Sourcing Manager- Industrial Components
Posted
About APPLIED Adhesives:
We have you covered.
Nobody knows more about adhesives than APPLIED Adhesives. We are passionate about solving complex challenges with innovative adhesive products and offerings. APPLIED is the industry leader in helping manage costs, reduce waste, and make entire operations run more efficiently. From adhesives, equipment, parts, and service, we have you covered.
With world-class adhesive products, equipment, and parts along with visionary leadership, unparalleled expertise, and an agile, responsive service team, we’re not happy simply staying put. Every day, we leverage our technical expertise and passion for problem solving for the benefit of our customers and the future of our company.
We have countless victories that we could celebrate, but we’re more interested in looking forward than back. We’ve collected the talent and skills to continue innovating new product solutions and applications in emerging industries. We have the fortitude to not only accept challenges, but to seek them out. And we have the confidence and determination to become the most sought-after adhesive solutions partner.
Come join us!
The Role:
We are seeking an experienced Sourcing Manager- Industrial Components, who will build and lead APPLIED Adhesives’ strategic sourcing capability.
Initially operating as an individual contributor, this role will establish the processes, standards, governance, and tools needed to move sourcing from primarily transactional activity to a disciplined, scalable business capability.
This position will develop category strategies, lead competitive sourcing events and supplier negotiations, strengthen commercial contracts, measure value creation, improve supplier governance, and reduce supply risk. The role will partner closely with Purchasing, Operations, Finance, Legal, Quality, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, and other stakeholders to translate business needs into effective sourcing decisions.
As the sourcing function matures, this position may help define the future team structure and may hire, lead, and develop additional sourcing employees.
This is a remote role; candidates must be able to effectively support Central and Eastern time-zone business hours and only candidates residing in the US will be considered.
The ability to travel 15% of the time is required for this position.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Sourcing and Category Management
- Develop and execute category and sourcing strategies aligned with company objectives, customer needs, and operational priorities.
- Analyze spend, supplier markets, cost drivers, demand patterns, supply conditions, and risk to identify sourcing opportunities.
- Identify, qualify, and develop domestic and international suppliers for direct materials, manufactured products, equipment, parts, and services.
- Lead RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, bid analysis, supplier selection, and award recommendations using consistent evaluation criteria and documented decision-making.
- Lead supplier and product consolidation initiatives while maintaining appropriate quality, service, continuity, and commercial safeguards.
- Support new-product development, integrations, and business-growth initiatives with early sourcing input and supplier-market expertise.
Negotiations and Contracts
- Build fact-based negotiation strategies, objectives, trade-offs, approval paths, and fallback positions before engaging suppliers.
- Establish negotiation-planning tools, approval guidelines, contract templates, and documented commercial standards.
Value Creation and Analytics
- Deliver measurable cost savings, cost avoidance, working-capital improvement, risk reduction, quality improvement, service improvement, and supplier innovation.
- Establish clear savings definitions, baselines, tracking methods, documentation, and Finance-validation practices.
- Analyze total cost of ownership, including price, freight, duties, tariffs, inventory, quality, operating impact, and supply risk.
- Build practical sourcing dashboards and communicate project status, verified value, risks, supplier performance, and decisions to stakeholders and leadership.
- Use ERP, sourcing, contract, market-intelligence, and analytics tools to strengthen decisions and create repeatable reporting.
Function Building and Cross-Functional Leadership
- Create sourcing policies, work instructions, templates, governance, KPIs, decision rights, and operating rhythms that can scale with the business.
- Clarify handoffs and ownership between strategic sourcing, purchasing, inventory management, operations, quality, product management, engineering, and other functions.
- Interpreting engineering drawings and BOMs to qualify multiple suppliers per product and confirm direction with engineering.
You Are Ideal for This Role If You:
- Enjoy building something new and can move comfortably between strategy, analysis, process design, and hands-on execution.
- Can challenge assumptions, communicate trade-offs, and earn trust across functions and organizational levels.
- Are highly organized, accountable, and able to manage a portfolio of projects with different timelines and stakeholders.
- Build productive supplier relationships while maintaining appropriate commercial discipline and accountability.
- Bring curiosity, resilience, sound judgment, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
Physical Requirements:
- Communicate information and ideas so others will understand.
- Observe details at close range and work with detailed documents, data, and computer systems.
- Remain in a stationary position for extended periods of time.
- Operate a computer and other office productivity equipment, including a keyboard, mouse, telephone, and video-conferencing tools.
- Travel to APPLIED facilities, supplier sites, customer locations, and manufacturing or warehouse environments as business needs require.
- Walk through manufacturing, warehouse, and production areas and wear required personal protective equipment when applicable.
Required Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
- Substantial progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, or supply management; 5+ years preferred, with flexibility for candidates whose capabilities clearly match the scope.
- Demonstrated ownership of category strategies, competitive sourcing events, supplier negotiations, supplier selection, and commercial contracts.
- Experience independently managing complex categories and cross-functional initiatives from strategy through implementation and results tracking.
- Strong understanding of total cost of ownership, cost modeling, market analysis, supplier performance, and supply risk.
- Proven success creating or materially improving sourcing processes, tools, reporting, or governance.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, communication, project-management, and stakeholder-influence skills.
- Proficiency with ERP, sourcing, contract, analytics, and Microsoft Office tools.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States.
- Able to travel up to 15%.
Other Qualifications:
- Experience building or professionalizing a strategic sourcing function.
- Direct-material, manufactured-product, distribution, industrial, equipment, or parts sourcing experience.
- International sourcing and supplier-development experience.
- Experience working with Legal on complex commercial agreements and supplier terms.
- CPSM, C.P.M., CSCP, CPIM, or similar professional certification.
- Experience mentoring, coaching, or leading sourcing or purchasing professionals.
- Experience with quality-management systems and supplier-performance programs in an ISO-certified environment.
Why Work for Us:
- Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
- 401k Match
- Flexible and Team-Oriented work environment
- Generous PTO policy
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Employee Assistance Program
- Career and talent development opportunities as well as opportunities for personal growth
Leading with Integrity, Collaboration, and Passion
In today’s dynamic business landscape, these core values serve as the compass guiding our actions and decisions. Whether it’s demonstrating leadership, fostering collaboration, igniting passion, upholding integrity, or maintaining a relentless customer focus, these principles shape our mission, vison and values, and drive our commitment to excellence.
Our Core Values:
Team-Oriented
We win together! We treat our teammates with respect.
Get Things Done
We focus on results, not excuses. We consistently go above and beyond.
Accountable
When we make a commitment, we keep it. Trust is earned.
Curious
Curiosity is the spark for a solution. We are growth-minded and eager to learn.
Driven to Win
A highly satisfied customer is our ultimate win. Profitable growth = winning.
Interview Expectations:
To ensure a fair and consistent hiring process, AI-generated or AI-assisted interview responses are not permitted. Candidates who use AI tools during interviews will not be considered for employment.
FLSA Status: Exempt
Compensation:
Compensation for roles at APPLIED varies based on a wide variety of factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education, work location, and internal equity. As required by applicable law, APPLIED provides a reasonable compensation range for positions that may be filled in multiple locations.
The anticipated base compensation range for this position is $100,000 - $115,000 annually.
This range represents a good-faith estimate of the compensation expected for this role at the time of posting. Actual compensation offered may vary based on the factors noted above. In addition, we are invested in every employee’s total well-being and offer a substantial and comprehensive total rewards package.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Typical work is in a climate-controlled environment requiring regular use of computer and electronic equipment.
We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.