Director, Supply Chain & Distribution

About Alvéole

Alvéole is dedicated to fostering urban nature connections by integrating beekeeping solutions on rooftops across multiple cities in North America and Europe. As a certified B Corporation since 2018, the company leverages business to promote environmental well-being, offering unique sustainability experiences through rooftop beehives and biodiversity education programs that align with clients' environmental targets while engaging communities and enhancing brand reputation.

Operations include honey production in 70 cities, with honey harvested locally and transported to facilities in Denver, Montreal, and Europe for extraction, bottling, and labeling. The company has grown rapidly over 10 years, with an evolving distribution and supply chain system that currently relies heavily on manual processes like spreadsheets and team communication tools.

Role Challenges

• Harvest seasons vary by region, requiring precise timing for moving honey frames to extraction facilities in Denver and Montreal.
• Seasonal peak periods in the fall demand extracting, bottling, and labeling approximately 300,000 jars within weeks, requiring highly coordinated operations.
• Continuous movement of equipment and beehives to support new customers and operational teams across markets, balancing speed and budget constraints.
• Procurement involves multiple local vendors for labels, signage, beehives, honey, and pallets, emphasizing local sourcing and cost management.
• Custom client requests are frequent, requiring flexible, adaptable supply chain responses.
• Current systems and tools are heavily manual and spreadsheet-based, necessitating a comprehensive overhaul of warehouse, planning, procurement, and freight operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead full end-to-end distribution of honey and equipment across all markets, from harvest to customer delivery.
• Develop and own supply chain planning including demand forecasting, inventory management across 70+ cities, and ensuring operational readiness of markets.
• Oversee management of new and used equipment, establishing regeneration processes to extend equipment lifespan and minimize unnecessary purchases.
• Supervise the two extraction centers in Montreal and Denver along with their respective warehouse managers and teams, and manage European extraction operations.
• Plan and execute seasonal extraction, bottling, and labeling efforts, especially during the intense fall period.
• Manage procurement and vendor relationships aligned with commitment to local sourcing while maintaining cost control and quality standards.
• Direct freight and carrier strategies across North America and Europe, optimizing for cost-efficiency and speed.
• Own the equipment and freight segment of the P&L (approximately $3 million), with accountability for financial performance.
• Select and implement enhanced systems and tools to replace existing manual-heavy processes.
• Define and monitor metrics for operational speed and accuracy, reporting these with transparency.
• Recruit, coach, and develop the operations team as the company expands.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Excited by the prospect of transforming a complex, spreadsheet-heavy process into a streamlined operation.
• Comfortably balances immediate problem-solving with long-term strategic planning.
• Equally effective on the warehouse floor as in strategic planning meetings.
• Possesses informed opinions on freight carriers and procurement with proven justification.
• Prefers to lead and mentor people rather than merely oversee logistics.
• Finds mission-driven deadlines, such as delivering honey to customers before holidays, motivating rather than stressful.

Unsuitable Traits

• Needing fully established systems and procedures from day one.
• Prefers remote strategy consultation over hands-on management.
• Overwhelmed by seasonal operational intensity instead of energized.
• Wants to optimize only well-functioning existing machines.
• Lacks the experience necessary to handle complex supply chain challenges.