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Senior Manager, Supply Chain & Purchasing

CA - La Mirada

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Opportunity Snapshot

This high-profile position offers you the opportunity to make an impact in an organization in which supply chain and purchasing play a driving role. You will lead procurement, supply chain, vendor management and inventory management, driving continuous improvement while also ensuring day-to-day goals are met. At Makita "Senior Manager" is comparable to the Director level in other companies, and you will act like a "hub," interacting with just about all areas of the organization, including senior leaders. We are proactive about succession planning and looking for someone with the potential to grow beyond this role.

Makita is a worldwide leader in the professional power tool industry. Headquartered in La Mirada, CA, Makita USA has been bringing Makita's best-in-class engineering advantage to professional power tool users in America since 1970.

Pictured: the tools in this four-piece combo kit take advantage of an advanced LXT lithium-on battery; the 30-Minute Rapid Optimum Charger communicates with the battery's built-in chip throughout the charging process to optimize battery life.

The Requirements

This could be an excellent opportunity for a seasoned professional, as long as you are flexible and able to adapt to Makita's unique culture; we're also open to "grooming" a professional with less experience but a strong drive and work ethic. To be a good fit for this opportunity you will have:

A bachelor's degree; we also will consider non-degreed candidates with significant relevant experience. APICS certification (CPIM or CSCP) or in process is a plus.
A solid background in procurement and / or supply chain, including experience at the manager level Quick question for you - click here; experience in consumer goods -- ideally with a high number of SKUs -- is strongly preferred.
Experience with MOST of the following:
- Vendor management, including evaluating / qualifying vendors.
- Pull systems (JIT, DFT, etc.)
- Forecast, Demand and Supply Planning.
- Quality control and documentation environments such as ISO, Six Sigma and/or SOX.
Computer savvy and experience with MRP II or any replenishment software / ERP system, as well as MS Office (Word and Excel). Familiarity with SQL and/or Access is a plus.
Strong analytical skills.
Solid business acumen and an understanding of accounting principles.
Proven business administration skills.

In addition you'll need the following attributes and competencies:

A demonstrated record of team development and leadership.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong organization, analytical and problem solving abilities.
Self-motivated and a results orientation.
The ability to work effectively in a cross functional team.

The Role

Reporting to the Vice President, Operations, you will provide leadership for two teams totaling 11 people. One Supervisor leads a small team producing and maintaining technical publications. A second Supervisor leads a team with two foci: purchasing, and forecasting and demand management.

In a nutshell, you will be will be responsible for the planning and procurement of Makita Power Tools with the objective that these products be delivered on time, to the proper destination, in the quantity ordered, and with the agreed upon quality standards to be consistent with the expectations of the company and our customers. Overall your activities will contribute to the following objectives:

Ensuring the supply chain model is strategically aligned with business goals;
Driving contemporary procurement, supply chain and vendor management practices; and
Implementing corporate wide inventory management practices and making optimal use of equipment/materials deployed at sites across the country.

While we re-vamped this department a few years ago, in general the Supply Chain & Purchasing function is a mature one. For example, while we have dozens of vendors, only a small handful accounts for a very large percentage of our spend; that small handful includes sister companies. Therefore, as you come on board we'll look to you to get to know our organization and culture as you focus on ensuring the teams meet daily goals. Over time you'll be in a position to identify, recommend and drive positive change.

Your specific activities will include:

Overseeing all aspects of the management of purchase orders for respective vendors (tools, accessories and parts).
Managing the supply chain from respective vendors in an effort to find opportunities for reducing our total cost while maintaining quality and on-time-delivery metrics. You'll work with the VP, Operations to develop these metrics to promote constant improvement within the department.
Initiating and maintaining effective and professional relationships with existing and new vendors.
Reviewing on a daily basis both nationwide backorders and branch backorders for respective vendors and parts.
Working closely with branch operations teams and Makita USA senior management to rectify any issues regarding customer fulfillment, inventory, receiving and logistics.
Planning manufacturing production schedules within vendors capacities to accommodate customer / forecasted demand while balancing budgeted / required inventory levels.
And more.

Note: this description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

Why Makita

High profile impact -- this position serve as a hub of essential information exchange among Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Distribution, Finance, Manufacturing and others. In addition, you will have regular face-to-face interaction with our President, COO and other leaders.

Professional development -- our goal is to bring on board a professional with the ability to take on responsibilities in other areas of Operations (including Customer Service and Distribution). If that's you, this role will allow you to showcase your potential to move up within Makita; we're committed to promoting from within whenever possible.

Stability -- Makita has a strong financial profile and we remained profitable even through the recession. One reason for this stability is a strong brand: visit any construction site and you're sure to encounter a variety of Makita tools, because our quality and performance have earned us a solid reputation within the contractor community. We continue to lead the industry with the introduction of high quality, innovative tools.

Great people -- our people are the cornerstone of our success; in fact if you ask any of our long-tenured staff as to why they've stayed on the team for 20+ years, more often than not they'll say it's their peers. The Makita team, they say, is made up of some of the most appreciative and supportive -- not to mention talented -- professionals they've ever worked with.

Excellent compensation -- in addition to a competitive salary and bonus incentive program, we offer one of the most generous benefits packages in our industry, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; 401(k) and profit sharing plans; vacation time; tuition reimbursement, and more.

Pictured: Makita's product line is quite diverse; this 64 cc gas-powered chainsaw, for example, features a rugged cast cylinder and low-noise operation.

Keys to Success

Makita's environment combines elements of American and Japanese business cultures, making it unique. There are a number of checks and balances, and change doesn't happen fast. To be successful here you will need to be proactive about establishing your credibility. This will involve:

Dialing into our "tribal knowledge:" getting to know the players, the business and the history.
Developing strong knowledge of your areas, based on facts and analysis.
Demonstrating a strong work ethic.
Managing the "big picture" while remaining willing to drill down into the details to understand what's going on.

Once you have established your credibility -- and it may take some time -- you will find it easier to gain traction and buy-in on new ideas. Of course, even then you'll still need patience, perseverance and a solid business case.

About Makita

Makita owes its reputation for manufacturing and distributing outstanding quality power tools to the drive and determination for excellence that began 95 years ago as a manufacturer of electric motors. In 1958 we introduced our first electric tool, and today we are one of the world's largest power tool manufacturers, with seven manufacturing facilities globally and a selection of more than 350 superior and innovative tools.

Believing that the motor is the heart of any power tool, we take great pride in our motor expertise. We spare no expense in producing the most powerful, efficient and best performing motors available for each tool, carefully selecting only the best quality raw materials, employing the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world, and using the most stringent manufacturing processes and quality control in the industry. To make certain that our quality standards are upheld, constant testing is performed during machining and assembly processes, including a final run-test under power before leaving the factory to ensure optimum performance.

Our success comes not only from producing top quality tools, but also from our unparalleled customer service. From our customer service representatives to our extensive sales team to our R&D group, we are dedicated to delivering complete customer satisfaction.

Pictured: Makita's extensive sponsorship of extreme sports includes motocross, monster trucks, ATV, paintball, major league soccer and more. In September 2010, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey sewed up the 2010 AMA Pro Motocross championship, adding fuel to his history-making rookie season.