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Category Sourcing Lead
Category Sourcing Lead-March 2024
Eden Prairie
Mar 28, 2026
About Category Sourcing Lead

  Ignite your career

  Ignite Your Full Potential

  MTS Systems where we encourage e mployees to act like entrepreneurs. We embrace autonomy, make decisions and take ownership to create innovative solutions for our customers all over the world.

  We offer full benefit package, including 401K matching, generous time off and sick leave and more.

  Responsible for developing and implementing sourcing strategies that optimize business partnerships with strategic suppliers that drives required performance objectives in quality, delivery, and cost for assigned commodities. Direct responsibility for supplier selection, contract and price negotiations, supplier performance management, and problem resolution.

  Requires US Citizenship - CUI Controlled Unclassified Information

  Major Areas of Accountability:

  Develop, communicate, and execute commodity strategy throughout the organization by planning, organizing, and controlling strategic activities to provide a competitive advantage in best value, lead-time, service, quality, and technology

  Locate, analyze, and develop a consolidated best-in-class supplier base to meet current and future commodity needs. Focus on best value country, spend under contract, and total landed cost and/or total cost ownership

  Define an annual plan that consists of key projects to support commodity strategies and gain support from stakeholders. Responsible to track, communicate, and execute projects to plan

  Provide commodity knowledge and market expertise for assigned commodity and continuously learn new technologies, processes, regions, and industry best practices

  Understand and track the key input cost drivers and market factors for assigned commodities, provides countermeasure concepts, forecasts, and maintain costing and “should-be cost model”

  Direct and lead the negotiation and management of contracts/agreements for assigned commodities with medium- to high-risk/complexity. Assign, lead, provide direction, guidance, and coaching to the team on low- to medium-complexity negotiations

  Provide escalation support to the procurement team for all major part(s) shortage(s) and continuity issues within your commodity base. Develop, monitor, and perform countermeasure plans and escalate to the Director of Global Sourcing prior to any major impacts on production or revenue

  Define, train, and lead an RFX (RFI, RFP, RFQ) process for assigned products that delivers best value on high dollar items, critical parts, and large-scale quoting projects

  Ensure relationship, development, and management of Key Supplier Leadership including integrated strategic plans and on-going cross-organizational continuous improvement efforts through QBRs

  Lead new Supplier Selection process to incorporate new technologies, strategic advantages, cost down initiatives, lead-time reduction, and prevent dispersion of spend to non-strategic suppliers

  Exercise strong communication skills to ensure alignment with product management, engineering, and operations teams during implementation of commodity strategies. Ensure you are delivering competitive enablers for the business by providing the highest performing and lowest total cost solutions in support of commercial teams

  Manage assigned category portfolio and aggressively seeks opportunities for cost containment and/or improvement. Develop performance metrics for the materials category. Benchmark and utilize best practices sourcing within the category portfolio

  Negotiate complex agreements with global suppliers that may include protection of IP, co-development, technology partnerships etc. Develop contingency plans to mitigate risk of non-performance of sole-sourced vendors. Additionally, negotiate blanket contracts to maximize savings over multiple years of spend, including performance clauses and all other terms and conditions

  Develop category sourcing plans and lead resources in the identification of potential suppliers, requirements documentation, RFI and RFQs, bid and price analysis, negotiation and contract award, and supplier performance management

  Communicate category specific metrics, leading indicator data, and external market factors that could impact cost and supply

  Conduct periodic reviews of vendor performance and establish goals for on-time delivery, quality, qualitative elements, and cost reduction. Ensure completion of resulting action items

  Bachelor's degree in business, economics, supply chain or engineering and minimum ten years of increasing responsibilities in a custom or engineered-system manufacturing environment

  Demonstrated experience in leadership and leading cross functional teams

  Strong business acumen and analytical capabilities

  Experience in at least 1-2 of the following commodities: fabrication, electronics, hydro/mechanical

  Experience with strategic sourcing processes and supplier performance management programs required.

  Strong demonstrated experience with negotiations, influencing, project management, and communications is preferred

  Government contract experience

  Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel and additional analytical software preferred

  Knowledge of quality management systems (ISO2000, AS9000, QS9000)

  Knowledge of SAP preferred

  Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt preferred, but not required

  APICS CPIM or other supply chain management certifications preferred

  10-15% travel required

  The position may require technical knowledge to include ability to read and interpret blueprints and CAD/CAM product configuration files. Knowledge of industry specifications for materials and processing may be preferred to help identify appropriate sources and perform interface between engineers and suppliers to identify cost savings, production issues, and lead time impacts due to materials, manufacturability, or supplier capability

  ITW is an equal opportunity employer. We value our colleagues’ unique perspectives, experiences and ideas and create workplaces where everyone can develop their careers and perform to their full potential.

  As an equal employment opportunity employer, ITW is committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment for employees, beginning with the hiring process and continuing through all aspects of the employment relationship.

  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

  ITW is an equal opportunity employer. We value our colleagues’ unique perspectives, experiences and ideas and create workplaces where everyone can develop their careers and perform to their full potential.

  As an equal employment opportunity employer, ITW is committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment for employees, beginning with the hiring process and continuing through all aspects of the employment relationship.

  _All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. _

  ITW is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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