Senior Vice President, Supplier Relations

SRS Distribution•McKinney, TX

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Vice President, Supplier Relations is responsible for developing, optimizing, and scaling the company’s national and regional supplier ecosystem. This position builds high‑value partnerships, enhances supplier performance, ensures cost-effective procurement strategies, accountable for end‑to‑end inventory management and strengthens the company’s competitive position in the industry. Additionally, this position leads all aspects of supplier relationship management—including sourcing, contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, product category growth, and supplier risk management, while collaborating closely with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Executive Leadership to drive company‑wide performance and margin expansion.

Requirements

Deep experience within building products, construction materials, industrial distribution, or manufacturing strongly preferred.
Proven success negotiating high‑value contracts, leading large teams, and building strategic supplier partnerships.
Ability to synthesize multi‑dimensional data (supply, demand, cost, risk, margin, working capital) into clear strategic insights that influence the verticals direction.
High emotional intelligence with strong executive presence and influence skills.
Apply scenario modeling and sensitivity analyses to assess how different supplier strategies, contract terms, and sourcing alternatives affect operational outcomes and financial performance.
Proven ability to build high‑performance, customer‑centric teams.
Effective change leader with experience driving large‑scale organizational transformation.
Strong financial acumen in modeling, pricing, rebates, and margin optimization.
Skilled in enterprise‑level negotiations with major manufacturers.
Familiarity with ERP systems, procurement platforms, and supplier technology tools.
Bachelor’s degree required—Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or related field preferred.
15+ years of experience in supplier relations, procurement, sourcing, category management, or supply chain leadership.
At least 7+ years in senior leadership roles.

Nice To Haves

Executive experience in building products, construction materials, industrial distribution, or manufacturing.
Strong category management expertise across core building materials.
Experience leading procurement transformation, national programs, or supplier network optimization.
Proven success leading multi‑disciplinary supplier, sourcing, or category teams.
Experience developing supplier scorecards, performance systems, or risk‑management frameworks.
Track record of improving working capital through supplier terms and inventory strategies.
MBA or advanced degree preferred (Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance).
Preferred: CPSM, CSCP, CPM, or SCPro.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the enterprise supplier‑relations and inventory strategies that support growth, profitability, operational excellence, and working‑capital targets.
Lead end‑to‑end inventory management, aligning replenishment, production planning, and lead‑times with suppliers to ensure product availability, cost efficiency, and operational reliability.
Integrate supplier performance insights with inventory planning to reduce risk, minimize excess/obsolete stock, and optimize SKU lifecycle decisions.
Collaborate with Finance, Supply Chain, Category, Sales, and Operations teams to forecast demand, model scenarios, optimize inventory investment, and support product launches and category growth.
Implement continuous‑improvement practices that enhance forecasting, safety‑stock strategies, accuracy, and replenishment processes using analytics and market trends.
Establish and monitor KPIs for inventory turns, fill rates, carrying costs, and supplier delivery performance to drive accountability.
Lead long‑range planning for supplier alignment, category expansion, cost management, and supply‑chain improvement.
Serve as the company contact for major manufacturers, negotiating top‑tier agreements, national programs, and strategic contract terms.
Build and sustain high‑performing supplier partnerships, overseeing scorecards, SLAs, quality metrics, and performance improvement initiatives.
Identify and onboard new suppliers to expand capabilities, competitiveness, and portfolio strength.
Drive cost savings, margin expansion, and rebate optimization through strategic negotiations and category management.
Lead and develop the Supplier Relations organization, fostering a high‑performance culture, strong negotiation excellence, and future leadership pipelines.
Ensure compliance with ethical sourcing, sustainability standards, legal requirements, and risk‑mitigation practices.
Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and executive supplier meetings.