Description

Commodity Manager – Strategic Supplier Management (Hardware Infrastructure)

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Commodity Manager to own the sourcing strategy, supplier relationships, and supply health for high-volume hardware commodities supporting infrastructure and data center products. This role is responsible for developing long-term supplier strategies, ensuring supply continuity, improving supplier performance, and partnering cross-functionally with Engineering, Planning, Finance, Operations, and Manufacturing teams to support New Product Introduction (NPI) and production readiness.

The ideal candidate has experience managing strategic suppliers within high-volume electronics, cloud infrastructure, server, networking, or hardware manufacturing environments and can effectively communicate supply risks and business recommendations to senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Supplier Management

  • Own strategic relationships with global suppliers and contract manufacturers (ODMs/EMS partners).
  • Develop long-term commodity sourcing strategies aligned with business growth and product roadmaps.
  • Lead supplier business reviews, performance improvement plans, and executive-level supplier engagements.
  • Negotiate commercial terms, lead times, capacity commitments, and supply agreements.

Commodity & Supply Strategy

  • Own one or more hardware commodity categories (e.g., PCBs, power supplies, connectors, mechanicals, memory, storage, networking components, semiconductors, sheet metal, cables, or similar).
  • Drive supplier allocation strategies, dual sourcing initiatives, and supplier qualification activities.
  • Monitor market trends, supply constraints, pricing movements, and technology roadmaps to support sourcing decisions.

Supply Planning & Risk Management

  • Analyse demand, forecast, inventory, and supplier capacity to identify supply risks before they impact production.
  • Develop mitigation strategies including alternate sourcing, capacity expansion, risk buys, and recovery plans.
  • Partner with Planning teams to balance demand versus supplier capacity across multiple programs.
  • Maintain overall supply health and ensure business continuity.

Supplier Performance Management

  • Drive continuous supplier performance improvements in:
  • Lead Time Reduction
  • On-Time Delivery (OTD)
  • Capacity Utilisation
  • Quality Performance
  • Cost Optimisation
  • Inventory Health
  • Establish supplier scorecards and monitor key performance indicators.

Cross-Functional Leadership

  • Collaborate closely with:
  • Engineering
  • Supply Planning
  • Manufacturing
  • Finance
  • Quality
  • Operations
  • Logistics
  • Program Management
  • Support New Product Introduction (NPI) by ensuring supplier readiness and component availability throughout product development and production ramps.

Executive Communication

  • Translate complex supply chain data into concise, decision-ready updates for senior leadership.
  • Present supplier health, capacity outlook, supply risks, mitigation plans, and strategic recommendations during executive reviews.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, or related discipline.
  • 7+ years of experience in Commodity Management, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Management, Procurement, or Supply Chain.
  • Proven experience managing strategic supplier relationships in high-volume manufacturing environments.
  • Strong knowledge of demand planning, MRP, supply planning, inventory management, and supplier performance metrics.
  • Experience driving supplier improvements in lead time, OTD, capacity, and cost.
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex demand and supply data.
  • Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
  • Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Planning, Finance, and Manufacturing teams.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience supporting hyperscale data centers, cloud infrastructure, servers, networking hardware, storage, AI hardware, or enterprise electronics.
  • Experience working with ODMs/EMS manufacturers such as Flex, Jabil, Celestica, Foxconn, Quanta, Pegatron, Sanmina, or similar.
  • Knowledge of semiconductor supply chains and electronic component sourcing.
  • Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) and production ramp activities.
  • Advanced proficiency with SAP, Oracle, or similar ERP systems, along with Excel and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau).

Success Profile

The ideal Commodity Manager is someone who can:

  • Build trusted strategic partnerships with global suppliers.
  • Develop long-term sourcing and commodity strategies.
  • Identify and mitigate supply risks before they affect production.
  • Improve supplier performance through measurable KPIs.
  • Balance demand against supplier capacity in fast-paced manufacturing environments.
  • Lead cross-functional initiatives across Engineering, Planning, Operations, and Finance.
  • Present supply chain insights and recommendations to senior leadership with confidence.