Manager, Global Category

The Commodity Manager is responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies for assigned direct material commodities. This role manages supplier relationships, negotiates commercial agreements, identifies cost reduction opportunities, mitigates supply risks, and ensures reliable supply to support manufacturing operations.

The Commodity Manager serves as the primary commercial owner for assigned categories and suppliers and works collaboratively with business partners to ensure procurement solutions align with operational and strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for assigned commodity categories
  - Conduct market and supplier analysis to identify sourcing opportunities and leverage competitive intelligence.
  - Manage RFI/RFP/RFQ processes and vendor negotiations to ensure cost-effective sourcing with focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) while meeting quality, performance requirements.

Supplier & Risk Management

• Evaluate and qualify new suppliers based on financial health, compliance, technical capability, and strategic alignment.
  - Establish and maintain strong partnerships with key suppliers, ensuring performance, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.
  - Resolve supply issues and enforce contractual terms and obligations
  - Develop and implement mitigation plans for identified risks such as geopolitical exposure, supply disruptions, capacity contraints, and single-source dependencies.
  - Conduct market analysis, identify and track relevant indices

Cost Management

• Identify cost-saving opportunities through supplier consolidation, contract optimization, and value engineering initiatives.
  - Analyze total cost of ownership (TCO) for product and services under responsibility
  - Negotiate and manage supplier contracts, ensuring that agreements meet TPI’s financial, operational, and quality standards. Manage contract renewals, modifications, and performance reviews.
  - Develop and track key procurement metrics (e.g., cost savings, supplier performance, compliance).

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Operations, Engineering, Finance and Administrative teams to align sourcing strategies with project and business needs.
  - Lead project planning and management with necessary details and timely decision making and escalations
  - Act as a subject matter expert for procurement processes and systems.
  - Support production continuity and customer delivery requirements.

Reporting & Analytics

• Analyze spend and market trends, and track savings, contract compliance, and procurement performance metrics.
  - Prepare business cases, sourcing recommendations, and management presentations.

Governance & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with procurement policies and support supplier compliance with contractual, regulatory, and ethical requirements.
  - Promote sustainability and responsible sourcing initiatives

Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, engineering, business, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing and procurement
- Strong expertise in developing and executing comprehensive supply chain strategies that deliver cost savings and improve operational efficiency.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on and execute category strategies
- Negotiation expertise with a track record of securing favorable terms.
- Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced global environment, ensuring successful execution.
- Ability to analyze complex spend data, market trends, and supplier performance to inform sourcing decisions and strategy development.
- Deep understanding of supplier relationship management and the ability to build and maintain strategic partnerships with key indirect suppliers.
- Experience with procurement tools and systems, as well as spend analysis platforms, to track and report on category performance and savings.
- A self-starter who can independently manage priorities, drive results, and proactively identify and solve problems.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
- Procurement certifications (e.g., CIPS, CPSM) are a plus.

Originally posted on Himalayas