WHAT DOES A GLOBAL SOURCING MANAGER DO?
Published: Mar 31, 2025 – The Global Sourcing Manager develops and implements sourcing strategies by collaborating with engineering and project teams to align material budgeting, supplier capabilities, and program requirements. This position drives supplier selection, cost optimization, and value engineering through market analysis, risk management, and contract negotiation to enhance quality, delivery, and total cost of ownership. The manager also ensures supply chain competitiveness and compliance by managing cost structures, protecting intellectual property, and maintaining transparency in supplier selection and performance.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Global Sourcing Manager
1. Global Sourcing Manager Accountabilities
- Private Label Management: Manage and develop Chewy.com’s hard lines private label program.
- Sales Analysis: Pull sales from the system to determine the best products for development based on sales and margin.
- Vendor Relations: Develop relationships with vendors to ensure consistency in raw materials, ingredients, and final private-label goods production.
- Project Management: Manage the overall project timeline, lead weekly cross-functional team meetings, and mitigate risks.
- Cross-functional communication: Communicate project status to all team members.
- Product Roadmap: Partner with Category Directors and Merchants to develop the product roadmap.
- Supplier Monitoring: Travel to suppliers in the USA and Asia to monitor production and expand business.
- Supplier Evaluation: Travel to new supplier partners to gauge their capacity, opportunities, and quality levels.
- Market Research: Conduct online research, visit trade shows, and leverage knowledge of the pet hard-line vendor base.
- Product Development: Develop product solutions to support merchandising direction and ensure innovation and quality.
- Supplier Relations: Maintain regular contact with suppliers on performance, quality, services, product development, and projects.
2. Global Sourcing Manager Functions
- Risk Assessment: Develop a comprehensive understanding of current supply chain risks.
- Risk Mitigation: Build clear strategies to mitigate risks and align with business stakeholders.
- Strategic Planning: Build long-term plans, vendor, and Mill strategy to fulfill business needs.
- Investment Planning: Plan and assess strategic investment/capabilities roadmaps.
- Performance Review: Establish and lead regular category operations performance meetings.
- Macro Factors Management: Be responsible for monitoring and managing macroeconomic factors.
- Market Analysis: Track commodity market and analyze macro factors relevant to a category.
- Cost Projection: Establish seasonal Net Macro Guidance and multi-year cost projections.
- Risk Mitigation: Develop and implement a supply management and risk mitigation plan.
- Trend Analysis: Manage components roadmap and market trends for design recommendations.
- Supplier Management: Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key suppliers.
3. Global Sourcing Manager Overview
- Cost Optimization: Review and manage category spending and identify opportunities for cost improvements without negatively impacting quality.
- Sourcing Management: Responsible for the end-to-end management of the sourcing process through collaboration and consultation with Business Stakeholders.
- Contract Management: Partner with the Procurement Legal Team to manage contract redlines and Terms of Business.
- Service Implementation: Implement Statements of Work for inbound services.
- Performance Monitoring: Monitor performance and delivery of contracted services within categories.
- Spend Analysis: Conduct spend analysis and budgetary investigation.
- Sales Collaboration: Engage with Sales to provide product and supplier solutions and manage large quote processes.
- Regulatory Compliance: Keep the company updated on current and new laws and regulations impacting overseas and importing business practices.
- Compliance Management: Develop product compliance protocols and find overseas partners to execute.
- Safety Assurance: Ensure all safety and compliance protocols are followed.
- Semiconductor Sourcing: Responsible for sourcing and procurement of semiconductor components.
- Supplier Management: Responsible for suppliers' management, RFP/RFQ, and vendor selection.
- Contract Negotiation: Responsible for contract/agreement negotiations, cost management, suppliers, and vendors.
- Value Negotiation: Negotiate value from multiple perspectives.
4. Global Sourcing Manager Tasks
- Material Budgeting: Work with Engineering and PMs to influence material budgeting and technologies required for specific programs considering supplier capabilities.
- Supplier Selection: Drive supplier selection by working with engineering teams on programs – cross-functional selection criteria documented and agreed.
- Value Engineering: Drive value engineering, cost reduction, and lead-time reductions with global engineering teams and suppliers.
- Sourcing Optimization: Ensure a competitive sourcing environment leading to continuous improvement in quality, delivery, cost, service, and technology.
- Market Analysis: Maintain knowledge of market trends, including rigorous analysis of market drivers (including global commodities), cost structures, technical improvements, and competitive landscape.
- Supply Chain Dynamics: Understands, documents, and communicates supply/demand capacity dynamics, trends, and issues.
- Cost Analysis: Cost/price structures of materials, including the impact of underlying material cost driver trends.
- Cost Reduction: Methods and opportunities to lower the cost of ownership.
- Contract Negotiation: Purchase price and contractual terms and conditions.
- TCO Analysis: Total acquisition cost, TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) experience.
- Quality and Compliance: Quality, IP, exclusivity terms, and warranty.
- IP Protection: Ensure IP indemnity for the supply chain.
- Supplier Selection: Fully documented and clear supplier selection criteria and final selection sign-off.
- Risk Management: Product risk management, including cost, change management, and deliverable schedule.
5. Global Sourcing Manager Duties
- Sourcing Management: Manage the sourcing of products and materials in this category.
- Quality Assurance: Ensuring quality, on-time delivery, service level, and competitive pricing.
- Supplier Management: Manage the suppliers to ensure that they meet the company's quality assurance, regulatory, risk management program, and supply KPI requirements.
- Supplier Relations: Develop and work closely with suppliers for a better and closer relationship.
- Sourcing Strategy: Initiate and implement sourcing strategies to achieve long-term and sustainable commercial benefits for Ansell.
- Project Management: Lead and work closely with internal customers (GBU/SBU, Plants) on sourcing activities, projects, and NPDs.
- Market Intelligence: Gather and provide market intelligence on new and existing suppliers, new products, new materials, and new technology for this category.
- Performance Monitoring: Ensure appropriate systems, processes, and key performance indicators (via supplier scorecard) are in place.
- Sourcing Activities: Monitor, review, and report monthly strategic sourcing activities/initiatives/projects.
- Policy Compliance: Responsible for adhering to corporate policies and procedures.
- Supplier Performance: Regular contact with the Director of Sourcing on matters related to suppliers’ KPI performance, projects, and major issues.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Regular contacts with GBU/SBU/Plants personnel on matters related to sourcing of the product/material activities and projects for this category.
- Cross-Functional Coordination: Regular contact with personnel from other functions under Operations and Supply Chain on matters related to sourcing of the product and material activities, and projects for this category.
- Quality Assurance: Contacts with QA personnel on matters related to customer complaints, regulatory issues, audits, and product specifications.
- Research and Development Collaboration: Occasional contacts with Research and Development for projects on products and materials for this category.