group's Distribution Centre network, ensuring reliable, cost-effective, safe and scalable supply to corporate and franchise stores. The role leads end-to-end performance across Receiving, Production, Warehouse, Inventory, Logistics, Transport, Food Safety and Quality, while building the capability, infrastructure and leadership required to support continued Group growth.

• Develop and execute the national Distribution Centre strategy, network design and capacity plan aligned to store growth, new brands, product expansion and future demand.

• Lead and hold DC General Managers and national DC functional leaders accountable for operational, financial, service, people and compliance performance.

• Establish national DC operating models, governance frameworks, SOPs, performance standards and management routines to ensure consistent execution across sites.

• Oversee end-to-end DC performance across Receiving, Production, Warehousing, Inventory, Picking, Dispatch, Logistics and Transport, resolving cross-functional bottlenecks that impact store service.

• Drive On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) delivery, route and fleet efficiency, third-party logistics performance and cold-chain integrity from Distribution Centre to store.

• Govern inventory accuracy, stock takes, days of cover, stock availability, shrinkage, damage, expiry and wastage while protecting working capital and stock integrity.

• Ensure Production capacity, output, yield, product specification, quality and waste performance support store requirements and business growth.

• Maintain strong Food Safety, HACCP, FSSC 22000, Health & Safety, environmental and quality compliance, including audit readiness and corrective-action closure.

• Develop annual DC operational plans and budgets; manage cost per case/drop, transport cost, labour productivity, operating expenditure and sustainable cost improvement.

• Identify capacity constraints and recommend new or expanded DC facilities, infrastructure, capital expenditure, automation and technology investments where required.

• Modernise WMS, operational technology, analytics, automation and process design to improve productivity, visibility, scalability and decision-making across the DC network.

• Build leadership capability and succession pipelines, manage key supplier/3PL relationships and proactively address national supply, operational and business-continuity risks.

Qualifications & Experience Required:

• Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management or a related field.

• Relevant postgraduate qualification / MBA advantageous.

• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in Distribution Centre, logistics or supply chain leadership.

• Minimum 5 years in a senior leadership role such as General Manager, Head of Distribution, Head of DC Operations or equivalent.

• Proven experience managing high-volume, multi-disciplinary Distribution

• Centre operations, preferably within food, perishables, FMCG, retail or QSR distribution.

• Demonstrated experience leading large operational workforces through multiple management levels and developing senior leadership capability.

• Strong financial and commercial experience, including operating budgets, cost control, productivity management and capital expenditure evaluation.

• Demonstrated success in DC capacity planning, scalable operating models, business growth, automation, WMS implementation or major operational transformation.

• Experience managing suppliers and third-party logistics relationships at scale.

Technical Experience Required:

• National Distribution Centre strategy, network design and capacity planning.

• End-to-end DC operations across Receiving, Production, Warehouse, Inventory, Picking, Dispatch and Logistics.

• Inventory governance, working-capital management, stock accuracy, shrinkage, expiry and wastage control.

• Transport, fleet utilisation, route optimisation, third-party logistics management and OTIF performance.

• Food Safety, HACCP/FSSC 22000, cold-chain, quality, Health & Safety and regulatory compliance.

• Production capacity, yield, output, product specification and waste optimisation.

• Budgeting, cost-to-serve, labour productivity, cost per case/drop, financial analysis and capital expenditure evaluation.

• Warehouse Management Systems, supply-chain technology, automation, analytics and operational dashboards.

• Lean/continuous improvement, process redesign, root-cause analysis, risk management and business-continuity planning.

Additional Requirements:

• Valid Driver's License

• Regular national travel between Distribution Centres, suppliers, logistics partners and strategic operational locations.

• Flexibility to work extended hours and remain available during peak trading periods, major projects and significant operational incidents.

• APICS / CPIM / CSCP, Lean / Six Sigma, HACCP / FSSC 22000 Lead Auditor, Project Management or Change Management qualifications advantageous

Key Performance Areas:

• National DC Strategy, Network Design & Capacity Readiness.

• End-to-End Distribution Centre Operational Performance & Standardisation.

• On-Time-In-Full (OTIF), Store Service Levels & Transport Efficiency.

• Inventory Accuracy, Stock Availability, Working Capital, Shrinkage & Wastage Control.

• Production Output, Yield, Capacity Utilisation, Product Specification & Waste Performance.

• DC Budget Performance, Cost per Case/Drop, Labour Productivity & Sustainable Cost Savings.

• Food Safety, HACCP/FSSC, Health & Safety, Quality, Audit & Corrective-Action Performance.

• Leadership Capability, Employee Engagement, Turnover, Training & Succession Readiness.

• WMS, Automation, Technology, Analytics & Continuous Improvement Delivery.

• DC Capacity Utilisation, New Store / New Brand Supply Readiness & Future DC Project Readiness.