Commercial Manager

SEA Commercial Manager (Consumer) – Full-Service Distributor Model

Position Overview

The SEA Commercial Manager (Consumer) will lead and manage McCormick's distributor partnerships in Malaysia and other defined Southeast Asian markets. This role will shift from an export-driven approach to a full-service distributor model, focusing on driving McCormick's offline and online distribution, increasing brand visibility, and ensuring strong in-store execution.

The role requires expertise in distributor management, key account collaboration, trade spend management, Revenue Growth Management (RGM), demand planning, and cross-functional teamwork. The Commercial Manager will act as a mini General Manager, contributing to delivering Net Sales and Operating Profit while ensuring seamless execution and profitable market growth.

This role is an individual contributor but requires strong leadership, influence, and collaboration skills to align key stakeholders and execute business strategies effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a full-service distributor strategy to drive sustainable market growth for McCormick brands in Malaysia and other SEA markets.
• Build and manage strong relationships with distributor partners, ensuring alignment on distribution, trade marketing, and business priorities.
• Lead joint business planning (JBP) with distributors, setting clear annual objectives, including sales growth, brand penetration, and execution KPIs.
• Collaborate with distributors to manage key accounts, ensuring McCormick expands its presence in modern trade, general trade, and e-commerce channels.
• Ensure distributor capability building in sales execution, merchandising, inventory management, and demand forecasting.
• Track and optimize distributor stock levels, ensuring healthy inventory turnover and minimizing out-of-stock or overstock situations.

Driving Distribution, Visibility & Execution Excellence

• Expand McCormick's distribution footprint across key retail and e-commerce platforms.
• Develop and implement Perfect Store execution standards, ensuring best-in-class merchandising, planogram compliance, and promotional visibility.
• Monitor in-store execution through distributor sales teams, identifying opportunities for improving share of shelf, displays, and consumer engagement.
• Partner with digital and marketing teams to drive offline and online visibility, promotions, and consumer engagement.
• Work closely with McCormick's/distributor's e-commerce team to optimize the brand's performance on digital retail platforms.

Business & Financial Performance Management

• Contribute to delivering Net Sales and Operating Profit targets, ensuring sustainable and profitable growth.
• Manage trade spend efficiently, ensuring ROI-driven promotions and investments in key growth channels.
• Lead Revenue Growth Management (RGM) strategies, including pricing, pack architecture, and promotional effectiveness.
• Analyze sales data, distribution gaps, and market trends to identify opportunities for growth and optimization.
• Drive demand planning accuracy by collaborating with supply chain and distributor teams to optimize forecasts and stock availability.
• Ensure financial discipline and compliance across pricing, promotions, and distributor operations.
• Lead portfolio management, identifying whitespace opportunities and recommending new product introductions.
• Drive new product launch execution with distributors, ensuring listing, pricing, and activation plans are in place.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to align local trade activities with global brand strategies.
• Develop long-term market expansion plans, exploring new growth opportunities and channels.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with supply chain, demand planning, and marketing teams to ensure seamless operations and execution.
• Ensure clear communication with global and regional leadership, providing regular updates on market performance, challenges, and opportunities.
• Act as a key point of contact for distributor escalations, ensuring smooth resolution of operational challenges.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Business, Marketing, or a relevant field. MBA preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in FMCG sales and distributor management, preferably in the food industry (Food experience would be an advantage).
• Proven track record of driving business growth through distributor-led execution.
• Experience managing trade spend, promotion planning, and demand forecasting.
• Strong understanding of both offline retail execution and e-commerce dynamics.
• Strategic distributor management mindset, with a deep understanding of joint business planning and sales execution.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to optimize trade spend and promotional investments.
• Revenue Growth Management (RGM) expertise, ensuring profitability through pricing, pack strategy, and promotions.
• Strong negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills to align with distributor partners, key accounts, and internal teams.
• Analytical skills to drive business intelligence, including sales performance tracking, category insights, and competitive benchmarking.
• Entrepreneurial and results-driven, with a passion for growing brands in a competitive retail environment.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, complex market landscape with multiple stakeholders.
• Proficient in English; additional regional languages a plus.
• Willingness to travel across key SEA markets as required.

Why Join McCormick?

McCormick is a global leader in flavors and seasonings, bringing bold, delicious tastes to consumers worldwide. As SEA Commercial Manager, you will play a pivotal role in driving McCormick's market expansion and retail presence in Malaysia and beyond. This role offers a high level of autonomy, ownership, and leadership, making it an exciting opportunity for a commercially driven professional passionate about business growth and execution excellence.

• Mid-Senior level

• Full-time

• Sales and Business Development
• Industries
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing