Category Manager: Procurement and Stock (CPT)

About the position

ENVIRONMENT:

Our client, a leading school supplies provider, has a vacancy for a suitably qualified and experienced Category Manager: Procurement and Stock based in Woodstock. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing procurement across the Cape Region, managing stock efficiently, and leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. Applicants will require a tertiary qualification in Procurement, Finance or similar field with 3-5 years work experience in a similar role including proficiency with the Axapta system, the ability to recognise symptoms of damaged or poor-quality stock & how to calculate the percentage gross profit (GP).

DUTIES:

Procurement -

• Oversee efficient ordering of stock external vendors and bulk store/branches.
• Actively monitor inventory to ensure quantities are sufficient for needs.
• Ensure effective purchase and order management by running the customer back-order report on a daily basis.

Management of Vendor/ Supplier Relationships -

• Actively monitor suppliers to ensure service compliance in terms of agreements.
• Contact suppliers in order to schedule or expedite deliveries and to resolve shortages, missed or late deliveries and deal with other problems.
• Review vendor price increases and liaise with relevant Procurement team members to execute.
• Hold weekly meetings with Procurement team regarding quality and service of vendors.
• Monitor above average returns of products from customers and stores due to poor quality of products.
• Refer concerns of vendor performance and quality of product to National Procurement.
• Monitor and manage supplier delivery charges where applicable.

Stock Holding Management -

• Continuously monitor stock levels for fast, slow, seasonal and buyout inventory to ensure all stock is maintained at optimum levels.
• Set and enforce policy around Buy-Out products.
• Maintain and manage stock holding levels.
• Actively monitor and oversee the reduction of stock outs and potential stock outs.
• Liaise with Sales staff to ensure the clearance of slow-moving and discontinued stock items and the reduction of stock levels towards the end of product life cycles.
• Liaise with Sales staff to ensure the active marketing of promotional items and the return of unsold promotional stock to suppliers.
• Liaise with other branches when stock is not available at suppliers and/ or the warehouse in order to manage customer lead times and maintain open communication channels to branches and stakeholders with regards to discontinued and replacement products in order to limit credits, swap outs and long lead times.
• Run daily/weekly/monthly stock management reports.
• Analyse stock ageing and trends to direct strategy.
• Manage and guide Buyers in ordering process.
• Manage Wholesale buying including supplier engagement and prices.
• Manage OEM buying including supplier engagement and prices.

Forecasting and Stock Planning -

• Coordinate accurate forecasting with input from relevant stakeholders.
• Manage and guide branch forecasting.
• Liaise with Branch Manager and Branch Reps.
• Manage Key Accounts forecasting.
• Manage branch fill rates.
• Manage branch potential out of stocks.
• Manage branch out of stocks.
• Manage branch surplus orders.
• Manage branch excess stocks.

Training, Management and Ownership -

Day to Day management including:

• Monitor ordering performance of Procurement staff.
• Analyse supplier lead times and address issues with suppliers if needed.
• Oversee or perform Supersessions to ensure data purity and reliability.
• Management of master files.

Projects -

• Liaise with business units to identify areas of the business that can be improved.
• Identify and propose systems and processes to benefit the business.
• Manage and implement new technology and business practices into the Region.
• Perform analyses and exercises to evaluate business efficiency against standards and best practice.
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop workable solutions for business problems.

Resolution of Queries -

• Follow up on outstanding transactions or documentation.
• Monitor supplier pricing and refer price discrepancies on supplier invoices to National Procurement.
• Liaise constantly with suppliers and branches regarding outstanding queries.
• Ensure that all queries are handled effectively and timeously.
• Manage goods returned from branches.
• Monitor and ensure timeous performance of all office administrative duties.

REQUIREMENTS:

• A tertiary qualification in Procurement, Finance or similar.
• 3 – 5 Years’ experience in a similar role.
• Ability to recognise symptoms of damaged or poor-quality stock.
• Planning and organising skills.
• Ability to follow specified procedures.
• Basic arithmetic skills.
• Telephone skills.
• Customer service skills.
• Computer literacy skills.
• Communication skills.
• Decision making.
• Honesty and integrity.
• Conflict resolution.
• Knowledge of the Axapta system.
• Know how to calculate the percentage gross profit (GP).

While we would really like to respond to every application, should you not be contacted for this position within 10 working days please consider your application unsuccessful.

COMMENTS:

When applying for jobs, ensure that you have the minimum job requirements. OnlySA Citizens will be considered for this role. If you are not in the mentioned location of any of the jobs, please note your relocation plans in all applications for jobs and correspondence. Apply here [URL Removed] OR e-mail a Word copy of your CV to [Email Address Removed] and mention the reference number of the job.

Desired Skills:

• Category
• Manager
• Procurement