Supplier Management Specialist

at  GraingerCanada

Work Location Type: Hybrid
As a leading industrial distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom, We Keep The World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. We’re dedicated to providing value for customers, fostering an engaging culture for team members and driving strong financial results.
Our welcoming workplace enables you to learn, grow and make a difference by keeping businesses running and their people safe. As a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, we’re looking for passionate people to join our team as we continue leading the industry over our next 100 years.
This role reports into the Supplier & Merchandising Operations Manager to achieve cost of goods sold goals across multiple product categories which range from $25M-$50M in COGS. You will be responsible for supporting coordination and communication with all internal stakeholders for any supplier related issues and leading all vendor negotiations / performance discussions on a periodic (monthly/quarterly) cadence. This role will also collaborate with the procurement enablement team as needed to drive best-in-class procurement process standards.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management or related field
• 2+ years business experience with a strong working knowledge of Supply Chain Management
• Proven ability to drive and demonstrate results financially, strategically, and managerially
• Clear and thorough knowledge of the negotiation process and key stages, sets high standards and expectations
• Experience with MS Office & SAP required, Smartsheet experience nice-to-have
• Proven Change Management skills by inspiring teams to welcome change, embrace new directions, and future opportunities
• Anticipates change and proactively prepares for it by defining objectives, responsibilities and time frames

• Ensure Grainger has the best product assortment for our customers at the best cost
• Implement all needed changes in Grainger systems
• Provide analytical support as needed (cost season, commodities, etc.)
• Establish and track key commodity and supply market changes and keep supplier manager and merchandising manager informed of any developments
• Coordinate needed communications with the supplier (i.e. trade data compliance process)
• Support and execute a price/cost management strategy, which provides market competitive pricing, minimizes cost inflation, drives top-line sales growth and improves return on invested capital
• Support supplier manager and meet cost inflation targets for the organization across $25M - $50M in COGS
• Support efforts to help improve supplier relationships with Grainger and make it easier for suppliers to do business with Grainger
• Assist in exceeding team goals through management and execution of specific projects related to the following areas: procurement review implementation, data optimization, inventory management, supplier performance improvement, pricing analysis, Supplier Agreement Letter / Product-line Liability Insurance compliance, marketing program support, rebate tracking, etc.
• Assist in resolving supplier/product issues that arise with suppliers, customers and field employees
• Perform related financial, market and business analyses on trends impacting the Product Category, requests for proposal and PPI trends to assist Team leadership in making effective business decisions
• Assist in the annual cost cycle negotiation with Supplier Managers. Examples include gathering supplier information for negotiations, running financial analysis, comparing item level information to Grainger US and assisting in negotiations for smaller suppliers
• Continuously look for areas of process and business improvements within your role
• Participate in cross-functional teams and projects where appropriate to ensure Supplier
• Management processes, concerns, and business issues are properly addressed for increased productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction/service