Category Manager - Castings

Sherman and Reilly Inc•Chattanooga, TN

11d•Onsite

About The Position

Sherman + Reilly is establishing a new category management function and is seeking an individual to lead the castings category. This role involves full ownership of the casting and molded component supply base, including aluminum, bronze, steel, and ductile iron castings, as well as urethane-lined castings, molded plastics, rubber, and urethane, along with their associated patterns and tooling. The position is based at the manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, TN. Unlike a typical category manager role, this position includes tactical purchasing for the category, meaning the individual will manage both sourcing strategy and daily material availability. Castings are a technically complex commodity with long lead times and significant tooling requirements, making this role ideal for someone seeking deep supplier and process knowledge.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on casting procurement experience.
Five or more years in procurement, sourcing or category management in a manufacturing environment, including responsibility for castings or other tooled commodities.
ERP/MRP experience and strong Excel skills for spend, lead-time and supplier analysis.
Demonstrated ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T and material specifications, and to hold technically credible conversations with foundry engineering and quality personnel.
Direct foundry experience, or experience sourcing sand-cast, low-pressure or permanent mold aluminum, bronze or ductile iron castings.
Willingness to work on-site in Chattanooga with supplier travel roughly 15 to 20 percent of the time.

Nice To Haves

Proven negotiation experience on tooled, long-lead components, including long-term agreements, capacity commitments and tooling cost.
Experience with supplier qualification frameworks such as PPAP, FAI, process flow and control plans, and with formal corrective-action systems.
SAP experience, ideally SAP Business ByDesign or SAP S/4HANA
CPSM, CPIM or equivalent supply chain certification.

Responsibilities

Own the casting and molded component category end to end, from supplier strategy through daily purchase order execution.
Qualify and develop foundries to build depth and capability across the supply base.
Lead RFQs, should-cost analysis, negotiations and long-term agreements, including capacity commitments on long-lead castings.
Keep production supplied: run MRP output for your category, resolve shortages, and hold suppliers to the dates they commit to.
Own the pattern and tooling record for the category, including ownership, location and condition.
Partner with Engineering early in new product development, bringing foundry capability, manufacturability and tooling cost into the conversation before designs are locked.
Work with Quality on supplier qualification, first-article submissions and corrective action.