Category Manager - United States

The Category Manager position is responsible for the development and implementation of category-specific sourcing strategies that deliver profitable growth.

We are looking for a candidate with 5-8 years of strategic sourcing experience, located in the United States near a major airport.

Responsibilities include overall management and success of a group or category of non-consumable products related to Grocery, Food Service, Janitorial and Processor business segments.

It is important to note that brand strategy, private label development, and sustainable packaging product lines are important strategies managed by this position and integral to the success of the role. Import procurement experience is strongly preferred.

The ideal candidate will have success in developing and managing strategic relationships with domestic and import manufacturers in order to maximize product profitability throughout its lifecycle.

This position is also responsible for managing strategic supplier relationships and defining the appropriate brand strategy for the categories assigned.

Responsibilities :

• Ownership of assigned product category performance and management of the overall health of the portfolio.
• Strategic engagement with supplier community to develop and implement initiatives that enable profitable growth.
• Monitor the health of assigned categories and manage the product lifecycle.
• Develop category and market expertise that allows the organization to effectively compete in target market segments; this includes market trends and competitive analysis, as inputs to the development of our assortment strategy.
• Leverage market intelligence to validate and benchmark costs and competitive pricing.
• Monitor market needs and trends, competitive products, and the changing production schedules of approved manufacturers to improve competitive positioning.
• Work to develop "Best Value" product opportunities that include best performance, customer acceptance, and continuous improvement.
• Develop product pricing policies and negotiate best cost vendor programs to improve product positioning while improve margin.
• Rationalize and consolidate product lines to improve inventory turns and create volume cost improvement opportunities.
• Manage on-going supplier relationships and execute supplier performance management initiatives in accordance with standards and guidelines and in collaboration with business partners.
• Manage multiple projects and initiatives within assigned categories with the ability to meet defined timelines and provide proactive status communication to business partners
• Establish category ownership with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support sales staff with special product requirements and costing. Work to improve go-to-market strategy and speed of new product implementation.
• Support sales staff by problem solving and recommending new and different packaging products as they become available.

Requirements :

Bunzl Salary Range for this role is $110,000-$145,000 base (plus bonus) determined by experience, education and market data in the geographic location.

Bunzl is a global leader in the Cleaning & Hygiene, Food Processing, Grocery, Health Care, Non-Food Retail, and Safety industries. We have grown both organically and through acquisitions to sales in excess of $10 billion. Bunzl North America is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Bunzl North America owns and operates more than 100 warehouses and serves all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and parts of the Caribbean and Mexico. With more than 5,000 employees and 400,000 plus supplies, Bunzl is regarded as a leading supplier in North America.

Bunzl Distribution offers competitive salaries, a comfortable work environment, and a full range of benefits including a 401k with a company match.

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