Commodity Manager - Wanzl North America

Position Overview

Responsible to develop the sourcing strategy for specific categories of goods within the company. This role requires a combination of technical knowledge, analytical skills, and industry-specific expertise.

Work requires detailed data analysis, logical reasoning and operations where independent judgment is used. Technical, engineering knowledge is needed since there is a high need to focus on details and manufacturing process understanding. Soft skills to be able to negotiate prices, and contracts are also needed.

Company and Opportunity Overview

Wanzl North America’s vision is to be the 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 the online purchase to the delivery to their customers.  

WNA, which includes the Technibilt and Cari-All brands, is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina. With nearly 500 employees and 175 MUSD 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 (3) additional main product segments as well as a Service business, providing turnkey solutions for customer guidance (Access Systems) and Shelving & Fixtures, as well as Material Handling/Rolling Stock products.   WNA is active in building a “digital” business line with products for shopping cart containment, smart exit gate technology, and solutions for autonomous and/or semi-autonomous retail stores.

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

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Detailed analysis of:
  1. Market conditions (commodities prices, shipping prices, inflation)
  2. Manufacturing capabilities and area of expertise from our supply base.
  3. Manufacturing process and main cost drivers.
  4. Business relationship over the years (demand, price, commodities, type of products)
• Analytical thinking to develop and execute category strategies based on cost and manufacturing capabilities.
• Managing relationships with suppliers, including negotiation, performance evaluation, and conflict resolution.
• Negotiates pricing, logistics and finance terms and conditions with suppliers.
• Drafts, review, and manage contracts effectively for legal correctness, price, and acceptability of terms.
• Defines the commodity strategy regularly by supplier (strategic, growth, challenger, decrease, phase-out, immediate action).
• Conduct market research and analysis to understand market trends, pricing, supply chain dynamics.
• Develop new potential suppliers with focus on localization with cross-functional support.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with the supply chain and procurement processes.
• Manages procurement projects from inception to completion.
• Manages, and monitors supplier performance and develops improvement strategies.
• Works with international commodity buyers to accomplish company goals.
• Assists in forecasting of annual material and tooling budgets and reporting.
• Responsible to develop cost reduction activities related to Supplier base.  
• Serves as direct interface between suppliers, R&D, and assigned facility team members. 
• Must be able to travel domestically and international as needed.

Skills and Experience:

• Strong Analytical and Problem Solving Skills
• Bachelors Degree in Engineering or Equivalent
• Outstanding Excel Skills
• Experience with ERP systems, SAP experience preferred
• Mathematical Concepts necessary for procurement (weighted averages, percentages, ratios and proportions)

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