Associate Consultant

Company Background

Forerunners is a boutique supply chain consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Our leadership team has unique experience in developing supply chain strategies and implementing solutions for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, logistics service providers, and private equity firms. Our client work includes Nike, Intuitive, Nestle, Gulf Relay, and LeafLink. There are a lot of consultants out there, so what makes us different? We challenge the client, forcing decisions to grow revenue or reduce costs through less obvious approaches to historically poorly defined problems.

Position Objective

We execute several project types so the Associate Consultant will wear many hats, depending on the client and specific project. This Associate Consultant will work on transformative projects, developing future-state roadmaps that impact our clients’ organizational structure, process design, or even technology landscape. They will work towards unique outcomes based on quantifiable service improvements and hard-dollar benefits. Regardless of the project type, this resource is expected to be client facing on a day-to-day basis.

General Responsibilities

  • Working approximately 40 hours per week, mostly in standard business hours of 8 – 5 PM EDT Monday through Friday, however we have clients in multiple time zone domestically and globally.
  • Travel is based on client needs. Some projects require two or three trips of 2 – 3 days over a 12-week period, others require zero travel. Certain implementations require 50 – 75% travel (post-COVID we have not experienced this type of intensive on-site but need to set expectations in case it happens).
  • Ability to meet with colleagues or clients in a professional setting via Zoom/Teams/etc.
  • Support project manager/director with managing deliverable deadlines in fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
  • Detailed spreadsheet analysis.
  • Ability to document and understand dependencies for collaboratively prioritizing and resolving project issues
  • Ability to learn off-the-shelf software tools for pricing, costing, or network analysis.

Functional/Technical Capabilities

  • Understanding of basic data management concepts.
  • Working understanding of supply chain management concepts.
  • Proficient in all Microsoft products, such as Excel, PowerPoint, Visio.

Competencies

  • Entrepreneurial Spirit – We have a great business model and unique differentiators… however we need individuals who are future leaders and think differently about what we are doing.
  • Business (and supply chain) Acumen – while this role is for a less experienced professional, we still expect the ability to understand business models and think through business decisions as well as those specific to the supply chain. We plan to teach you what you don’t already know, but we expect to learn from you too!
  • Flexibility – We are a small company and need to be nimble based on our client needs… sometimes we need to work late on weeknights or weekends.