About this role
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Supplier Relationships:
• Serve as the main contact for key aftermarket suppliers, and manage their performance on quality, on-time delivery, lead time, and cost.
• Hold regular business reviews with strategic suppliers, and develop secondary sources to reduce supply risk.
• Resolve shortages, quality problems, and expedites before they affect customers.
Contracts & Cost:
• Negotiate and manage supplier agreements, including pricing, payment terms, minimum order quantities (MOQs), lead times, warranty, and return provisions.
• Track contract renewals and price changes, and own annual cost-reduction targets.
• Provide cost and margin inputs to Sales Operations & Marketing to support aftermarket pricing decisions, including pricing for new products.
• Coordinate with Trailer manufacturing purchasing to use combined spend as leverage where it applies.
New Product Introduction:
• Identify new products and product lines that expand the aftermarket portfolio, using input from the RAM team, dealers, fleets, and market research.
• Build the business case for each new item (demand, cost, margin, and supply source), then manage the launch through sourcing, item setup, initial stocking, and handoff to Sales and Marketing.
• Track how new products perform after launch.
Inventory Management:
• Co-manage with Operations the stocking levels, reorder points, and safety stock needed to meet fill-rate targets while keeping inventory investment under control.
• Monitor inventory health, including turns, aging, and slow-moving and obsolete stock, and take corrective action such as returns to vendor, promotions with Sales, or write-down recommendations.
• Work with Sales and Customer Service on demand planning, seasonal needs, and dealer specials and promotions.
Leadership:
• Lead, coach, and develop the Aftermarket Buyer, and set clear goals and priorities.
• Build the processes, reporting, and team structure needed to grow into a full category management function.
Above is a list of the most important responsibilities and functions, which are essential to the position. Employees must be able to perform these essential functions satisfactorily with or without a reasonable accommodation. Accommodations will be evaluated and provided to eligible employees on a case by case basis, depending on the employee's medical restrictions, work availability, the nature of the position, the position's essential functions and other relevant factors.
Qualifications:
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in purchasing, procurement, or inventory management, ideally in aftermarket parts, heavy-duty or transportation, or industrial distribution.
• A track record of negotiating supplier contracts and managing supplier performance.
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel.
• Working experience with an ERP system.
Preferred Qualifications:
• 2+ years of people leadership.
• Experience with Infor Syteline / CloudSuite Industrial and Power BI.
• Background in category management or new product introduction.
• APICS/ASCM (CPIM or CSCP) or ISM (CPSM) certification.
• Knowledge of trailer or heavy-duty truck parts.
First-Year Success Measures:
• Fill rate: percentage of order lines shipped complete and on time from stock.
• Inventory turns: improvement in turns across the aftermarket portfolio.
• Obsolete and slow-moving inventory: reduction in dollars tied up in aged and obsolete stock.
• Supplier on-time delivery: improvement in on-time, complete deliveries from key suppliers.
• Cost savings: savings achieved against the annual cost-reduction target.
• New product revenue: sales from products launched during the year.