Purpose of the Position
As one of the Category Managers within the Global Procurement organization, you will contribute to the continuous development of the supplier landscape and sourcing strategy for injection molded components, tooling, value added manufacturing processes and subassemblies for dialysis machines across China and Asia. You will implement the category strategy within your area of responsibility and contribute to improving competitiveness in terms of cost, quality, innovation and supply security.
A major focus of this position is supporting the introduction of new products into the Chinese market. You will identify and qualify new suppliers, manage sourcing activities for localization and industrialization projects and work closely with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure their successful implementation.
You will work as part of an international Category Management Team, collaborating closely with fellow Category Managers, Supplier Development Engineers and stakeholders from Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
Responsibilities
- Support the introduction of new products into the Chinese market by leading sourcing activities for localization and industrialization projects and ensuring supplier readiness for serial production.
- Develop and execute sourcing strategies for your assigned category in alignment with the global procurement strategy.
- Lead strategic sourcing initiatives, including supplier selection, RFQs, commercial evaluations, negotiations and contract awards.
- Analyze supplier markets, manufacturing technologies and industry trends to identify new sourcing opportunities and strengthen the regional supplier base.
- Identify, qualify and develop new suppliers across China and Asia while continuously improving the performance of existing strategic suppliers.
- Develop suppliers together with Supplier Development Engineers to improve manufacturing capability, quality performance, delivery reliability and cost competitiveness.
- Support supplier qualification activities and supplier audits together with Supplier Development Engineers.
- Coordinate procurement activities throughout the product development lifecycle and ensure sourcing milestones are achieved in line with project timelines.
- Conduct supplier evaluations, commercial assessments, cost analyses and cost breakdown reviews to support sourcing decisions and identify value improvement opportunities.
- Identify innovative suppliers and manufacturing technologies to support future product developments and long-term category objectives.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders while ensuring compliance with procurement policies, processes and standards.
- Support commercial and technical supplier decisions throughout the product lifecycle.
Qualifications
- Several years of experience in Strategic Procurement or Category Management for injection molded components.
- Technical education or equivalent hands-on experience in injection molding, tooling and plastics manufacturing.
- Experience in Supplier Development, localization or industrialization projects is considered an advantage.
- Professional English skills with the ability to communicate and negotiate confidently in an international business environment.
- Strong commercial understanding with experience in supplier negotiations, cost analysis and cost breakdown methodologies.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with suppliers and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Structured, independent and solution-oriented way of working.
- Willingness to travel within China and internationally.
Key Interfaces
- Global Category Management
- Supplier Development Engineering
- Engineering GRD
- Quality
- Manufacturing
- Supply Chain
- Project Management
- Strategic Suppliers
Core Competencies
- Strategic Thinking
- Technical Understanding
- Commercial Awareness
- Supplier Relationship Management
- Negotiation Skills
- Cross Functional Collaboration
- Project Management
This position offers the opportunity to contribute to the future development of our supplier network while combining strategic sourcing, supplier development and cross functional project work.
