Eden Green, Part 4

Delivered March 14th, 2020. Contributors: Ivan C., Sweta S., Toyoabasi E. and

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Retail / Distribution: Job Titles, Part 2

Examples of job titles held by someone responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers at larger retailers and food distribution companies include “Senior Manager, Food Supply Chain Operations”, “Replenishment Manager”, “Senior Buying Manager, Produce”, “Sourcing Manager”, and “Produce Procurement Manager”. These managerial positions are below the Vice President or Director level. 
Senior Manager, Food Supply Chain OperationsAmazon uses the title of “Senior Manager, Food Supply Chain Operations” for the role that leads raw material procurement activities for its fresh meal kit products.
Candidates for the position are required to have experience managing large teams as well as engaging directly with fresh food ingredient suppliers.
The position is classified as middle to senior level.
Replenishment ManagerUS Foods uses the title of “Replenishment Manager” for an employee responsible to lead and develop teams that acquire their products regularly. 
The Replenishment Manager is responsible for directly leading a team of no more than 10 employees.
The company prefers candidates with foodservice experience.
Senior Buying Manager, ProduceWalmart is a major retailer in the US and sells fresh produce products in its Supercenters.
Walmart uses the title of “Senior Buying Manager, Produce” for an employee that leads procurement efforts for its produce products.
A person holding the role claims to have experience leading and managing cross-functional teams.
Sourcing Manager Fresh Express and Kroger both use the title of “Sourcing Manager” for their employee responsible for managing daily supplies of produce such as lettuce. 
The Sourcing Manager in Fresh Express is responsible for managing suppliers and supervises a small team of three.
The Sourcing Manager in Kroger is responsible to identify potential suppliers and has direct reports.
Produce Procurement ManagerAlbertsons Safeway is a subsidiary of Albertsons, one of the largest food retailers in the United States.
Albertsons uses the title of “Produce Procurement Manager” for an employee responsible for the procurement of their produce products.
The company requires a candidate with over 7 years of experience in produce procurement and 5-10 years of experience in managing people.

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Retail / Distribution: Demographics, Part 2

A total of 54 profiles of senior or middle-level managers responsible for growing or buying food (food sourcing and procurement) for the top U.S. food retail and distribution companies were analyzed in this research, indicating that a majority of the population is at their 30s (about 66.67%). Both males and females are working at this profile indicating an equal gender distribution at the position of senior or middle-level managers in large U.S. food retailers or distribution companies. 
Demographic ProfileAge:Out of 54 profiles analyzed, 36 people are estimated to be in their 30s, 11 are estimated to be in their 40s, 5 are estimated to be in their 50s, and 2 are estimated to be in their 60s.
Therefore, a majority (about 66.67%) of people holding senior or middle-level positions at larger retailers and food distribution companies responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers are in their 30s.
People who are in their 40s make up 20.37% of those holding senior or middle-level positions at larger retailers and food distribution companies responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers.
Gender:Out of a total 54 profiles studied during the research, 28 belong to men and 26 to women professionals. Therefore, equal distribution can be seen at senior or middle-level profiles responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers at larger retailers and food distribution companies.  
Education Level:Of the 54 profiles surveyed, 32 people were educated at the level of a bachelor's degree, 17 held a master's or postgraduate degree, and 5 did not mention their education level. 
Therefore, the majority of people (59.3%) are estimated to have only a bachelor's degree. 
However, about 31.48% of people working at the profile of senior or middle managers at larger retailers and food distribution companies responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers are postgraduate. 
Research Strategy
As there are no sources that provide a demographic profile of senior or middle-level managers responsible for either growing or buying food to sell to consumers at larger retailers and food distribution companies, we decided to follow the methodology adopted in the previous research to identify a demographic profile of the director level profiles in these companies. From the list of the largest U.S. food distribution and retail companies, we identified Walmart, Kroger, Albertson's, Ahold Delhaize, Publix, Aldi, H-E-B, Wakefern Food, Meijer, and Southeastern Grocers as the top U.S. food retail companies. Additionally, the top U.S. food distribution companies are Sysco, U.S. Foodservice, Performance Food Group, Gordon Food Service, Food Services of America, Reinhart Foodservice Inc, Shamrock Foods Co, Maines Paper & Food Service Inc, Ben E. Keith Foods, and the IJ Company. Later, we looked through various sources to check the profile of senior or middle-level managers responsible for growing or buying food for each of the above-mentioned companies. These profiles include Food Sourcing/Sourcing Managers, Food Produce Procurement Managers, Food/Produce Category Managers, Purchase Managers, and Buyers. After locating these profiles for each company, we carried out a demographic analysis to compile the desired demographic profile through LinkedIn profile of each of the managers. We also looked into the job hiring advertisements published on LinkedIn or career page by any of the above-mentioned retailers and food distribution companies for the profile of senior or middle-level managers for food sourcing, growing or buying food to sell to consumers. Information concerning the desired position was not readily available for some of the companies such as Ahold Delhaize, Publix., Performance Food Group, Food Services of America, and the IJ company. 

