Responsible for leading the U.S. supply chain strategy while providing leadership in continuous improvement, breakthrough thinking, and lean activities throughout the supply chain.  Supports the Climax production system’s lean development and transformation. This is a key position expected to drive profitability, leverage productivity and provide superior customer service

Essential Functions

• Works to establish and support a pull system utilizing methods such as Kanban, Heijunka, and FIFO
• Drive the improvement and coordination of supply chain management.  Recommend and implement measurements for improvements in quality, efficiency and effectiveness.  Generate conceptual ideas, evaluate merit of each and effectively manage the development and implementation process for those approved. 
• Proactively utilize and exploit problem solving and lean techniques and tap into internal/external experts to determine root cause of quality issues caused by either internal/external suppliers.  Drive the implementation of corrective actions.
• Responsible for the annual operating expenses for the company’s total spend and department operating budget. 
• Manage the entire contract process through the design, execution and negotiation of business terms.  Expected to negotiate deep discounts and favorable payment terms, analyze complex financial deals and contract terms, concisely and accurately express complex, detailed information that can be used to justify the company’s business position and reduce risk exposure. 
• Create relationships with key suppliers to exceed company requirements for cost reduction for direct and indirect material and services total spends through traditional and new technology avenues.  Oversee compliance of suppliers with material specifications and performance metrics that fully support lean manufacturing and quality processes. 
• Responsible for linking the supply chain system and the business by proactively working with all departments in understanding the work in progress to deliver on-schedule and within budget. 
• Proactively provide assistance to Design Engineering in developing the lowest cost and timeliest solutions regarding product specifications.
• Provide leadership to manage the purchasing and production planning functions.
• Responsible for master planning, shop scheduling requirements planning, materials processing, provisioning, and supplier management.
• Coordinate all materials activities with manufacturing, engineering, and sales to ensure that materials processes yield the most efficient throughput possible.
• Initiate and drive efforts to improve efficiencies of materials by selecting the highest quality products at the most economical price by developing and implementing a supplier management and certification program.
• Recommend and implement current product improvements and/or obsolescence, managing the related activity to enhance product quality and performance, as well as reduce costs.
• Initiate and participate in the analysis of internal cost factors and profit considerations, current and competitive product pricing, and customer valuation of product features, driving for bottom-line results.
• Requisitions material and establishes sequential delivery dates to manufacturing teams, according to job order priorities and material availability.
• Evaluate impact of customer demand changes, and advise impacts to plant and suppliers, to prevent shortage or expedite conditions.
• Drive continuous improvement in lean manufacturing to improve manufacturing performance. Drive improvements to customer on-time delivery and response to urgent customer needs.
• Determines work assignments according to team member availability, skill level and cell capacity while continually questioning the status quo and striving toward continuous improvements.