Product Manager - Material Handling

Position Overview

The Product Manager for Material Handling is the strategic owner of the product lifecycle and commercial viability for the Material Handling segment. Core responsibilities span product strategy and roadmaps, market and competitive intelligence, product lifecycle management including new product launches, go-to-market strategy, and cross-functional orchestration - working closely with Design & Development, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Finance. Success in this role requires effective collaboration with the Wanzl Group's global product center and product management group and the Wanzl Asia Procurement team to leverage global product and market expertise, accelerate product development, and bring winning solutions to the North American Market, which includes Mexico, Canada, the United States and some areas of the Caribbean. The Product Manager will ensure the product strategies are driven across the organization and that the company is developing the industry and product expertise, business processes, and structure to grow what is Wanzl North America's highest-potential segment.

This is an in-office position and will be located at the Corporate Headquarters for Wanzl North America (WNA) in Denver NC.

Company and Opportunity Overview

WNA's vision is to be a leading entrepreneurial player in terms of market share, agility, and game-changing solutions. WNA is a solution provider, creating value along the supply chain of our customers, from online purchase to their customers.

WNA is headquartered in the Charlotte Metro Area, North Carolina. With around 500 employees and ~$200M of sales, WNA focuses on the retail and distribution market segments with marquee customers such as Walmart, Amazon, and the majority of large grocers and retailers.

In addition to being the largest manufacturer of shopping carts in North America, WNA has three additional main product segments as well as a Service business, providing turnkey solutions for customer guidance (Access Systems), Shelving & Fixtures, and Material Handling products.Access Solutions provides sophisticated customer guidance and loss prevention systems for major retailers. With German-engineered products and a strong installed base, this segment focuses on protecting existing market share while expanding into adjacent opportunities in smart retail, autonomous store technology, and digital integration.


Additionally, WNA offers a range of digital solutions integrated into our products, including advanced shopping cart containment systems, smart exit gate technology, and innovations for autonomous and semi-autonomous retail stores. We are continuously expanding and enhancing our digital offerings to meet evolving customer needs and drive industry advancement.

WNA is part of the Wanzl Group, headquartered in Germany, and has 12 plants in 8 countries, providing comprehensive, solutions-driven service and expert knowledge of local markets for customers across the globe through their 360° service

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ownership of product strategy and product & solutions roadmaps[AP1]
• Drives new product launch plans
• Delivers market and product requirement documentation with prioritized features and corresponding justification in support of product stage-gate development process and Go/No Go decision-making
• Develop core product positioning and messaging in collaboration with Marketing
• Own pricing strategy and policy, including discount structures for Sales, optimizing product feature-based value realization and the price/volume dynamic to maximize segment share, revenue and margin.
• Manage portfolio depth and breadth - identify opportunities for product line expansion while rationalizing underperforming or strategically misaligned products.
• Develop and maintain competitive intelligence, including product benchmarking, pricing analysis, and market positioning insights, to advise Segment leadership on product strategy and GTM decisions.
• Maintain, and develop where needed, expertise in retail operations, material handling and other present or future retail trends, utilizing market data, and summarizing learnings in quarterly VOC reports
• Build a productive relationship with peers and counterparts overseas across the Wanzl global structure, including the global product centers and product management organizations.

• Support development of sales tools and collateral, including sales training and playbooks

• Brief and train the sales force at sales meetings including key feature talking points and customer value propositions

• Skills and Experience:
• Minimum of 3 years' experience as a Product Manager or similar role
• Minimum of 3 years' experience with Material Handling carts or shelving.
• Minimum of five (5) years' experience in retail or companies supplying the retail market
• Bachelor's degree
• Strong leadership and excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications, especially PPT and Excel

• Understanding of international and domestic supply chain practices
• Demonstrated success defining and launching products
• Excellent teamwork skills
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority
• Must have a passport
• Must be able to travel up to 25% including international