Assistant Manager Sourcing

Position Summary

Assistant Manager Sourcing will be responsible for driving strategic sourcing initiatives, supplier development, cost optimization, and supply continuity across key commodities including PCBA (EMS/ODM), electrical and electronic components, pumps, power adaptors, rubber moulded parts, fasteners, filters and media.

This role plays a critical part in achieving business objectives through supplier localization, new product sourcing, successful product launches, BOM cost optimization, commercial negotiations, procurement governance, and supplier performance management while ensuring quality, cost competitiveness, delivery reliability, inventory optimization, and innovation (QCDIM) to support sustainable business growth and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management

• Identify, evaluate, qualify, develop, and manage suppliers for PCBA (EMS/ODM), electrical and electronic components, pumps, power adaptors, rubber moulded parts, fasteners, filters and media.
• Build and sustain a competitive supplier base to ensure quality, cost efficiency, supply continuity, and risk mitigation.
• Develop alternate sources, dual-sourcing strategies, and supplier capability enhancement programs.
• Monitor supplier performance against QCDIM metrics and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Establish supplier scorecards and conduct periodic supplier performance reviews.
• Support supplier technology development and innovation initiatives to enhance product competitiveness and supply chain resilience.

Commercial & Cost Management

• Lead RFQ activities, supplier benchmarking, techno-commercial evaluations, and source selection.
• Perform should-costing, cost analysis, benchmarking, and market intelligence studies to support sourcing decisions.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, MOQ, Incoterms, and commercial agreements.
• Drive localization, resourcing, dual sourcing, Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VA/VE), and productivity improvement projects.
• Manage BOM cost roll-up, COGS optimization, Purchase Price Variance (PPV), and annual cost-saving initiatives.
• Conduct commodity risk analysis and develop sourcing strategies to mitigate market volatility and supply disruptions.
• Drive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) optimization through design-to-cost, localization, and value engineering initiatives.

New Product Development (NPD), ECR/ECN & Industrialization

• Lead sourcing activities for new product development, localization, and product lifecycle management projects.
• Coordinate tooling development, prototype validation, sample approvals, APQP, PPAP, pilot builds, and supplier process qualification.
• Manage Engineering Change Requests (ECR) and Engineering Change Notices (ECN), ensuring timely implementation, inventory disposition, cost impact assessment, and uninterrupted production.
• Drive product industrialization activities, ensuring manufacturing readiness and successful ramp-up.
• Ensure smooth transition and ownership transfer from product development to mass production and sustaining operations post-launch.
• Support product launch activities and ensure seamless handover to Procurement teams.
• Ensure suppliers consistently meet product aesthetic, fit-and-finish, functionality, reliability, and performance requirements.
• Track project milestones and ensure sourcing readiness to support on-time product launches.
• Support target costing and component price finalization in line with project objectives.

Supply Continuity & Inventory Management

• Ensure uninterrupted material availability through proactive supplier and planning coordination.
• Assess supplier capacity and mitigate supply risks through contingency planning and expediting activities.
• Drive inventory optimization and obsolescence reduction initiatives to improve working capital efficiency.
• Support phase-in and phase-out planning for new products and engineering changes to minimize excess and obsolete inventory.

Supplier Quality & Compliance

• Partner with Supplier Quality and Engineering teams to improve supplier capability and quality performance.
• Ensure supplier compliance with quality, environmental, safety, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Support closure of supplier quality concerns, corrective actions, and defect prevention initiatives.
• Support supplier audits, process audits, and continuous improvement programs.

Governance & Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Planning, Finance, Logistics, and Marketing teams.
• Ensure adherence to procurement policies, P2P processes, and internal governance requirements.
• Publish periodic reports on sourcing performance, supplier metrics, cost savings, commodity trends, and project status.
• Support internal, external, customer, and system audits and ensure timely closure of observations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical or related Engineering discipline.
• 10-12 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Commodity Management, Supplier Development, or Supply Chain Management.
• Experience in Consumer Durables, Water Treatment, Electronics Manufacturing, EMS/ODM, or related industries.
• Strong expertise in PCBA sourcing, localization, supplier development, APQP, PPAP, ECR/ECN management, and NPD sourcing.
• Proven track record in cost reduction, value engineering, supplier negotiations, and supplier relationship management.
• Exposure to ERP platforms.

Knowledge & Skills

Functional Competencies

• Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
• PCBA (EMS / ODM) Sourcing
• Supplier Development & Vendor Management
• RFQ Management & Should Costing
• Commercial Negotiation & Contract Management
• BOM Costing & Cost Analysis
• APQP & PPAP
• Engineering Change Management (ECR/ECN)
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
• New Product Development & Industrialization
• Localization & Value Engineering (VA/VE)
• Cost Engineering & Design-to-Cost
• Inventory & Supply Risk Management
• Supplier Quality Management
• Product Aesthetic & Cosmetic Requirement Management
• Manufacturing Readiness Assessment
• QCDIM Performance Management
• P2P Process & Procurement Compliance

Technical Skills

• Advanced Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• ERP Systems
• Cost Modelling & Data Analysis
• Business Reporting & Dashboarding
• Root Cause Analysis & Problem Solving

Behavioural Competencies

• Strategic & Analytical Thinking
• Negotiation & Influencing Skills
• Stakeholder Management
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Planning & Execution Excellence
• Communication & Presentation Skills
• Decision Making & Ownership

Travel Requirement

• Willingness to travel up to 30% based on business requirements.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Annual Cost Savings Achievement
• Purchase Price Variance (PPV) Improvement
• BOM Cost Reduction
• Localization Achievement
• Supplier On-Time Delivery (OTD)
• NPD & Product Launch Readiness
• Engineering Change (ECR/ECN) Implementation Effectiveness
• APQP & PPAP On-Time Completion
• Supplier PPM Reduction
• Inventory & Obsolescence Reduction
• P2P Compliance Score
• Dual Sourcing Implementation
• Supplier Development Completion
• QCDIM Score Achievement
• Product Industrialization & Ramp-Up Success Rate
• Supplier Capacity Readiness
• Supplier Innovation / Localization Contribution
• Inventory Transition Effectiveness During Product Changes
• Audit Compliance & Governance Adherence