Commodity Manager

Position Description
The focus of this position is strategic purchasing, which combines high levels of technical understanding and expertise with ownership of relevant commercial issues in an international team environment. The position will work with external contacts worldwide, including both suppliers and the Volvo CE Global Purchasing Organization. The position will also work internally in close cooperation with other independent Volvo Business areas and other functions such as R&D, Quality, Manufacturing and Logistics.

Your Key Responsibilities May Include:

• Develop sourcing strategies for local, regional, and/or global sourcing of key components for best supply performance (including supplier Quality, Sustainability, Capacity and Cost (QSCC))

• Drive the Volvo Purchasing processes for supplier evaluation, selection, and monitoring for assigned commodities

• Lead and mentor the Buyers in sourcing strategy deployment for the commodity area

• Continuous Improvement implemented in our supplier scorecard

• Take ownership to reduce and optimize the supplier base

• Accountable for leading and managing the Regional Commodity meeting and secure the cross functional participation

• Promote and secure the communication across the regions on the Commodity Strategy and Supplier Base

• Lead commercial negotiations with key suppliers including implementation of full agreement packages

• Achieve financial and operational KPI's and recommend business and process improvements

• Integrate stakeholders in sourcing strategies and supplier management process

• Promote and support the activities towards Responsible Purchasing

• Actively support continuous improvement efforts within the organization

What will you do?

• To be successful in your new role, you will have all or many of the following:

  • Bachelor's Degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field required

    • MBA preferred

  • 5+ years experience buying major commodities in the Construction Equipment or Commercial Vehicle Industry

  • High degree of technical knowledge and proven strong negotiating skills

  • Experience in applying problem solving techniques including root cause analysis

  • Familiarity with TQM, Lean and Six-Sigma management practices

  • Substantial experience working with foreign currencies, customs and duty rates, etc.

  • Extensive understanding of Global sources of supply and purchasing procedures

  • Ability to lead and develop strong working relationships in a multinational and multicultural environment

  • Energetic, entrepreneurial and collaborative personality, with demonstrated ability to work well under pressure

  • Must be able to represent VCE professionally and effectively in all dealings with suppliers

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office software applications

  • SAP R/3 experience a plus