Company Name
Pure Fishing
Search Job Title
Supply Planning Manager
Client Profile
Pure Fishing is a global leader in fishing equipment and outdoor recreation products, operating an expansive and increasingly complex network of facilities and distribution centers. The company has grown aggressively through acquisition, adding new DCs and integrating diverse operations into its supply chain. This rapid expansion created significant pressure on their planning organization, particularly as new sites came online and demand patterns continued to evolve. To stabilize performance and strengthen strategic planning capabilities, the company needed a leader who could elevate supply and demand planning across a global and multi-facility environment.
Role Objectives & Challenges
The role of Supply Planning Manager was structured as a manager-level position, but the actual scope and strategic weight far exceeded traditional expectations for this title. The leader would be responsible not only for managing people and processes but also for shaping the planning strategy for a growing and increasingly sophisticated organization. Although the responsibilities aligned more closely with those of a director-level leader, internal organizational constraints and competing personnel considerations required that the position remain at the manager level.
Pure Fishing required a highly capable and strategically minded planning leader who could oversee a team of supply and demand planners, elevate the S&OP process, and support a business that was expanding both organically and through acquisition. The incoming leader needed to unify planning practices across multiple new distribution centers and align those operations with broader global supply chain strategies. Because the role’s responsibilities were more advanced than the title suggested, it was critical to identify a candidate who could comfortably operate with director-level thinking while stepping into a manager-level function. Navigating this disconnect between role expectations and organizational hierarchy was one of the central challenges of the search. The company also needed someone experienced in environments far more complex than a single-site setting. Many planning managers in the market operate only at plant or site level, but Pure Fishing needed a leader accustomed to corporate-level planning, multi-facility oversight, and strategic influence across global operations.
Our Approach to Solve the Search
SCM Talent Group began the search by collaborating closely with the VP of HR to clarify expectations, align on the true strategic needs of the role, and identify the type of candidate capable of bridging the gap between manager title and director-level responsibilities. With this alignment in place, the recruiting effort targeted local consumer packaged goods talent who were already working in corporate or enterprise-level planning functions. The team focused on identifying individuals who had experience steering planning strategy across multiple facilities rather than those whose responsibilities were limited to individual sites. This search required a highly selective screening process. The initial pool of approximately fifty potential candidates was evaluated for strategic capability, communication skills, S&OP maturity, cross-functional influence, and the ability to lead a team while also driving process improvement at scale. The search centered on prioritizing leaders who possessed both hands-on planning expertise and the broader strategic mindset needed for Pure Fishing’s expanding network. Ultimately, this approach proved effective in surfacing local candidates who understood the complexities of global planning and could immediately contribute to a rapidly evolving supply chain function.
The Hire & Results
The position was successfully filled within thirty days. From the broader field of candidates, one local planning manager from a consumer packaged goods organization emerged as the clear frontrunner. Their background included corporate-level planning responsibilities, experience across multiple facilities, and a strong grasp of strategic S&OP leadership. When presented to Pure Fishing, the candidate aligned so directly with the company's needs that the client decided to move forward immediately without interviewing additional finalists. The local nature of the hire also eliminated relocation requirements, allowing for a faster and more cost-effective onboarding process. Throughout the search, SCM Talent Group maintained close collaboration with the VP of HR, resulting in a streamlined, efficient process and a highly successful placement. The newly hired Supply Planning Manager brought the strategic depth, leadership capability, and global perspective needed to elevate Pure Fishing’s planning function and support continued growth across an expanding distribution network.
