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Ralph Mercuro

@ralphmercuro

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Supply chain leader driving cost savings, vendor strategy, and ERP implementations.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I seek a senior supply chain role where I can drive strategic sourcing, ERP projects, vendor partnerships, and measurable cost savings in a growth-oriented, cross-functional environment.

I am a supply chain director with deep experience managing multi-million dollar food, beverage, and indirect spend across restaurant and retail operations. I specialize in strategic sourcing, vendor management, procurement, costing models and ERP implementations that deliver measurable cost savings and operational improvements.

Across roles I have led consolidation initiatives, RFPs, and KPI programs—improving supplier on-time performance to 100%, increasing MDA compliance from 52% to 80%, and delivering multi-percent food cost reductions through system and process changes. I've directed sourcing for portfolios from $5M to $250M and managed cross-functional teams including procurement, R&D, brand, marketing, finance, food safety and operations.

I value strong vendor relationships, data-driven decision making and fast-paced growth environments, and I consistently execute projects—such as multiple ERP rollouts and rebate/KPI programs—that align contracts, delivery and pricing with company goals.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

National Supply Chain Director

City Winery

Aug 2024 - Jun 2025 (10 months)

Directed $30M in food, beverage and indirect spend; implemented Craftable ERP, increased supplier on-time performance from 54% to 100% and improved MDA compliance KPI from 52% to 80%.

Strategic Sourcing ERP Implementation Supplier Performance Spend Management Data Analysis Procurement

Supply Chain Director

Newport Restaurant Group

May 2021 - Aug 2024 (3 years 3 months)

Managed $54M in spend across 16 restaurants and retail; delivered produce RFP yielding 8% annualized savings and increased KPI rebate program to $286,000 in 2024 while maintaining MDA compliance ~92.5%.

Category Management RFP KPIs Contract Negotiation Inventory Management

Supply Chain Director

Dr. Smood

Dec 2019 - Sep 2020 (9 months)

Directed $5M in food and indirect spend across restaurants, e-commerce and retail; consolidated organic procurement to save 3% and achieved 99.6% fulfillment for proprietary imported packaging items.

Procurement Product Costing Sustainable Sourcing Vendor Management Inventory Control KPI Tracking

Supply Chain Director

Dean & Deluca

Jul 2016 - Dec 2019 (3 years 5 months)

Managed $11M annually and directed 4 category merchants; consolidated purchases from 1,200 to under 600 vendors, saved $70K via logistics RFP and led Crunchtime ERP project reducing food cost 2.3%.

Vendor Consolidation Category Management ERP Implementation Forecasting

Supply Chain Director

Le Pain Quotidien

Jan 2010 - Jul 2016 (6 years 6 months)

Managed $38M in annual purchases and scaled supply chain from 25 to 95 locations; implemented Crunchtime ERP saving 3% in food cost and established regional produce contracts covering 50% of F&B spend.

Forecasting ERP Implementation Commissary Management Vendor Relations Inventory Management Team Leadership

Procurement Director

Friendly Ice Cream Corporation

Nov 1998 - Dec 2009 (11 years 1 month)

Managed $250M in purchases for 500 restaurants, led a ten-person department, centralized procurement and achieved recurring 2% food cost savings and a 17% cost reduction on burger RFP valued at $5M annually.

Strategic Sourcing Category Management Contract Negotiation Seasonal LTO Planning Inventory Management Warehouse operations