Director of Supply Chain

GWBD Operations is a privately held manufacturing holding company headquartered in Grandview, Missouri, operating three complementary plumbing product brands: PRIER Products, Inc. (frost-proof wall and ground hydrants, sill faucets, hose bibs, boiler drains, and lead-free plumbing brass, founded 1881), Stern-Williams Products (terrazzo mop sinks, drinking fountains, and shower towers, founded 1962), and FIAT Products (mop service basins, shower floors, laundry tubs, and commercial faucets, founded 1919). GWBD manufactures its products in the USA and serves engineers, mechanical and plumbing contractors, and institutional and commercial end-users through a network of manufacturers' representatives and wholesale distributors.

GWBD's companies are growing through new product development, organic growth, and acquisitions.

The Supply Chain Director is the leader accountable for Procurement, Sourcing, Buying, and Logistics/Traffic across all three GWBD operating companies (PRIER, Stern-Williams, and FIAT). This role owns an annual budget in excess of $24M spanning direct materials, indirect materials, MRO, consumables, and purchased services sourced from both domestic and international suppliers, and directs the inbound/outbound freight, 3PL, customs, and brokerage activity that keeps material and finished goods flowing across all three sites.

The Director sets the strategic direction for sourcing, supplier relationships, and logistics. The Director's primary mandate is to guarantee zero business disruption due to material flow while continuously improving total cost of ownership, service levels, and supplier quality — balancing Quality, Service, and Price (QSP) as the guiding framework for every sourcing and logistics decision.

The Director builds and leads a small team of buyers and a Traffic/Logistics Controller (with production planners joining the organization over time), instilling supplier scorecards, quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and structured negotiation discipline. The Director partners cross-functionally with Plant Managers, R&D, Finance, and Sales to align material strategy with SIOP/, new product development timelines, and enterprise cash-flow and inventory targets.

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Strategic Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership

? Own the enterprise supply chain strategy for procurement, sourcing, and logistics across PRIER, Stern-Williams, and FIAT, aligning it to overall GWBD business objectives, growth plans, and acquisition integration.

? Serve as a key voice in SIOP processes, balancing forecast accuracy, capacity, and inventory investment.

? Partner with Plant Managers, R&D, Engineering, Quality, and Sales leadership to ensure sourcing decisions support production schedules, new product launches, and customer commitments.

? Lead business risk planning for the supply base — dual/backup sourcing, geopolitical and tariff exposure, single-source risk, and supply continuity planning.

Procurement, Sourcing & Supplier Relationship Management

? Direct all procurement, sourcing, and buying activity for direct materials, indirect materials, MRO, consumables, and purchased services across the three locations, managing a purchasing budget of $20M+.

? Build and maintain strategic relationships with domestic and international suppliers to secure the best combination of price, quality, lead time, and service; lead or oversee high-value and high-risk negotiations personally.

? Implement and enforce supplier scorecards and a regular cadence of Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key suppliers to hold the supply base accountable for performance.

? Maintain a Supplier Quality Program in coordination with the Quality Department to guide supplier selection and qualification, quality agreements, performance monitoring, and CAPA framework.

? Develop secondary/backup suppliers and diversified sourcing strategies (including exploration of alternate international sourcing regions) to mitigate supply risk and strengthen negotiating leverage.

? Apply PFEP (Plan For Every Part) and PFES (Plan For Every Supplier) principles to ensure each part and supplier has a defined replenishment, packaging, and logistics strategy.

Logistics, Traffic & International Trade

? Direct the Traffic/Logistics Controller and oversee all 3PL relationships, ensuring each GWBD location has appropriate freight capacity and service for inbound and outbound operations.

? Own management of tariffs, customs compliance, and broker relationships for all international shipments, ensuring duty optimization and regulatory compliance (import/export regulations, HTS classification, trade agreements).

? Negotiate transportation and 3PL contracts to secure the best rates and service levels; consolidate freight volume across the three companies to reduce cost and complexity.

