Sourcing Category Manager - Remedy & ReadyCare
About The Position
Medline is hiring a Sourcing Category Manager to support its Remedy & ReadyCare product division. The position is based at the company’s plant in Mankato, Minnesota, and follows a hybrid work model. The manager oversees approximately $20 million in annual purchases, focusing on best-cost negotiations, consistent and stable supply, and reducing risks to Medline Manufacturing. The role manages chemical and packaging raw material categories and works to identify global sourcing options and address geopolitical risks that affect costs and supply. The position works closely with Supply Chain, Product Management, Quality, and Medline’s Shanghai Global Sourcing Office. It provides category expertise and sourcing strategies to optimize costs, support new product launches, improve supplier performance, and maintain a healthy supply chain. The role also manages supplier and part-number activities and helps resolve ongoing supplier issues.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree.
- At least 3–5 years of sourcing experience.
- Experience leading category strategies, supplier relationship management, and sourcing initiatives.
- Experience negotiating with outside vendors, including contracts and prices, and reconciling differences.
- Experience documenting procedures and internal controls.
- Experience analyzing and reporting data to identify issues, trends, or exceptions and drive improvements and solutions.
- Experience controlling and coordinating concurrent projects, competing priorities, and critical deadlines.
- Ability to work across multiple time zones and locations.
Responsibilities
- Manage direct spend categories to achieve best cost, supply continuity, and reduced risk; lead key vendor discussions and negotiate favorable terms, volume discounts, and long-term contracts.
- Manage spend across key raw material categories, including chemicals and packaging materials.
- Monitor global and geopolitical developments affecting tariffs, raw materials, and regulatory requirements, and develop strategies to address cost increases and supply instability.
- Provide product and category expertise, including knowledge of raw material inputs, manufacturing techniques, vendors, and product requirements; recommend cost-reduction actions and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Manage supplier relationships and negotiate price reductions, ordering efficiencies, vendor contracts, rebate plans, and growth incentives.
- Develop negotiation tactics to mitigate price increases, using Medline’s volume and sourcing tools and considering dual sourcing or new global vendors.
- Develop and execute country-level sourcing risk profiles, considering multiple-country sourcing, dual sourcing, and geopolitical factors; recommend vendors based on risk assessments.
- Evaluate domestic and import sourcing strategies using factors such as cost, quality, and lead time.
- Help create and implement global sourcing strategies for vendor performance, allocation optimization, re-sourcing, and cost containment or reduction; use market research and supplier performance insights to inform strategies.
- Identify category cost-saving opportunities and support negotiations of long-term agreements with domestic and import suppliers.
- Collaborate with the Shanghai Global Sourcing Office and Supply Chain, Quality, and Product Management teams to develop vendors and products, reduce supply risk, and support supply chain health.
- Manage Medline part and vendor numbers, including establishing new part numbers for supplier moves, packaging optimization, and PIRs.
- Work with the reorder buying group to investigate unresolved problem-supplier issues, gather data, facilitate discussions, and improve supplier performance.
Benefits
- Competitive total rewards package.
- Continuing education and training.
- Health insurance for employees working 30 or more hours per week on average.
- Life and disability benefits for employees working 30 or more hours per week on average.
- 401(k) contributions.
- Paid time off.
- Access to the Employee Assistance Program, Employee Resource Groups, and the Employee Service Corp for employees working less than 30 hours per week.
- Bonus and/or incentive eligibility.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
