Commodity Manager - Wheel, Seats, Packaging and Rubber - The Toro Company

Who Are We?  

With roots dating back to 1914, The Toro Company was built on a tradition of quality and caring relationships. Today, the company is a leading worldwide provider of innovative solutions for the outdoor environment, including turf and landscape maintenance, snow and ice management, underground utility construction, rental and specialty construction, and irrigation and outdoor lighting solutions. Through a strong network of professional distributors, dealers, rental stores and retailers in more than 125 countries, we proudly offer a wide range of products across a family of global brands to help golf courses, professional contractors, underground construction professionals, groundskeepers, agricultural growers, rental companies, government and educational institutions, and homeowners – in addition to many leading sports venues and historic sites around the world.

Your Opportunity:

The Category Manager - Wheel, Seats, Packaging, and Rubber is a highly visible and impactful sourcing team leader, collaborating with multiple positions both within and outside the Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) to help achieve its goals of Operational Excellence and Sustainability. The Category Manager’s major responsibilities are the development, implementation, and execution of category strategies to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).  The Category Manager I will also be responsible for cultivating, managing, and maintaining strategic supplier relationships, as well as implementing and maintaining continuous improvement projects. The Category Manager I position is a valuable strategic role within the global sourcing department, contributing significantly to the long-term goals as well as day-to-day operations. 

Sponsorship:  

• Sponsorship is NOT available for this position. This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

• Must be willing to obtain/maintain an active and valid US Passport and a non-exprired US Driver's license.

Work Location: 

• This opportunity is based out of Bloomington, MN, international headquarters.  Other job locations and/or fully remote is not available at this time.  

• The current team works a hybrid model with 3-days on-site and optional 2-days remote.     

• Travel as required, domestically and internationally up to 10-20% , along with appropriate expense reporting duties. May require occasional visits to warehouse or distribution center locations. 

What Will You Do? 

In order to grow and build a successful career with The Toro Company, you will be responsible for: 

• Develop and execute cost reduction strategies to reduce TCO through cross-functional collaborations and supplier negotiations/partnerships.  

• Maintain and present category strategy to sourcing leadership.  

• Coordinate and implement supply agreements, Long Term Agreements (LTA), Warranty Agreements, and collaborative partnerships.  

• Serve as an internal resource and liaison to other areas within the organization regarding supplier capabilities, technologies, market conditions, and business risk/opportunities.  

• Manage supplier performance through various metrics such as on-time delivery (OTD), supplier report cards, and quality notifications (QN). 

• Lead cost negotiations, payment term discussions, and contract implementations with strategic suppliers.  

• Track, report, and reconcile all material price variants (MPV)/purchase price variants (PPV) to ISC and Finance leadership. 

• Effectively communicate with internal and external customers on all aspects of category. 

• Support the escalation process by engaging suppliers as well as TTC manufacturing facilities.   

• Develop and implement lean strategies that align with TTC Operational Excellence and Sustainability goals through methods such as KanBan, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), stocking agreements, etc. 

• Support TTC Digital Transformation objectives. 

• Support multiple areas