? Establish and monitor logistics KPIs (on-time delivery, freight cost per unit, claims/damages, carrier performance) and drive continuous improvement.

Inventory, ERP & Planning Systems

? Own inventory dollars across all sites, to include GWBD's Ontario Canada Distribution Center — accuracy, cycle counts, obsolete/slow-moving stock management, and inventory-driven cash flow performance.

? Partner with Demand Planning and Supply Planning teams to ensure Master Production Schedule (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) processes in the ERP system (Plex) reflect accurate, timely supply commitments.

? Champion effective use of Plex (ERP/MES/QMS/Supply Chain Planning), driving data integrity in BOMs, routings, lead times, and supplier records that underpin planning accuracy.

? Establish and report supply-chain KPIs — purchase price variance, supplier on-time delivery, inventory turns, days of supply, cycle count accuracy — to Finance and Executive leadership.

New Product & Cross-Functional Sourcing

? Lead sourcing strategy for new product development, partnering with R&D and Engineering from concept through launch to secure the right suppliers, cost targets, and lead times.

? Use concurrent engineering practices and interdepartmental collaboration to accelerate new product introduction (NPI) while managing supplier and component risk.

People Leadership & Team Development

? Lead, develop, and hold accountable a team including buyers and a Traffic/Logistics Controller; build organizational capability.

? Coach, mentor, and upskill the buying team to strengthen negotiation capability, supplier relationship management, and commercial acumen; raise the overall maturity of the buying function.

Qualifications & Requirements

Education & Experience

? Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.

? Professional certification strongly preferred: APICS/ASCM (CPIM, CSCP), ISM/CPSM, or equivalent.

? 8–10+ years of progressive supply chain leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, including direct responsibility for procurement/sourcing and logistics/traffic functions.

? Demonstrated experience managing a multi-site or multi-brand supply chain organization, ideally in industrial, plumbing, building products, or related manufacturing sectors.

? Proven track record negotiating with domestic and international suppliers and managing purchasing budgets of comparable scale ($20M+).

? Experience with international trade compliance — tariffs, customs, brokers, import/export regulations.

? People leadership experience, including managing buyers, planners, or logistics staff.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

? Strong financial acumen — able to model total cost of ownership, purchasing budget performance, and inventory/cash-flow impacts.

? Deep ERP/logistics systems fluency (Plex or comparable ERP/MES/MRP systems) and strong Microsoft Excel skills.

? Working knowledge of PFEP/PFES concepts, SIOP/S&OP processes, and Lean/Six Sigma or continuous improvement methodologies.

? Excellent negotiation, relationship-building, and influencing skills with both suppliers and internal cross-functional partners.

? Strong analytical and business risk-planning capability; comfortable balancing Quality, Service, and Price trade-offs under variable cost conditions.

? Effective people manager and developer, capable of raising the capability of an existing team while building new capability (e.g., production planning) over time.

? Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to present performance and strategy to executive leadership.

? Ability to manage multiple priorities across three locations in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment.

Travel

Regular travel between GWBD's Grandview, Missouri and Kentucky facilities, and the Ontario DC, plus periodic international travel to visit and audit key suppliers. xhyhwjd Estimated at 10%, varying with sourcing initiatives and supplier reviews.

Key Performance Indicators

? Total delivered cost / purchase price variance against budget and market indices

? Supplier on-time delivery and quality performance (scorecards, QBR outcomes)

? Inventory turns, days of supply, and cycle count accuracy across all three sites

? Freight/logistics cost as a percentage of revenue or purchases; carrier/3PL performance

? Zero material-driven production disruptions

? New product introduction sourcing milestones met on time

? Buyer team development — scorecard/QBR adoption, negotiation outcomes

Compensation & Benefits

? Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus applicable incentive/bonus plan

? Medical, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance

? Matching 401(k), Profit Sharing, and Gain Sharing

? Paid Time Off and Parental Leave

? Matching Onward Short-Term Savings Program