Category Manager, Global Procurement Operations (GPO)

Category Manager is a part of GPO - Global Procurement Organization and represents a key global role responsible for managing the procurement of MHE Lifecycle services such as: End-Of-Life Program, Spare Parts, Hotline and Aftersales Support. The role is serving Amazon"s operations and internal customers (predominantly RME - Reliability and Maintenance Engineers). MHE (Material Handling Equipment) is key for Amazon's operations and promise to deliver to our Customers.

This global role manages estimated spend of $90-120M across multiple global suppliers in NA, INTL (EU incl. UK), APAC (incl. Australia), MENA, and LATAM regions, covering all Amazon business lines. Category Manager is managing the suppliers and negotiations involved in the End-Of-Life program of MHE which purpose is to exchange, rebuild or refurbish Amazon's MHE equipment which is not anymore supported by the original vendor in terms of the technical support, maintenance or sales of spare parts.

Key job responsibilities

The MHE Lifecycle portfolio is complex and diversified, requiring close cooperation with multiple supplier types (MHE Integrators, Spare Parts Manufacturers, Distributors and Service Contractors). The role plays an important part in optimizing OPEX spending for RME.

Spare Parts

• Driving negotiations across all End-Of-Life projects and other MHE related services and spare parts.
• Supporting internal customers (mainly RME) in fulfilling their needs by cooperating with suppliers and other Category Manager in order to bring the optimized cost if End-Of-Life projects,
• Supporting and implementing the sourcing strategy for spare parts including direct sourcing from manufacturers and distributors
• Managing supplier relationships and performance for assigned spare parts suppliers
• Implementing direct sourcing for spare parts.
• Negotiating the contracts with suppliers.
• Contributing to the Recommended Spare Parts List (RSPL) process improvement and catalog optimization
• Supporting Supply Chain Risk Assessments for spare parts with newly awarded MHE Integrators for greenfield sites
• Developing AI Tools to optimize procurement activities for spare parts and bring team's efficiency

Hotline Services

• Managing hotline support contracts with MHE Integrators and service providers
• Tracking and optimizing SLA performance and response times
• Supporting contract negotiations and renewals for hotline support agreements
• Coordinating escalation processes with suppliers in partnership with RVM and RME Field teams

Maintenance Activities

• Negotiate the project cost related with refurbishing, rebuilding and maintaining the equipment approach its End-Of-Life.
• Managing procurement of preventive maintenance (PM) and corrective maintenance contracts
• Supporting Prime & Peak onsite support sourcing and contract management
• Driving standardization of maintenance service scopes and pricing models across regions
• Monitoring supplier performance against maintenance KPIs and SLAs

A day in the life

The key activities of the Category Manager include:

A. Project based and regular spare parts and maintenance service negotiation and reflecting them in Coupa Catalogues.

B. Executing sourcing strategies for MHE spare parts, hotline, and maintenance services.

C. Managing supplier performance and SLA compliance across the MHE lifecycle portfolio

D. Analyzing spend data and preparing cost reduction business cases for leadership review

E. Coordinating with RME Field & RVM teams on daily requests, escalations, and ticket resolution

E. Supporting contract negotiations and renewals for assigned suppliers

F. Contributing to process improvements in spare parts reception, catalog management, and procurement workflows

G. Preparing reporting and dashboards for category KPIs and supplier performance metrics

About the team

The role reports to the Global Life Cycle Category Lead. Key business partners include: MHE Equipment and Service Suppliers, Reliability and Maintenance Engineers (RME Central and Field Teams, ELM - Early Life Management, RVM - RME Vendor Management, Automation Engineers), and TVM - Technical Vendor Management.

Key job responsibilities

• Establish category sourcing strategies, lead cross-functional strategic sourcing teams, negotiate with suppliers and execute contracts to optimize Amazon's competitive position
• Drive appropriate relationships with category suppliers, with a principal objective of achieving the optimal solution and cost of ownership that meets the business' goals supported by a culture of continuous improvement with performance benchmarks in use
• Manage category suppliers to proactively identify, monitor and optimize opportunities
• Act as a market intelligence provider regarding categories; anticipate strategic opportunities and keep key stakeholders informed
• Drive category suppliers in Supplier Relationship Management activities to mitigate risk, improve performance and add value to Amazon

Identify, achieve and report on savings and value targets for category sourcing activities

• Align with internal customers and understand the business application of the category

Key Performance Indicators:

• Earn the trust of key stakeholders to drive alignment with the business
• Create a category strategy in conjunction with internal customers to ensure there is a comprehensive, unified approach for the category.
• Achieve yearly cost saving or value targets appropriate to the category aligned with annual budget processes.
• Define and report on key metrics that measure effectiveness of supply and cost savings
• Champion standards and process improvements