Manager, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Ops

Jpw Industries•La Vergne, TN

About The Position

The Manager, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Operations role located in La Vergne TN, supports North American sourcing activities and JPW s global sourcing objectives. This role serves as a key liaison between US-based New Product Development (NPD) / Product Management teams and JPW s Asia-based Strategic Sourcing organization, ensuring alignment on engineering requirements, cost targets, commercial priorities, and supplier capabilities. The position also provides strategic sourcing leadership to JPW s domestic manufacturing sites and is responsible for component, material, and service sourcing that supports in-house manufacturing operations. This position will play a key role in developing future JPW Global Sourcing Strategies.

Requirements

Bachelor s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or a related field, required.
Minimum of 7 years procurement or strategic sourcing experience.
Demonstrated success in supplier negotiation, cost improvement, and strategic sourcing execution.
Experience supporting engineering-driven product development environments (NPD preferred).
Strong negotiation, commercial and analytical skills.
Ability to understand and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and supplier capability requirements.
ERP experience required; SAP preferred.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally at all levels.
Highly organized, dependable, and capable of managing multiple priorities.
Ability to travel globally up to 30%.

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.
Industry experience in machinery, woodworking equipment, metalworking equipment, power tools, or industrial tools & equipment strongly preferred.
Hands-on sourcing experience in Asia, especially Taiwan, Mainland China, Vietnam or Thailand highly desirable.
Experience working with global suppliers and manufacturing operations strongly beneficial.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute sourcing strategies for North America in alignment with global supply chain goals.
Function as the primary interface between US NPD teams and Asia Strategic Sourcing to ensure requirements are clearly communicated and understood.
Support global supplier evaluation, quoting, negotiation, and business award processes in collaboration with Asia sourcing.
Contribute to supplier diversification, cost improvements, and long-term sourcing strategies.
Work closely with Project Leads, Product Managers, and Engineering teams to define sourcing requirements for new product development.
Coordinate supplier involvement in design reviews and technical evaluations to ensure products meet all performance, quality, and cost expectations.
Facilitate communication between Engineering and suppliers to ensure manufacturability and capability alignment early in the development cycle.
Manage relationships with key North American suppliers and develop alternative or additional sourcing options as needed.
Provide dotted-line leadership and support to buyers at JPW s US manufacturing facilities.
Lead sourcing initiatives for components, raw materials, fabricated parts, and related services required for domestic manufacturing operations.
Drive initiatives to improve supplier reliability, reduce cost, and support production requirements.
Conduct RFQs, lead quote analysis, and award business using total cost of ownership principles.
Negotiate pricing, tooling costs, MOQs, lead times, and delivery schedules with suppliers.
Evaluate supplier capabilities, oversee onboarding, and drive continuous improvement in quality, delivery, and cost.
Identify sourcing risks and develop proactive mitigation strategies in collaboration with global sourcing and quality teams.
Lead process optimization initiatives to improve sourcing efficiency and accuracy.
Ensure compliance with company policies, ethical sourcing standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
Partner with Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Quality, Finance, and Legal to integrate sourcing requirements and support business objectives.
Participate in engineering change management (ECR/ECN) and contribute to phase-gate deliverables in the NPD process.
Establish and track procurement KPIs including cost savings, supplier performance, on-time delivery, sourcing cycle times, and compliance metrics.