Director Strategic Sourcing - Parts

Our client, a Greater Philadelphia headquartered well-known $1+Bn repair and servicing company, is seeking a high energy leader for the newly created role of Director of Strategic Sourcing – Parts. The company operates 800+ locations across the US and is at an exciting inflection point, with a new CEO at the helm leading a strategic and operational transformation. The role of strategic sourcing represents a different way of approaching procurement and the Strategic Sourcing Director plays a critical role in the transformation. The Director will be responsible for partnering with other business leaders to implement a methodical, strategic sourcing approach for the enterprise, helping transition from the current historical set of practices to a much more intentional and value creating approach

Duties & Responsibilities

Sourcing Strategy Development and Implementation:

• Accountable for the development and implementation of an effective strategic sourcing strategy for assigned Parts categories within the enterprise including developing and implementing charter, strategy, negotiating contracts, performing in-house vs. buy analysis, developing alternative sources of supply, and proactively troubleshooting supply interruptions.

Category Management and Business Partnerships:

• Accountable for conducting deep dive viability assessments to identify best sourcing partners and conducting “should-cost” analysis for OEM/Manufacturer direct vs. wholesaler, vs. distributor vs. broker.
• Responsible for delivering annual sourcing productivity savings and developing a continuous efficiency pipeline of potential sourcing savings, and/or continuous improvement value optimization projects to ensure future delivery of the strategic plan commitments related to the P&L and the balance sheet.
• Focus efforts and project identification on total cost of ownership (TCO), strategic sourcing strategy.
• Apply best practices of sourcing processes and effectively communicate and educate business stakeholders on best practices in procurement, providing a healthy exchange of ideas and innovation.
• Develop expected annual budgets and monthly forecasts based on results of sourcing exercise for cash flow, purchase price variance, and other financial metrics for assigned Parts categories.
• Apply zero-based budgeting as a tool to improve operating efficiency.
• Develop and manage internal relationships to gain a comprehensive understanding of business requirements and to establish short and long-term business objectives. Liaise closely with the business stakeholders & SMEs to identify the best suited suppliers for the organization. Balance savings, process efficiencies, and service when making business award decisions.
• Utilize strong professional, ethical practices with suppliers to develop sound, non-biased, fact based, data driven relationships that will drive long term company growth for both our client and the supplier.
• Manage the timely completion of contractual agreements with suppliers encompassing comprehensive service level agreements.
• Comply with our client’s Business Principles and regulatory policies and apply legal and ethical and fair considerations to all negotiations and supplier management.

Organizational Development and Team Building:

• Lead, manage, and professionally coach Assigned Parts Strategic Sourcing team. Ensure performance is measured and each employee has a path for continuous improvement and growth. Manage department expenses within annual budget expectations.
• Recruit, engage, develop, and retain impactful individuals who can take the organization to the next level; use creativity in developing the next generation of leaders.
• Manage team on negotiations of contractual agreements to ensure that they achieve business objectives, adhere to corporate standards, and deliver financially against our value creation commitments.

Procurement Processes, Technology, and Tools:

• Lead rollout of SRM and supplier performance process with two-way strategic relationships that can be used to garner competitive advantage in the marketplace.
• Evaluate and help implement an e-procurement tool.

Reporting and Intelligence:

• Achieve and report progress on financial targets.
• Act as the center of market knowledge expertise, providing cost drivers / “should-cost” models, in source/outsource analysis to inform the business and guide decisions.
• Develop performance metrics for measuring the value of the efficiencies created for team and stakeholders.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business, business management finance, or related field
• Demonstrated excellence in leading a team
• 10-15 years professional experience leading sourcing, procurement, or supply chain
• Minimum of 10 years in strategic sourcing, category management of assigned Parts spend categories
• Understanding of, and experience with, e-procurement processes and systems
• Expertise with multiple Assigned Parts spend categories and commodities – automotive preferred
• Cross-cultural adaptability with working knowledge of language/s of buying regions
• Customer satisfaction driven (internal stakeholders)

Critical Skills

• Commercially and financially astute
• Think strategically, act tactically when needed
• Creative thinker with ability to adapt to change quickly
• Communication & presentation skills - advanced use of MS Powerpoint
• Negotiation skills - advanced
• Leadership skills - advanced
• Project Management skills - advanced
• Contract management and law - intermediate
• Demonstrated analytical skills - advanced use of MS Excel