Procurement Category Manager

Job Description

Category Financial Performance, Planning and Management

• Meet the financial targets and KPI for the category;
• Analyze the economic cost drivers (raw material prices, currency, interest rates), evaluate the immediate effects on the category spend, consider impact and opportunities for procurement decisions;
• Manage existing supplier base to gain the best cost of components through negotiations, external factors management, work with supplier on relocation of production to the most competitive manufacturing locations (best cost country sourcing);
• Drive cost reduction through identification and implementation of alternative suppliers with right quality and competitive price products. Promote multi sourcing;
• Mitigate risks and create scenarios to ensure cost delivery beyond the targets;
• Ensure timely update and data correctness for category performance in digital reporting tools.

Category Strategic Management:

• Objective: Review existing, develop and execute new category strategic plan that leverages opportunities and promotes complexity reduction, simplification, modularization, dual sourcing, cost performance, best cost country sourcing and innovation. Ensure category strategies aligned with business requirements and across relevant stakeholders.
• Key Actions:
  • Analyze market trends and competitive landscape;
  • Understand specific business area needs;
  • Ensure strategy enables multi sourcing and best cost country sourcing;
  • Have alignment about feasibility of strategy with R&D, product care, quality, sustainability, CoC and risk teams;
  • Make sure that category strategy is aligned with product strategy;
  • Identify growth areas and potential risks;
  • Align business objectives with long-term vision;
  • Monitor implementation with local BA Purchasing and relevant stakeholders and adjust as necessary.

Supplier Relationship Management:

• Objective: Cultivate solid and sustainable relationships with suppliers.
• Key Actions:
  • Regularly assess supplier performance;
  • Collaborate on joint initiatives (e.g., cost reduction, quality improvement, sustainability);
  • Ensure access to supplier innovation;
  • Negotiate favorable terms of contracts and agreements; 
  • Ensure business with suppliers is covered with signed contracts;
  • Encourage transparency and open communication with strategic suppliers.

Productivity Enhancement of Suppliers:

• Objective: Drive initiatives to improve efficiency and productivity.
• Key Actions:
  • Identify bottlenecks and process inefficiencies;
  • Implement process improvements;
  • Set measurable productivity targets and monitor progress and adjust as needed;
  • Align goals and priorities.

Apply Value-Based Sourcing strategy in work with supplier base

• Objective: Drive the execution of purchasing Value-Based Sourcing strategy with focus on Innovation, Risk management, Supplier Relationship management, Supplier early involvement, 360 Long Term Agreement.
• Key Actions:
  • Leverage supplier relationships;
  • Unlock and follow through the innovation opportunities;
  • Focus on creation of mutually beneficial long-term commercial agreements.
  • Support the supplier risk management, evaluation and risk mitigation (e.g. financial, geographical, cyber, fire);
  • Promote and apply the SEI (supplier early involvement) for projects where it may bring value.

New product introduction involving category in charge

• Objective: manage sourcing actions to support the smooth and timely implementation of project (with or without of supplier early involvement (“SEA”) phase)
• Key actions:
  • Correct evaluation of project requirement and targets, collection of all the information required for execution of project with supplier;
  • Accurate planning of the steps and check points needed to be followed to complete implementation on time;
  • Timely execution of steps and check points;
  • Mitigation of risks to ensure timing of project kept;
  • Support connection between supplier and project team.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Objective: Strengthen partnerships across teams and internal stakeholders.
• Key Actions:
  • Facilitate cross-functional communication;
  • Share information and insights;
  • Foster a collaborative work environment;

Data-Driven Decision-Making:

• Objective: Utilize data research and analytics for informed choices.
• Key Actions:
  • Collect relevant data on direct material categories.
  • Analyze cost structures and market dynamics.
  • Identify cost-saving opportunities.

Monitor performance metrics.