MANUFACTURING DIRECTOR
JOB DESCRIPTION
1- What is a Manufacturing Director ?
A Manufacturing Director oversees the daily tasks of the factory from production to processing. S/he makes sure that every policy and regulations are respected by the workers. S/he is also in charge of optimizing stewardship, security, quality and productivity. To do this, s/he develops processes. The final goals of the Manufacturing Director are to meet the clients’ expectations, respect the deadlines and increase the production and reduce the costs while respecting the norms in effect.
2- What are the main missions ?
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Manage the overall production process, the products’ quality and the shipping in the deadlines
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Watch carefully the operations and correct them when needed with improving methods
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Implement strategies relevant with the hierarchy’s directives
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Collect and analyze data to find points of improvement and optimize them in order to meet the performance’s objectives
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Manage the employees, the complaints and the benefits
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Stay alert about the norms, regulations and laws about food safety
3- What are the required competencies ?
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Management and leadership skills : The Manufacturing Director often has previous experiences in team’s management because s/he oversees all the employees’ work, job and drives them to meet the objectives.
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Budgeting, scheduling, human resources skills : Depending on the size of the manufacture, the director will be in charge of the budget managing the costs and benefits but could also be in charge of the staff and production’s planning and some human resources topics.
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Technical expertise about equipment, machinery and food safety : s/he will be in charge of buying new equipments to improve the whole production’s process but also guarantee the food safety
4- How to become a Manufacturing Director in the Food and Beverage Industry ?
A Manufacturing Director is a specialist of the Food and Beverage Industry whether it is thanks to the diploma or thanks to the background. Regarding the studies, it is recommended to obtain an engineer degree : generalist or specialized. Then it is required to gain at least 7-8 years of experience in a managerial position before becoming a Manufacturing Director.
Here is a not-exhaustive list of degrees :
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MS Management of the industrial performance in the dairy industries, AgroSup Dijon (France)
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Master of Food Technology, KU Leuven (Belgium)
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MsC Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and Management, Loughborough (England)
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BSc Industrial Engineering & Management, University of Twente (Netherlands)
5- What are the main challenges of a Manufacturing Director today ?
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The workers’ shortage : There is wage inflation because of all the vacancies across the supply chain and the lack of skilled workers. This leads to food inflation so Manufacturing Directors need to optimize their costs/benefits.
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The ingredients’ shortage : many raw ingredients are concerned. This is due to climate change (droughts, storms). The amount of production may not meet the global demand and so, Manufacturers will need to search for substitutions.
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The global disruptions on supply chains : Covid-19, Energy crunch… Supply chains, logistics, shippings are cut and this crisis affects productivity : a decrease of activity from around 20-30% was noticed.
6- Why should a Manufacturing Director come on uFoodin ?
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To find new suppliers, shipping solutions or partners in the members and companies directories.
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To keep updated about news regarding equipment & machinery, logistics solutions, OEM Factory or packaging in the dedicated market news groups.
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To find new collaborators already working in the food and beverage industry on our Job Board.
