Regional Category Manager —Fluid Controls,Valves & Pipes & Pumps
Vertiv · Thāne
JOB DESCRIPTION
Regional Commodity Manager - Liquid Cooling SFN
| LOCATION | Thane, India / Regional Scope | EXPERIENCE | 8-12 years |
| EDUCATION | Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering | FUNCTION | Strategic Sourcing / Commodity Management |
Position Summary
The Regional Commodity Manager for Liquid cooling SFN is responsible for developing and executing regional sourcing strategies for SS Pipe/Flange/Fittings/Valve/Sensor/Other Mechanical Commodity. Proven experience in handling contract manufacturing and outsourcing business within strategic sourcing.
This role will strengthen supplier competitiveness, optimize total cost, protect continuity of supply and support business growth across project-based and operational requirements.
The position serves as the primary commercial interface between SFN suppliers and internal stakeholders, including Engineering, Quality, Operations, Logistics, Sales, Product Management and Global Procurement. The successful candidate will combine Mechanical product knowledge with strong strategic sourcing, negotiation and supplier-management capabilities.
Key Responsibilities 1. Commodity Strategy and Strategic Sourcing
- Develop and execute regional commodity strategies for Pipe/Flange/Fittings/Valve/Sensor/Other Mechanical Commodity etc.
- Align regional plans with global commodity direction, business objectives, technology roadmaps and customer requirements.
- Stainless Steel supplier market scans, RFIs, RFQs, e-sourcing events, bid evaluations, negotiations and sourcing recommendations.
- Identify, qualify and onboard competitive suppliers, including localization and alternate-source opportunities.
- Build should-cost, total-cost-of-ownership and price-benchmarking models to support sourcing decisions.
2. Supplier Relationship and Performance Management
- Establish strategic relationships with manufacturers, system integrators and key sub-tier suppliers.
- Conduct regular supplier business reviews covering quality, cost, delivery, capacity, technology, service and sustainability.
- Develop corrective and improvement plans for underperforming suppliers and track actions to closure.
- Coordinate supplier development with Quality and Engineering to improve process capability, reliability and responsiveness.
3. Cost, Productivity and Commercial Management
- Deliver annual productivity and cost-reduction programs through negotiation, value engineering, localization, resourcing, specification optimization and supplier consolidation.
- Monitor key cost drivers.
- Negotiate commercial agreements, pricing mechanisms, warranties, payment terms, lead times, logistics models and service obligations.
- Maintain contract coverage and ensure sourcing decisions comply with delegated authority and procurement governance.
4. Supply Continuity and Risk Management
- Assess supplier capacity, financial health, geographic concentration, logistics exposure, sub-tier dependency and raw-material risks.
- Create and maintain mitigation plans, including dual sourcing, safety-stock arrangements, local warehousing, capacity reservation and business-continuity actions.
- Partner with planning, operations and suppliers to resolve shortages, expedite critical requirements and protect customer commitments.
- Monitor market developments and provide timely risk and opportunity updates to leadership.
5. Cross-Functional and Technical Collaboration
- Engage early in new product introduction, customer proposals and engineering change activities to ensure competitive and supply-ready solutions.
- Work with Engineering and Quality on specifications, supplier qualification, testing, approvals, reliability, warranty and failure-resolution activities.
- Support standardization and rationalization of makes, models and configurations across business units and sites.
- Coordinate with Sales and Product Management to understand pipeline, project timing, technology needs and regional customer expectations.
6. Sustainability, Compliance and Governance
- Ensure suppliers comply with applicable environmental, health and safety, trade, ethical sourcing and regulatory requirements.
- Promote responsible sourcing, recycling, end-of-life management, safe transportation and reduced environmental impact.
- Maintain accurate sourcing records, approvals, contracts, supplier data and audit documentation.
7. Analytics and Reporting
- Maintain commodity dashboards covering spend, savings, quality, delivery, lead time, inventory, contract coverage and supplier risk.
- Prepare periodic commodity reviews, executive updates and sourcing pipeline reports.
- Use data to identify supply-base, working-capital, cost and service improvement opportunities.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
- 8-12 years of experience in strategic sourcing, commodity management, procurement, supplier development or supply chain roles.
- Demonstrated experience sourcing of Mechanical products/Components.
- Experience working in a project-based, engineered-to-order or high-mix, low-volume business environment is preferred.
- Strong commercial negotiation, contract management, analytical and stakeholder-management skills.
- Ability to read and interpret drawings specifications, drawings, data sheets, test requirements and supplier technical proposals.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and ERP/procurement systems; experience with Power BI or similar analytics tools is preferred.
- Fluent business English and willingness to travel regionally/globally as required.
Key Performance Indicators
- Cost savings and productivity delivery
- Supplier on-time delivery and lead-time improvement
- Supplier quality and corrective-action closure
- Localization and alternate-source implementation
- Contract coverage and sourcing compliance
- Inventory and working-capital improvement
- Supplier risk reduction and continuity readiness
- Project sourcing milestones and stakeholder satisfaction
- ESG and supplier-compliance performance
Preferred Industry Exposure
Candidates with sourcing or engineering exposure in the following sectors will be preferred:
- Thermal/HVAC/Liquid cooling
- Data centers/ Large Infra companies/Turnkey Project
- Manufacturing thermal cooling equipment
- Oil & Gas/Energy/petrochemical/ Heavy Fabrication
- Automobile
Role Success Profile
The ideal candidate is a technically credible and commercially strong sourcing professional who can translate business demand into a clear commodity strategy, create competitive supplier options and deliver measurable improvements in cost, quality, delivery and supply resilience. The person should be comfortable operating across regional and global teams, managing ambiguity and influencing decisions without direct authority.
Note: The responsibilities and qualifications may be adjusted based on business needs, regional scope and organizational structure.
This role will strengthen supplier competitiveness, optimize total cost, protect continuity of supply and support business growth across project-based and operational requirements. The position serves as the primary commercial interface between SFN suppliers and internal stakeholders, including Engineering, Quality, Operations, Logistics, Sales, Product Management and Global Procurement. The successful candidate will combine Mechanical product knowledge with strong strategic sourcing, negotiation and supplier-management capabilities.