Senior Specialist Category Buyer - MRO

Nestlé • Solon, OH

100d

About The Position

The Sr. Specialist Category Management Buyer (MRO) is responsible for creating and executing a Category Strategy for each assigned category, based on business objectives and understanding of the supply market using the 7 steps to strategic sourcing process. This role involves ensuring Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) for materials, identifying cost savings initiatives, developing strategic relationships with suppliers, facilitating innovation opportunities, making contracting decisions, conducting negotiations, and reducing Nestle's total cost of ownership. The Procurement Category Buyer also plays a crucial role in maintaining a strong understanding of Purchase Price Variance (PPV), representing it in monthly meetings with Business Partners and Procurement Leaders, managing supply incidents, and driving improvements in on-time delivery and quality through Vendor Evaluation Scorecard conversations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Economics, or a related field is required.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Strategic Buying, supplier relationship management, and managing financial business impacts of decisions is required.
• Understanding of procurement processes, category management, and supplier relationship management.
• Proven experience in negotiation and cross functional influencing skills.
• Ability to navigate complex problems independently and make decisions to change processes to drive improvements with cross functional teams and improve end to end execution.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in using SAP, ARIBA, Microsoft Excel, Prism, PowerPoint, Word, and Power BI.

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive Category Strategies for each assigned category, in context of business objectives and utilizing the 7 steps to strategic sourcing process to understand and integrate category expertise, to set the direction of sourcing for the categories.
• Annually present strategies to Procurement and cross functional teams.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with suppliers, fostering collaboration and innovation.
• Identify opportunities for cost reduction and cost avoidance projects including Simplex, and present analysis & category expertise driven insights to Business Partnering and Technical Application Group (TAG) teams.
• Drive execution of projects and maintain accurate records in Oscar.
• Ensure Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) are in place for materials within the assigned categories.
• Identify and present innovation opportunities from suppliers to Procurement Business Partners and innovation to launch (i2L) specialists to drive innovation.
• Conduct requests for proposals (RFPs) and negotiations with suppliers to achieve the most favorable price, incoterm and payment terms to reduce Nestle Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
• Proactively maintain accurate material and freight pricing to drive Purchase Price Variance (PPV) accuracy.
• Credibly and effectively communicate aggravation and favorability of PPV for assigned categories to Business Partnering teams.
• Collaborate with factory supply chain teams and suppliers to minimize or eliminate disruptions to contracted supply.
• Initiate Vendor Evaluation Scorecard conversations and drive for improvements in on-time delivery and quality with suppliers.
• Stay updated on market trends, industry best practices, and regulatory requirements related to the assigned categories to reduce and communicate risk and understand price changes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Finance, Legal, and Quality Assurance, to ensure compliance and alignment with company policies and standards.
• Collaborate with suppliers to identify regenerative agriculture and carbon reduction opportunities and work with the Procurement Sustainability team to capture projects that contribute to Nestle's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction goals.

What This Job Offers

• Industry: Food Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree