Lori Sandish Email & Phone Number

Saint Paul, MN, US

United States

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

• Subject matter expert in retail supply chain and retail operations
• Consult on business processes and best practices to drive business value between retail organizations and their trading partners
• Identify and develop strategic initiatives which support the business objectives of customers and SPS Commerce.

• Partner with key accounts to build and maintain customer relationship and ensure optimization of retail resources and results.
• Consult with key accounts on changing trends and opportunities to core business areas as well as new business opportunities.
• Attain sales, volume and profit objectives by increasing the current product volume and maximize product penetration with key account.

Eden Prairie, MN

• Built and led centralized Grocery, Frozen, Dairy (GFD) Private Brands merchandising team and operational processes.
• Defined GFD Private Brands merchandising and sales strategy, and the execution plan to deploy across all 4 regions. Strategy supported more than $800M in Private Brand sales.
• Led team to deliver a consistent center store pricing strategy that optimized Retailer competitive price positioning with UNFI sales and margin goals.
• Operated in close partnership with the Private Brands corporate team to continue to grow sales, penetration and innovation for the UNFI Brands portfolio.

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

• Drove operational simplification and effectiveness related to people, process and technology for the benefit of our retail customers, vendors and merchandising teams.
• Led efforts to implement center-led strategic initiatives that will improve merchandising sales and profits.
• Utilized business intelligence and analytics to identify opportunities and deliver business performance.

Eden Prairie, MN

• Set and guide the strategy for retail pricing, a professional service provided by Supervalu to the 2500+ independent retailers they serve. STRATEGIC PRICING
• Aligned nationwide execution of strategic pricing functions across 2 regions and 6 offices.
• Full P&L responsibility (Revenue 10M+) for Retail Pricing. Included plan creation and by period forecast and execution.
• Set pricing and profitability objectives for the services offered, and negotiated rates based on customer size and revenue potential.
• Worked with internal and external partners to identify and develop new services that would add value to the independent retailer, and create new revenue streams for the Retail Pricing group.CUSTOMER SERVICE
• Led nationwide execution of the Customer Service operation for independent business, based in Denver, CO.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Accelerated operational performance of perishable food distribution from all 5 automated FDC’s to more than 1300 stores. Conducted performance analysis and facilitated changes in processes to optimize total food supply.
• Transformed 2015 Operational Budget and Forecasting process for the Food Distribution (FDC) Network by aligning key stakeholders across multiple HQ functions and FDC leadership. New process delivered operational.
• Exceeded 2014 goal on cost per carton and cartons per hour, despite actual volumes being 5% less than budget projections and 2 new DCs that lacked historical data from which to budget. Enabled performance improvements.
• Led cross functional team to streamline FDC inbound unload process and improve inbound tracking. Partners included food manufacturers, Target merchants and food DC leaders. Efforts reduced total unload times by an.
• Partnered with Cedar Falls FDC on Lean and Kaizen process improvement activities. Led implementation of identified improvements to remaining FDC’s.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Established and integrated all distribution and merchandising supply chain operations for the international launch of the first 124 Canadian stores. Scope expanded to include program level leadership of issue.
• Led team responsible for management of supply chain related activities per total program plan. Designed and implemented new processes which proactively managed progress towards launch readiness, and communicated.
• Business readiness efforts were coordinated across all supply chain technology and business teams during implementation of core systems including ERP functionality, forecasting, replenishment (SAP and JDA) and.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Served as sole distribution leader on corporate steering committee leading the perishable grocery expansion (PFresh). Provided direction and leadership for delivery of fresh groceries to more than 800 stores..
• Developed cross functional fresh grocery set strategy and performance goals, spanning all food distribution nodes (Target & Wholesale Partner) supporting the nationwide network. Created a post-implementation process.
• Exceeded performance objective with on-time deliveries of 98% on a goal of 95%.
• Established roles and responsibilities for 12 HQ and field-based direct reports that enabled successful execution of the PFresh delivery strategy; 10 of 12 team members were promoted following the expansion.
• Received 2009 Best Company Ever Award and 2011 Strategic Priorities Award for PFresh Initiative results

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Established the Food Supply Chain team for the distribution pyramid. Obtained ownership of the relationships and performance for 4 Wholesale Partners servicing nearly 60M cartons across 1600+ store locations. Developed.
• Negotiated 3-year business agreement with each Wholesale Partner, representing more than $3B in cost purchases over the term of the agreement.
• Exceeded goals for both fill-rate and on-time delivery through managed relationships with key Wholesale Partners and Target Grocery Merchant Partners. Maintained high fill-rate while converting 3 wholesaler ship points.
• Engaged HQ support partners to optimize total perishable network. Wins included transportation savings, improved order quality and optimized product sourcing. Recognized by Grocery SVP for relationship and results.
• Facilitated quarterly business strategy meetings between Senior Leadership from Wholesale Partners and Target to review performance, mitigate concerns and identify new business opportunities to drive retail sales.
• Received 2008 Speed Is Life Award and 2009 Grocery Pyramid Award of Excellence.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Established successful vendor relationships and joint business plans. Delivered the assortment strategy, product selection, in-store presentation, promotional marketing plan and overall financial performance for 7.
• Optimized vendor partnerships and resources to launch Boots Cosmetics and Boots&Barkley Pet Care exclusive programs to all stores.
• Created and led execution of first-ever cross-division plan to optimize and re-set floor space for all merchandise categories across Beauty and Healthcare in all stores.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Managed pet care department analysts to deliver the component setup and execution of replenishment activities for both domestic and import categories to support every-day and promotional sales.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Established the Business Analysis and Reporting team. Created processes that would induct, prioritize and develop end-user reporting tools for Merchant and Merchant Planning clients.

Progressed from consultant through manager in the Process|Products|Retail practice. Clients included Supervalu, Fingerhut, ShopKo, Dayton Hudson and Target.

Bsb, Business

Activities and Societies: Alpha Kappa Psi

Mini Mba Program, Business Administration, Management And Operations

Challenging yet condensed curriculum included case studies, lectures, leadership practices and Z-Class Business Simulation. Small class.

Leadership And Management Program

The UST Leadership and Management program: Builds confidence in expanding management and leadership roles Leverages natural leadership.

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project allows users to manage tasks, track deadlines, and assign resources. Completed Course Part 1 and Part 2.