Sourcing Category Director, North America

Doskocil Mfg.•Arlington, TX

About The Position

Petmate is hiring a Sourcing Category Director to oversee end-to-end sourcing for assigned categories in North America. The role researches and selects suppliers, develops and executes sourcing strategies, sets quality and quantity standards, analyzes spending and supply-chain options, manages supplier portfolios, and leads cost-reduction initiatives. The Director aligns category procurement strategies with business goals and develops three-year sourcing roadmaps that address product needs, technology, cost drivers, capacity, risks, and opportunities. The role also supports product performance and new product development, manages supplier relationships and contracts, leads make-or-buy and outsourcing work, and develops category strategies for North American outsourced molding, SAM production components and materials, resins (with PET as a priority), hardware, doors and vents, packaging, and corrugate. Petmate seeks annual cost improvements of 3.5% to over 5% for non-resin purchases, over 5% year-over-year in assigned sourcing categories, and average material and component inventory below six weeks.

Requirements

At least 8 years of work experience as a Sourcing Manager, including domestic program management across an organizational supply chain.
At least 2 years of prior people leadership experience.
Demonstrated ability to execute sourcing strategies and complete category strategies.
Familiarity with sourcing, vendor management, and relevant software.
Strong project management and leadership skills, with an understanding of manufacturing processes and capabilities.
Ability to lead, adapt, prioritize, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Experience in a fast-paced consumer packaged goods company.
Ability to negotiate and sustain vendor relationships.
Comfort with figures and with collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data.
Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management or equivalent.

Nice To Haves

Experience with resin material management and manufacturing processes is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish, analyze, and optimize category procurement strategies to align with business goals.
Drive more than 5% year-over-year cost reduction or value improvement in assigned sourcing categories.
Develop three-year sourcing category roadmaps that align with product roadmaps and address technology needs, cost drivers, capacity requirements, risks, and opportunities.
Understand manufacturing processes and identify alternative solutions that create additional value.
Optimize costs and eliminate non-value-added waste in time and materials across assigned supply categories.
Collaborate on new product development projects and drive task completion to meet aggressive timelines.
Lead supplier sourcing, evaluation, selection, onboarding, negotiation, performance monitoring, relationship management, and continuous improvement.
Collaborate with team members globally to identify and interpret analytics and develop growth action plans.
Identify category opportunities to improve product performance by analyzing sales data, assortment gaps, and market trends.
Diversify product categories globally by identifying suppliers in relevant regions.
Analyze quotes and requests for quotation, understand material cost breakdowns, and negotiate costs to meet requirements.
Evaluate existing suppliers’ manufacturing capabilities, quality, compliance, and delivery performance, and recommend improvements.
Manage supplier contract portfolios and maintain regular business reviews with category suppliers.
Lead teams in scoping, quoting, and analyzing make-or-buy decisions for assigned core manufacturing categories.
Prepare reports with recommendations and execution requirements or timelines when needed.
Build and lead execution teams when outsourcing is selected.
Develop sourcing and category management strategies for North American outsourced molding; components and materials for SAM production; resins, prioritizing PET; hardware; doors and vents; packaging; and corrugate.
Keep average material and component inventories below six weeks of stock.
Drive annual cost improvement of 3.5% to more than 5% for non-resin purchases.
Establish supplier-management activities, including quarterly business reviews, North American supplier summits, and forecast transparency shared with planning.