The Procurement Manager owns supplier performance management, category strategy, sourcing and continuous improvement across the supplier base. This role is responsible for building a disciplined, data-driven procurement function that supports growth, cost competitiveness, quality, and supply continuity.
This individual will serve as the primary owner of key supplier relationships, leading supplier onboarding, performance management, contract negotiation, and collaboration; including coordinating new product introductions (NPI) and supplier enablement as needed. The role focuses primarily on direct spend and secondarily on indirect spend.
Supplier Relationship Management & Performance
- Serve as the relationship owner and primary point of contact for strategic and critical suppliers.
- Develop, implement, and maintain supplier scorecards across cost, quality, delivery, innovation, and service.
- Lead regular business reviews and performance improvement plans with suppliers.
- Drive supplier accountability and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Own escalation and resolution of quality issues in partnership with warehouse teams, serving as the central vendor relationship and contract owner.
Strategic Sourcing, Category Sourcing & Contracting
- Develop category strategies aligned to business objectives.
- Lead sourcing strategies, RFQs/RFPs, negotiations, and supplier selection for direct materials and key services.
- Negotiate, contract an deliver cost savings, value engineering, and total cost of ownership (TCO) initiatives.
- Ensure competitive tension and robust sourcing governance across categories.
- Own supplier commercial terms, pricing structures, and contract compliance.
Supplier Onboarding, Risk & Compliance
- Vet, qualify, and onboard new suppliers, ensuring alignment with quality, regulatory, financial, and operational standards.
- Quality assurance activities reside at the warehouse level; however, the Procurement manager owns supplier scorecards and is accountable for supplier quality performance through vendor governance and contract enforcement.
- Identify and mitigate supply risks through dual sourcing, contingency planning, and risk monitoring.
New Product Introduction (NPI) & Operational Enablement
- Partner with existing suppliers to support new product introductions, including supplier readiness, cost modeling, lead time alignment, and capacity planning.
- Coordinate and facilitate supplier-led training and operational enablement for internal teams as needed.
- Ensure smooth handoff from development to operations for new products and suppliers.
Governance, Analytics & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Establish procurement KPIs, dashboards, and operating rhythms to track performance and drive decision-making.
- Periodically provide insights, recommendations, and supplier performance updates to the Buyers Council.
- Partner closely with Operations, Distribution, Engineering, Finance, and Product teams to align sourcing strategies with business priorities.
- Support S&OP / IBP processes by ensuring supply readiness and cost visibility.
People Leadership & Purchasing / Planning Oversight
- Lead, coach, and develop buyers or sourcing specialists as assigned.
- Ensure transparency, governance, and compliance across PO placement, three-way match, contract adherence, and purchasing execution.
- Establish best practices, standard work, and training to build procurement capability and consistency.
- Provide leadership oversight of planning and purchasing functions to ensure inventory, service level, and network support objectives are met.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Finance, or related field.
- 7+ years of progressive experience in procurement, sourcing, or supply chain.
- 3+ years of experience managing supplier relationships and strategic sourcing initiatives.
- Proven experience with direct materials sourcing; indirect spend experience preferred.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Demonstrated success delivering cost savings and supplier performance improvements.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in manufacturing, distribution, or regulated environments.
- Experience supporting new product introductions and supplier development.
- Familiarity with ERP and SRM platforms (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Ariba, NetSuite).
- Experience in high-growth, private equity-backed, or multi-site organizations.
- Certification such as CPSM, CSCP, or Six Sigma.
Compensation
The base pay range for this role is $110,000 – $130,000 per year.