Category Manager - Supply Chain (60933)

CATEGORY MANAGER

Department: Supply Chain & Engineering

SUMMARY:

Walsworth, a top-five book and magazine printer, a catalog printer, and the only family-owned printer of yearbooks, has an exciting opportunity for a Category Manager in our Supply Chain team.

The Category Manager is a key role in support of strategic sourcing initiatives and is responsible for developing and driving sourcing projects to achieve savings goals. This role develops new suppliers, improves performance with existing suppliers, negotiates key terms, and communicates in a timely and effective manner with internal customers regarding key initiatives. This role reports to the Director, Supply Chain.

Essential Functions:

• Identifies, drives, and manages projects to reduce costs of supplied materials and achieves savings goals.
• Continuously looks for new savings opportunities through analysis of data (spend, usage, price variances, etc.) and hands on reviews.
• Creates and maintains project deck to effectively manage projects. Leads regular meetings with cross-functional teams to review deck and drive projects to timely completion.
• Identifies and develops new suppliers and improves value-added level of existing suppliers in support of savings initiatives.
• Manages supplier relationships, implements supplier management principles in supply base, and improves supplier performance.
• Leads and supports RFP/RFQ process with all stakeholders.
• Works with suppliers and internal team members to evaluate samples and qualify new materials.
• Negotiates key items with suppliers including pricing, payment terms, lead time, and inventory programs.
• Records and tracks information as required for timely and accurate measure of performance regarding sourcing activities and savings.
• Keeps generally abreast of market trends, commodity pricing, and both domestic and international events that might impact supplier pricing.
• Works with suppliers to address significant and/or systemic issues with performance (quality, delivery, cost, etc.).
• Ensures suppliers conform to all Walsworth requirements including Supplier Code of Conduct.
• As business grows, effectively leads and manages additional team members.
• Performs additional duties as assigned and participates in special projects as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience using Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Word, is required.
• Advanced Excel proficiency, including use of financial and logical functions, multiple worksheets and workbooks, macros, and importing/exporting information, is strongly preferred.
• Evidence of skills and attributes including effective listening, gathering complete information, ensuring accuracy, problem solving, negotiating, researching discrepancies, and handling conflict are critical.
• Must be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, meet compressed deadlines, and handle frequent interruptions.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and interpret data, confirm its accuracy and adequacy, and use it to drive decisions and present results and business cases to management.
• Profieciency with AI and business intelligence tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, ChatGPT, Tableau, or similar platforms, is strongly preferred to analyze data, identify insights, and support informed business decisions.
• Strong communication skills, effective leadership, influencing skills and practices.
• Strong bias for action and results orientation.
• Ability and willingness to respond quickly and appropriately in a dynamic, fast paced work environment and the flexibility to withstand challenging situations.
• Ability and willingness to understand and interact with diverse groups and cultures.
• Frequent travel to suppliers and company locations required.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Supply Chain, Engineering or a related technical field is required.
• 3+ years of experience in sourcing/supply chain in a manufacturing environment required.