As there were no open sources to determine the age of each person identified in the research, we had to estimate their ages. We calculated their age assuming that each person was in their early 20s when they graduated with their bachelor's degree. In cases where the graduation year was not available, the same calculation was made from the year these people began working, based on their work experiences published on their LinkedIn profiles.

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US Agriculture / Horticulture Collegiate Progams

Seven of the top United States colleges/universities known for their agriculture/horticulture programs are Cornell University, University of California--Davis, California Polytechnic State University, University of Florida, Pennsylvania State University, University of Minnesota, and Texas A&M University.
Cornell UniversityThe College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at Cornell University.
It offers 44 Agriculture Degree programs and 8 Horticulture Degree programs. We have selected Cornell University because the institution is the second-best agricultural college and the best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the first position in the U.S ranking of top agricultural universities by Thrive and the fifth position in the global ranking of universities for agricultural sciences, according to the U.S. News.
University of California--DavisThe College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at the University of California--Davis.
It offers 35 Agriculture Degree programs and 2 Horticulture Degree programs. We have selected the University of California-Davis because the institution is the seventh-best agricultural college and the second-best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the ninth position in the U.S ranking of top agricultural universities by Thrive and the third position in the global ranking of universities for agricultural sciences, according to the U.S. News.
California Polytechnic State UniversityThe College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at the California Polytechnic State University.
It offers 15 major Agriculture Degree programs and 3 Horticulture Degree programs. We have selected California Polytechnic State University because the institution is the ninth-best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the tenth position in the U.S ranking of top agricultural universities by Thrive and the first position in the ranking of agricultural universities by College Values Online.
University of FloridaThe College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at the University of Florida.
It offers 24 Agriculture Degree programs and 4 Horticulture Degree programs. We have selected the University of Florida because the institution is the fourth-best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the second position in the U.S ranking of top agricultural universities by Thrive and the third position in the global ranking of U.S universities for agricultural sciences, according to the U.S. News.
Pennsylvania State UniversityThe College of Agricultural Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at Pennsylvania State University.
It offers 17 undergraduate majors and 18 graduate programs, and 6 Horticulture Degree programs. We have selected Pennsylvania State University because the institution is the third-best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the eleventh position in the U.S ranking of best agricultural universities by University.com and the third position in the ranking of agricultural universities by College Values Online.
University of MinnesotaThe College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at the University of Minnesota.
It offers 13 academic programs. We have selected the University of Minnesota because the institution is the tenth-best agricultural college and the best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Also, it holds the fourth position in the ranking of agricultural universities by College Values Online.
Texas A&M UniversityThe College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is in charge of agricultural-related courses at Texas A&M University.
It offers 14 academic programs. We have selected Texas A&M University because the institution is the third in the U.S ranking of top agricultural universities by Thrive and the eight position in the ranking of agricultural universities by College Values Online. 
Also, it holds the fifteenth best horticulture college in the United States, according to Universities.com.
Research StrategyTo identify the list of top United States colleges/universities known for their agriculture/horticulture programs, we searched through the public domain for a precompiled list of top U.S colleges/universities recognized for their agriculture/horticulture programs. Our search was fruitful as we identified several lists by top-rated colleges and universities concerning their agriculture/horticulture programs from reputable sources such as Universities.com, Thrive, U.S. News, and College Values Online. The list by U.S. News was based on criteria such as Agricultural Sciences overall score, research reputation, publications, collaboration, and citation of works, the list by College Values Online was based on return on investment (ROI), amount of agricultural departments listed on each college’s website, and average tuition fee. The list by Thrive was based on a survey for focused agricultural programs, while the list by Universities.com is based on a set of review criteria such as career preparations and facilities. Furthermore, we evaluated the institutions contained in each of the sources and selected the colleges/universities recognized by at least two of the sources used. 