Customer Representative - Vendor Replenishment - Kroger - Cincinnati Sales Office (Cincinnati, OH)

**CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE – VENDOR REPLENISHMENT – KROGER – CINCINNATI SALES OFFICE (CINCINNATI, OH)** **HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION** To save time applying, Hormel Foods does not offer sponsorship of job applicants for employment-based visas for this position at this time. ABOUT HORMEL FOODS Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota, is a global branded food company with approximately $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters®, *Skippy^®^*, *SPAM*^®^, *Hormel^®^* *Natural Choice^®^, Applegate^®^, Wholly^®^, Hormel^®^* *Black Label^®^, Columbus^®^*, *Jennie-O®* and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report, one of America’s most responsible companies by Newsweek, recognized by TIME magazine as one of the World’s Best Companies, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. For more information, visit [www.hormelfoods.com](http://www.hormelfoods.com/). **SUMMARY:** The role is responsible for managing inventory replenishment for Hormel products across assigned Kroger distribution centers and/or divisions. This role partners closely with Kroger buying, planning, and supply chain teams, as well as internal Hormel Sales, Demand Planning, and Logistics, to drive optimal inventory levels, strong in‑stock performance, and efficient supply chain execution. **Typical Daily Responsibilities** 1. **Monitor VMI Dashboards:** Review inventory across multiple Kroger DCs, ensuring inventory remains within defined "Min/Max" thresholds. 2. **Cross-Functional Coordination:** Sync with **Production and Deployment** to ensure supply aligns with upcoming promotional spikes. 3. **Customer Troubleshooting:** Work directly with **Kroger warehouse teams** or **backhaul coordinators** to resolve delivery discrepancies or scheduling conflicts. 4. **Trend Analysis:** Analyze sales spikes to determine if they are anomalies or new trends requiring a permanent shift in stocking parameters. **RESPONSIBILITIES:** - **Inventory Replenishment & Order Management** Own replenishment decisions for assigned Kroger locations by determining appropriate order quantities to support replenishment, stock‑ups, and inventory reductions. Decisions are based on demand forecasts, historical shipment data, promotional activity, holidays, seasonality, and customer‑specific ordering parameters. - **Forecast & Inventory Optimization** Balance customer service objectives (fill rate, in‑stock) with inventory efficiency goals (turns, days of supply). Proactively resolve conflicts between sales initiatives, promotional plans, and Kroger inventory expectations to achieve joint performance targets. - **Internal & External Partnership:** Act as the central nervous system for the account. - **Internal:** Collaborate with **Sales** on growth strategies, **Deployment/Production** on product availability, and **Transportation** on freight optimization. - **External:** Serve as the face of the supply chain to **Kroger buyers**, **backhaul teams**, and **warehouse managers** to ensure seamless flow and resolve operational bottlenecks. - **Promotional & Ad Support** Collaborate with Hormel Sales and Kroger counterparts to review advertising and promotional plans, validate volume estimates, and ensure sufficient inventory is positioned to execute promotions effectively without creating excess supply. - **Perfect Order Execution** Drive perfect order performance by ensuring accuracy across order fulfillment, pricing, delivery execution, and product condition. Identify root causes of service failures and partner cross‑functionally to implement corrective actions. - **Customer Collaboration & Relationship Management** Establish and maintain strong working relationships with multiple contacts within Kroger, includi…