Position Summary:The Program Manager is responsible for driving customer value, documented cost savings, and sales growth within an MRO Safety Distribution environment. This role acts as a strategic partner to customers, internal sales teams, and preferred safety vendors by standardizing spend, improving service levels, and expanding share of wallet.
The Program Manager works cross-functionally with internal teams to ensure seamless execution of customer programs, consistent service performance, and measurable business outcomes aligned with customer objectives.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:Strategic Sales & Vendor Management
- Collaborate strategically with Preferred MRO Safety Vendors to standardize product usage, reduce SKU complexity, and deliver documented cost savings.
- Develop and execute cost-savings initiatives through product conversions (EB), sourcing strategies, and vendor consolidation.
- Drive share-of-wallet growth by expanding product and service penetration across safety, PPE, and MRO categories.
- Support internal sales teams with data analysis, insights, and project execution to accelerate strategic account growth.
- Serve as a subject-matter expert on safety and MRO programs, aligning vendor capabilities with customer needs.
Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) & Customer Engagement- Lead and conduct Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) with key customer stakeholders, including Purchasing, Safety, Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, and Supply Chain.
- Prepare, analyze, and present performance metrics, including:
- Year-to-Date (YTD) Spend
- YTD Documented Cost Savings
- Status of Ongoing Cost-Savings Projects
- Accounts Receivable (AR) Status
- Customer Dedicated Inventory, Vending, and VMI Performance
- KPI Progress, Trends, and Action Plans
- Identify continuous improvement opportunities and recommend solutions to improve safety outcomes, service levels, and total cost of ownership.
- Act as the primary escalation point for program performance, ensuring timely resolution and customer satisfaction.
Program Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration- Partner with operations, supply chain, pricing, finance, and customer service teams to ensure program execution aligns with customer commitments.
- Monitor service performance, inventory strategies, and compliance to contractual agreements.
- Ensure all customer programs deliver measurable results and align with agreed-upon KPIs.
Job Qualifications & Experience:- Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent professional experience.
- Experience in MRO, safety distribution, industrial supply, or related field.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and communicate insights.
- Proven ability to manage complex customer programs and cross-functional initiatives.
- Proficiency in direct, high stakes negotiation, as well as drafting, interpretation and redlining of commercial contracts.
- Management of human resources and labor-related topics and issues.
- Excellent presentation, communication, and relationship-management skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and CRM / reporting tools.
Key Competencies- Strategic thinking and problem solving
- Customer-centric mindset
- Financial and cost-savings analysis
- Project and program management
- Vendor and stakeholder collaboration
