Category Management Direct Sr. Manager

Vertiv•Westerville, OH

About The Position

The Vertiv Category Manager is a key individual within the purchasing organization. It is a complex role that requires a number of skills, qualifications and attributes. The Category Manager, in conjunction with key stakeholders, develops, communicates and coordinates the procurement strategy for that commodity for the Americas. This involves an in depth understanding of the market, the technology, supplier sourcing, risk and performance management. The Category Manager also needs to be able to minimize risk to Vertiv. In short this means that the manager has to develop an appropriate risk mitigation strategy through an appropriate supplier network maintaining continuity of supply while reducing risk within the supply chain as a whole.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate discipline – Supply Chain Management, Engineering or Business preferred
10 years’ experience, specifically in Manufactured assemblies
CPIM or equivalent is desirable
Strong proficiency in MS Office applications and experience with Oracle, SAP or other ERP databases
Experience in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) thought process (solutions thinking vs piece part)
Experience in understanding market trends and developing clear reports that help the organization to understand what is trending and why, in support of business decisions
Ability to develop KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) specific to the commodity management, market and TCO
Experience developing and implementing replenishment programs such as VMI, consignment or kanbans
Strong negotiation skills are essential along with the ability to manage confidential and sensitive information and having general knowledge of regional trade compliance laws
Strong analytical and presentation skills are key, along with ability to clearly communicate complex scenarios while managing/leading multiple projects and changing priorities
Requires very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop and cultivate productive and lasting relationships with cross-functional team in a global organization
Ability to apply critical analysis of procedures and processes and develop alternate solutions to address supply chain risks and challenges

Nice To Haves

Have a technical aptitude in sheet metal and mechanical components in datacenter application environment
Demonstrable experience in developing relationships with vendors, research and development and product development roadmap integration
Ability to lead and have the capacity to multi-task, whilst ensuring that the small details are not overlooked.
Strong analytical and presentation skills are key, along with ability to clearly communication complex scenarios.
Requires very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop and culture productive and lasting relationships remotely across a global organization.

Responsibilities

Development, communication and ongoing refinement of the Vertiv commodity strategy through regular (monthly) engagement with marketing, purchasing, materials management engineering and strategic supply partners to plan, organize and manage strategic and tactical sourcing and procurement efforts
Development of deep relationships with Marketing, Engineering and Regional Operations teams will be critical to success
Process Optimization: Design and implement processes to improve visibility to spend and supplier relationships, speed up sourcing and contracting efforts, and streamline processes.
Commercial relationship management of key strategic suppliers, including contract negotiation, pricing, lead-time, inventory performance and monitoring of quality performance (quality and execution)
Ensure all necessary legal agreements are executed and all supplemental contracts supporting goals and objectives for supply continuity and optimization are completed
All prices have been negotiated and cost analysis completed against should cost models and internal make costs
Lead projects focused on reducing waste and improving efficiency and effectiveness of sourcing process
Manages the development of program budgets, plans, and objectives to meet the goals of the Procurement organization
Oversight, communication and reporting of commodity performance, including, but not limited to:
Technology and Innovation trends and progress
Material Inflation planning & reporting, including risk mitigation and cost reduction strategies and planning towards achieving the Annual Operating Plan (AOP)
Supply base development and management (supplier strategy, supplier population, preferred supplier list, tier 2 supply planning)
Working with Quality Assurance to develop and report on continuous improvement programs and ensure detailed performance feedback is communicated to suppliers
Build dashboards, scorecards, and reports to track performance against KPIs
Identify and drive best practices (internal and vendor/supplier) related to sourcing, pricing and total cost contributors, quality, efficiency, speed and responsiveness.
Potentially lead highly complex projects of large scale