1. Supplier Development Strategy & Leadership
Develop and execute the supplier development strategy for assigned regions, commodities, or business segments. Establish priorities, objectives, and resource allocation to address supplier capability risks and support business growth initiatives.
2. Team Leadership & Talent Development
Lead, coach, and develop a team of Supplier Development Engineers. Establish performance expectations, development plans, technical capability-building programs, and succession plans to strengthen organizational effectiveness and future leadership capability.
3. Supplier Risk Management
Provide oversight of supplier capability, manufacturing, operational, and capacity risk assessments. Ensure risks are identified proactively and appropriate mitigation plans are established, executed, and sustained.
4. Manufacturing Excellence & Capability Improvement
Drive supplier manufacturing excellence initiatives utilizing Lean principles, Six Sigma methodologies, process capability improvement, advanced quality tools, material flow optimization, and structured problem-solving approaches.
5. Capacity & Scalability Readiness
Lead assessment and management of supplier production capacity, scalability, and operational readiness to support forecasted demand, growth initiatives, new product introductions, localization efforts, and footprint optimization activities.
6. New Product Introduction, Launch & Transfer Readiness
Ensure suppliers are prepared to support new product launches, capacity expansions, industrialization projects, insourcing/outsourcing activities, supplier transitions, and strategic sourcing initiatives through early engagement and readiness assessments.
7. Supplier Assessment Governance
Establish consistent processes and standards for supplier capability assessments, operational reviews, manufacturing audits, production readiness evaluations, and supplier development planning across the organization.
8. APQP & Supplier Readiness Support
Collaborate with Supplier Quality, Engineering, and Procurement teams to ensure supplier readiness throughout product development, APQP, PPAP, industrialization, and launch processes, with emphasis on manufacturing capability and operational performance.
9. Cross-Functional Alignment
Partner with Procurement, Supplier Quality, Operations, Engineering, Materials Management, Planning, and Business Leadership teams to align supplier development priorities with strategic business objectives.
10. Performance Management & Governance
Establish and monitor key performance indicators for supplier development activities, team effectiveness, supplier capability improvements, risk reduction, capacity readiness, and operational performance improvements.
11. Continuous Improvement & Best Practices
Drive standardization, knowledge sharing, process improvements, and implementation of best practices across supplier development activities globally. Promote a culture of continuous improvement within both the supplier base and supplier development organization.
