Supply Chain Manager – Supplier Operations
Location: Warren, MI
Pay: $55–$60/hour
Work Arrangement: Hybrid – minimum 3 days per week onsite at the Cole Engineering Center Tower, or as required by business needs
Travel: Up to 75% domestic and international travel, including short-notice travel
Relocation: Relocation assistance may be available
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Supply Chain Manager – Supplier Operations to lead critical supplier recovery efforts, mitigate supply chain disruptions, and support manufacturing continuity across a complex automotive environment.This role is responsible for managing high-priority supplier issues involving capacity constraints, delivery disruptions, equipment or tooling failures, business transfers, financial distress, and other events that could impact production.
You will work closely with Purchasing, Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, Logistics, Containerization, and external suppliers to identify root causes, develop recovery strategies, and drive corrective actions to restore supply.
The ideal candidate brings strong automotive manufacturing and supply chain experience, exceptional problem-solving skills, and the ability to lead complex issues in a fast-paced environment where decisions and actions can directly impact production.
Key Responsibilities
Supplier Recovery & Critical Supply Management
- Lead cross-functional conference calls and recovery efforts related to critical supplier capacity, delivery, and production issues.
- Serve as a key liaison between Purchasing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Logistics, Supplier Quality, and external suppliers.
- Investigate supplier performance issues and identify root causes affecting capacity, quality, delivery, or production continuity.
- Develop, coordinate, and execute supplier recovery plans and corrective actions.
- Assess the severity and potential manufacturing impact of supplier disruptions and establish appropriate recovery strategies.
- Travel to supplier facilities to provide hands-on support, assess operations, and drive issue resolution.
- Monitor recovery progress and hold suppliers accountable to agreed-upon action plans and timelines.
- Provide timely management and executive-level updates on critical supplier situations.
Supplier Performance & Manufacturing Improvement
- Analyze supplier manufacturing operations to identify constraints involving capacity, throughput, equipment, tooling, material flow, and inventory.
- Identify opportunities to improve supplier delivery performance, manufacturing efficiency, and lead times.
- Work directly with suppliers to implement corrective actions and improve operational performance.
- Evaluate manufacturing processes and production flow to identify risks and opportunities for improvement.
- Support implementation and adherence to standardized work practices.
- Identify proactive opportunities to reduce future supplier disruptions and manufacturing risks.
- Utilize manufacturing metrics such as OEE, capacity, throughput, inventory, and production flow to evaluate supplier performance.
Supplier Risk Management
- Partner with Supplier Risk Management teams to identify and mitigate operational and financial risks.
- Support recovery efforts involving financially distressed, capacity-constrained, or otherwise high-risk suppliers.
- Evaluate potential risks to supplier capacity, delivery, production, and overall manufacturing continuity.
- Support predictive and proactive supplier-risk identification strategies.
- Participate in initiatives designed to strengthen supplier risk identification, monitoring, and mitigation processes.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Collaborate with Purchasing, Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, Logistics, Containerization, and other internal organizations.
- Coordinate technical and operational information between internal stakeholders and supplier facilities.
- Manage multiple complex supplier cases simultaneously while maintaining ownership and accountability for results.
- Serve as a subject matter resource on supplier operations, manufacturing, and supply chain initiatives.
- Support product development, manufacturing launch, and business-transfer activities as needed.
- Present supplier performance, recovery plans, risks, and recommendations to stakeholders at all organizational levels, including executive leadership.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following:
- Supply Chain
- Purchasing
- Manufacturing Operations
- Logistics
- Program Management
- Product Management
- Product Development
- Ability and willingness to travel approximately 75% domestically and internationally, including short-notice and spontaneous travel.
- Valid passport and ability to travel internationally.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage urgent and complex operational issues in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across multiple functional organizations and supplier partners.
- Proven ability to independently manage multiple priorities and complex assignments.
- Strong organizational skills with a high level of ownership and accountability.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Manufacturing, Engineering, or a related field.
- 5+ years of automotive manufacturing operations experience.
- 3+ years of experience with die casting and/or machining operations.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and operational performance, including:
- Material handling
- Inventory management
- Manufacturing capacity
- Throughput
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
- Production flow
- Equipment and tooling constraints
- Experience identifying and implementing manufacturing process improvements.
- Experience leading or supporting supplier recovery, supplier development, or supplier performance improvement initiatives.
- Experience with supplier risk management and production continuity planning.
- Demonstrated ability to establish strong working relationships with suppliers, internal stakeholders, and leadership.
- Strong presentation skills with the ability to translate technical and operational information into clear business recommendations.
What Success Looks Like
In this role, you will be a critical resource when supplier performance or manufacturing disruptions threaten production. Success means quickly understanding the problem, aligning the right stakeholders, developing an actionable recovery strategy, and driving the supplier toward resolution. The strongest candidates will be comfortable going onsite, assessing the situation firsthand, challenging assumptions, coordinating multiple teams, and taking ownership until the issue is resolved. This is an ideal opportunity for a supply chain or manufacturing professional who thrives in high-pressure environments and enjoys solving complex problems that have a direct impact on production.
Core Competencies
- Supplier Crisis Management
- Supplier Recovery
- Supply Chain Risk Management
- Automotive Manufacturing
- Supplier Development
- Manufacturing Operations
- Die Casting
- Machining
- Capacity Analysis
- OEE
- Throughput Analysis
- Root Cause Analysis
- Corrective Action
- Business Transfers
- Supplier Performance Management
- Production Continuity
- Inventory & Material Management
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Executive Reporting
- Manufacturing Process Improvement