Vice President of Distribution Strategy

Role overview

The Vice President of Distribution Strategy is a senior leadership role focused on shaping and delivering the company’s distribution network approach. This position is responsible for improving channel coverage, refining the service model, and making sure distribution choices support growth, cost efficiency, and a strong customer experience.

Core responsibilities

• Own distribution strategy, long-range planning, and network design across regions and channels.
• Determine priorities for warehouse locations, fulfillment structure, transportation strategy, and partner selection.
• Ensure distribution plans are aligned with the goals of sales, supply chain, finance, operations, and customer experience teams.
• Assess market opportunities, service expectations, and cost trade-offs to guide expansion decisions.
• Lead performance tracking, KPI governance, and recurring strategy reviews to measure progress against targets.
• Improve efficiency through process redesign, standardization, and adoption of new technology.
• Coordinate with internal executives, logistics partners, and outside service providers as key stakeholders.
• Contribute to budget planning, scenario analysis, and investment decisions tied to distribution initiatives.
• Guide team development, organizational planning, and cross-functional execution on strategic projects.
• Present strategic recommendations, risks, and operating results to executive leadership.

Experience and profile

This role typically calls for 15+ years of experience in distribution strategy, supply chain strategy, operations planning, or logistics leadership. Candidates should bring strong expertise in network optimization, service design, and cost-to-serve analysis, along with the ability to turn strategy into executable distribution plans. The position also requires solid analytical ability, financial judgment, and cross-functional leadership.

Experience in retail, consumer goods, e-commerce, manufacturing, or industrial distribution is often preferred. A bachelor’s degree or higher is expected, and an MBA or similar advanced degree is often preferred. Successful candidates should also have a proven track record of leading complex transformation programs across multiple markets, plus strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.

Key metrics

• Distribution cost efficiency and cost-to-serve.
• Service levels, delivery speed, and customer satisfaction.
• Network productivity and capacity utilization.
• Inventory availability and fulfillment performance.
• Strategy execution milestones and transformation progress.
• Team capability, retention, and cross-functional alignment.