Group Category Manager Shop, Floor and Wall Covering

We are looking for a well-rounded and experienced Category & Procurement Management professional with sound business acumen, data and people driven leader and decision maker. You have the ability to lead and drive the execution of the regional and X-European Category Management agenda. In conjunction with the OpCo’s you will make category plans, align the countries and together you will achieve the saving objectives.  Savings are important but good working relations with the business is evident. You are a dedicated and engaged partner who strongly engages with both the business and the European procurement organization to enhance collaboration and obtaining the regional procurement objective. Ready for a high degree of travel required (up to 20%) in order to perform the role effectively and willing to move internationally or cooperate in international projects. Generate buy-in and enthusiasm for proposed solutions. Also listen attentively to input and can integrate it into your approach.

Purpose of the Role

Together with the category managers in the OpCo the Group Category Manager Shop, Floor and Wall Covering needs to implement and execute category strategies X-Europe to achieve:

• EBITDA improvements by realizing better purchase conditions, bonus management, introduction of private labels, assortment harmonization and shift to higher margin products including far east sourcing
  • OCF improvements by improving payment conditions, agreeing supplier delivery terms and return conditions so that Supply Chain can manage Iron Stock levels of our inventories better
  • Warehouse operations by improving supplier related topics like master data, products that contain barcodes, delivery slots etc.
  • ESG objectives by driving sustainable products, sustainable packaging and sustainable suppliers in the preferred assortments

SHOP contains all products at the entrance of the store, these articles are supportive to the main products like hammers, drills, gloves, chisels, work clothes, spirit levels, adhesives, silicon’s etc. ProOne is one of the private label main brands; these products are developed for the professional and stand for top quality with the guarantee of a competitive price. An overall shelf plan and X-European assortment needs to be further developed and implemented in all OpCo’s.

Wall & Floor Covering contains all products related to ceramic wall- and floor plates in different materials for decorative purpose and related adhesives. 50% of the spend in this area is driven by Suppliers who bring us projects but all other Ceramic Wall- and Floor plates are acquired in our showroom. This opens the room for a private label and as such an overall X-European assortment under the brand ProCasa is introduced.

In addition, the Group Category Manager Shop, Floor and Wall Covering ensures, together with the analyst, that the relevant OpCo teams make use of the BME Procurement Performance Management platform that consists of:

• DUNS numbers in every ERP to uniquely identify suppliers to optimize local and cross opco analysis on spend and supplier dependencies
• A Group Taxonomy which is linked to the ERP’s to uniquely classify data to optimize local and cross opco analysis on spend development and price differences
• Sievo, an advanced spend analysis solution, to ensure all OpCo’s as well as cross OpCo have one single version of the truth on spends per supplier, product, prices etc.
• Per Augusta, a very user-friendly project tracking solution, to ensure all procurement FTE track projects in the same way and Finance can track savings
• Bonsai, a bonus analysis and prediction tool, that will enable every OpCo to manage its bonuses pro-actively as well as calculating the 3NET prices so that commercial conditions can be compared across STG and OpCo’s to optimize intertrade as well shifting to more profitable SKU’s
• Ecovadis, an ESG Supplier Auditing solution, is used to manage the ESG performance of the suppliers

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Managing assigned category in region by leading cross-functional and cross regional

team;

• Optimize local versus joined buying of products within category to maximize results;
• Accountability for results at regional level within the related category. This includes the targets a the local opco’s for the specific category;
• Acting as interface with countries (communications to countries and from the countries will be done through the Category Manager at regional level);

• Implementing category strategy on OpCo/Business level;
• Tailoring category strategy to needs of Division, defining Division priorities and aligning priorities with countries;

• Collection of needs from OpCos including data for benchmarking;
• Execution of multi local initiatives (e.g. tenders);
• Leading Country Category Managers with country or regional processes;
• Developing and managing relationship with key suppliers in the category;
• Driving the realization of savings, efficiency, quality, and process improvements;
• Translating category and supplier strategies into executable sourcing plans based on actual portfolio demands;

• Ensuring cost, availability, innovation, and quality within the sourcing plan creation and execution;
• Executing regional supplier selection in line with strategy, requirements, supplier base development, and identification of new suppliers;
• Ensuring efficient RFx process from selection through onboarding according to the agreed strategies;
• Leading price negotiations, contract, and life cycle management with suppliers;
• Ensuring compliance to supplier portfolio within own category/region and in alignment with Project Management;
• Liaising with SVP Procurement for the anticipation and handling of changes based on supply market dynamics
• Managing supplier performance, also in supply chain and ESG related area;
• Ensuring that we manage the ESG requirements in both packaging, reusability etc.
• Accountability for agreed KPIs (internal and external) and their reporting.

Key Functional Competencies

• Action-oriented and result-driven with excellent analytical and communication skills
  • Strategic mindset with excellent analytical and conceptual skills
  • Strong communication and presentation skills
  • Well-organised and structured, self-starter
  • Strong interpersonal and influencing skills
  • High level of business acumen and financial skills 
  • Dealmaker
• Strong personality with the ability to get things done through people
  • Pragmatic and solutions-oriented attitude
  • Strong team spirit with the ability to connect with people
  • Driven, energetic and positive-minded
  • Flexible, agile and resilient
  • Entrepreneurial, results-driven and customer-focused
  • Takes ownership, is accountable, delivers on promises
  • High sense of integrity and business ethics
  • Intellectually curious in support of high learning agility: high level of IQ/EQ and drive and used these to get ahead at work. Learns fast, creates rapid impact in new environments, gets often more responsibilities and has moved through the ranks significantly quicker than most others
• Has strong negotiation & contracting skills, cost analysis skills, financial and business acumen, decision making, strategic thinking and project management skills;
• Collaborating in cross a regional/functional team, source to pay process, supplier quality, product lifecycle management, excellent market information analysis skills and supply market knowledge;
• You have an established track record in building good relationships with business counterparts and external partners;
• Inspirational and motivational manager with great team leading (indirect) skills with a lot of attention for people;
• Connecting style of management, strong team player who communicates easily with all layers inside BME;
• Drive Results, cultivate innovation, collaborate, has courage, has a strategic mindset and Be Resilient!
• Decisive, pragmatic, hands-on, informal, honest, driven, down-to-earth,
• convincing with a lot of perseverance;
• Excellent communication skills in English (verbal and written), and preferable a 2^nd European language like German).

Education and Experience

• Business professional with 8+ year experience working with multiple stakeholders in a complex environment, preferably with background in PE
• MSc-level (strategic vision and conceptual thinking ability) ideally with a technology and business background;
• Recent experience in managing the wholesale/trading and/or retail in a large complex multi-country organization.
• A stable career track with clear career progression within a limited number of employers
• Experience with working in an international and matrix environment
• Eager and ambitious with the ability to go at least one level up

Values

• Dare
• Care
• Do it
• Be real
• Win together

Location

Schiphol-Oost and home-office, the Netherlands, international travelling up to 20%

PROCEDURE

• Interview by Recruiter
• Interviews with BME
• Assessment by Odgers Berndtson
• Background and Reference check

Acquisition by agencies is not appreciated. By applying for this role you agree to store your CV in our files and to share it within BME and operating companies during the recruitment process according to our policy.

You may submit a written request to careers@bme-group.com revoking your consent at any time.

SKILLS

Category Management

International Projects

Supplier Strategies

Product Lifecycle Management

FOR QUESTIONS