Category Manager

ZF Group•Auburn Hills, MI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our team is dedicated to driving the global strategy for Aftermarket product category Brake control, Air supply, ADAS, Trailer solutions and Steering systems, under the ZF, TRW, WABCO and ProVia brands, focusing on enhancing performance and profitability. We collaborate closely with key stakeholders such as global OE product segment, Aftermarket Division domain functions like portfolio management, operation and commercial excellence, global category service readiness and regional business line & categories, ensuring alignment on key projects and initiatives. With a strong emphasis on growth and profitability, our team manages a portfolio with impressive YoY expansion, overseeing everything “End to End” from strategy definition, product creation, go-to-market, operation and life cycle management for legacy and next-gen technology products. Together, we work to deliver innovative solutions that meet customer needs and position our products for continued success across worldwide markets.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline with a Sales/Marketing/Business Development background
8+ years of experience in Automotive Aftermarket OES/IAM business
Experience in product management, product marketing, or category management, preferably in the automotive industry
Good knowledge of commercial vehicle products, footprint, structures, and processes
Strong commercial and controlling understanding combined with strategic and analytical thinking and active execution of product strategy targets
Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills
Entrepreneurial mindset with creative and unconventional thinking capabilities
Strong negotiation, influencing, and global networking skills with ability to build trustful relationships with internal and external stakeholders
Strong drive for results while developing competences and team empowerment within the Aftermarket organization

Responsibilities

Monitors and drives strategic initiatives with internal and external stakeholders to secure future revenue streams and support growth.
Validates market potentials and develops business cases based on simulations and analysis to support strategic planning.
Supports and executes go-to-market strategies incl. IAM Service & Workshop concepts and Channel Shift activities, ensuring implementation tracking.
Acts as interface to cross-functional teams to evaluate and drive business opportunities.
Coordinates key global operational topics (e.g. product specifications, pricing alignment, reporting structures).
Drives lifecycle management and cross-divisional competitiveness initiatives with focus on COGS productivity.
Ensures implementation of global strategies to achieve sales, margin and profitability targets, including project delivery and customer requirements.
Enables global NPIs together with Product Management and drives implementation of identified improvement potentials.