Let Me Tell You A Story – Argentus Supply Chain Talent Search

The Challenge:

We were contacted by a very well-known Global premium Food & Beverage organisation. Beefing up their Supply Chain was a priority in Canada and they had identified Argentus as the experts in the high-demand Supply Chain vertical. Turning to us as specialists to meet their immediate talent demands within Supply Chain, their particular pain point was finding the right hire for a Manager of Regional Distribution. With a fully outsourced logistics operation, they needed a hands-on operational expert with distribution, warehousing, transportation – a real boots on the ground type. Additionally it was imperative to have experience with “Cold Chain”/perishables.  What they wanted was a strategic personality wrapped up in a person who enjoyed operations who really had the deep expertise building relationships with 3PLs.

The interest was high from the market for this role – why wouldn’t it be? This is a cool company with a stellar reputation and tons of recognition which looks great on anyone’s resume. But finding just the right blend of skills was the challenge. Some had hesitations about the role’s growth potential—whether it had enough “promotability.” Supply Chain and Logistics talent is in very high demand these days, so people with the right mix of operational and strategic experience rise into leadership positions quickly, and growth potential is a high priority when they’re assessing new roles. Basically they have their pick of the plum positions and companies aren’t always aware of just how hard the gems are to find.

We relayed our market intelligence back to the client and while the role was not reconfigured, it helped the client understand the landscape for talent and that growth was a major factor for attracting the right candidates.

The Hire:

With smart thinking and out of the box direct recruiting as well as mining very deeply into the passive candidate market, and after an extensive sourcing process we identified and brought forth two very well-suited individuals who seemed to have the full package. The candidate who was selected was a great entrepreneurial and corporate mix, with a very solid operations background. He had built his own 3PL company, and beyond that, he had lead initiatives and brought strategic contributions to his previous roles right out of the gate. Best of all, he brought pedigree from another Fortune 500 company.  While he did lack the cold chain experience, his strategic and operational potential was clear, so the client felt the fit was a good one. Most of all they saw him as a high potential individual who had very high “promoteability.” So much so when they were defining his offer, they worked with their parent company in the U.S. to develop a road map for his future growth within the organization to demonstrate their seriousness to grow him as an employee.

The candidate accepted the offer and we brought a difficult search home to a satisfying customer. While it was a very challenging search, it does illustrate the importance of a good partnership between the specialist on the recruit and the company. We were able to act in a consultative capacity with the client, they were open to our suggestions and they were able to tailor the offer to attract a star candidate.

Many thanks to Account Manager Adele Casciaro and Recruiter Ivan Larcombe who worked this like a well-oiled machine and brought it to a positive conclusion. It certainly demonstrates that Supply Chain Recruitment is not for the faint of heart, generalists or for amateurs.

Over and out

Bronwen

 Find out why we’re a leader in the Supply Chain Recruiting niche:

Extensive reach into the passive candidate market. Industry-leading sourcing techniques. Specialized Supply Chain recruitment focus. And a tenacious, highly-disciplined team who know Supply Chain through and through.

These are the strategic advantages we bring to our clients in a diverse set of industries, from Pharmaceutical to Consumer Goods, Construction and Financial Services, to name a few. If it’s Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Operations, or Planning, Argentus is the premier recruiting partner for some of Canada’s top companies. Our video succinctly and quickly explains how we help organizations fill talent gaps in this highly competitive vertical: