Supplier Relationship Management (York, Pennsylvania (US))

Supplier Relationship Management
York, PA

Position Summary

The Supplier Relationship Manager (SRM) is responsible for developing, managing, and continuously improving Voith Hydro North America's strategic supplier base to ensure reliable supply, on-time delivery, competitive performance, and long-term supplier partnerships.

This role combines strategic supplier relationship management with hands-on operational support, particularly for critical and long-lead-time components required for hydroelectric equipment manufacturing, modernization, upgrades, and service projects.

The SRM works closely with Operational Buyers, Project Management, Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Logistics, and HyService teams to identify supply chain risks, resolve supplier performance issues, secure critical deliveries, and strengthen supplier capabilities. A key priority is the proactive management and escalation of delivery risks at strategic suppliers, including on-site supplier visits and recovery activities when required.

The role also supports the identification, qualification, and development of new suppliers, particularly in support of HyService, Upgrades, and Service projects where supplier availability and proximity to the customer or project site are important considerations.

The SRM will leverage Voith Hydro's SAP ERP system and Jaggaer (PureOne) vendor portal to maintain supplier data, support qualification and onboarding processes, monitor performance, and drive consistent supplier management practices across North America.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Supplier Management and Supplier Mapping

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve the strategic supplier map for Voith Hydro North America.
• Identify and classify strategic, critical, and high-risk suppliers based on business impact, technical capabilities, capacity, delivery performance, quality, geographic location, financial stability, and supply chain risk.
• Establish supplier relationship strategies, including development plans, risk mitigation measures, capacity planning, and long-term sourcing approaches.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with key supplier management and executive contacts.
• Identify supplier dependencies, single-source risks, capacity constraints, and opportunities to diversify the supplier base.
• Support the development of regional and North American sourcing strategies in alignment with business and project requirements.
• Maintain an overview of supplier capabilities, manufacturing capacity, lead times, certifications, geographic coverage, and technical competencies.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, localization, and strategic partnerships where commercially and operationally beneficial.

2. Supplier Performance Management

• Establish and maintain a structured supplier performance management process for strategic suppliers.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), including on-time delivery, quality performance, responsiveness, lead-time adherence, and corrective action closure.
• Conduct regular supplier performance reviews and business reviews with key suppliers.
• Develop and maintain supplier scorecards, performance reports, and improvement plans.
• Lead or coordinate corrective and preventive action initiatives with suppliers in collaboration with Quality, Engineering, and Procurement.
• Address recurring delivery delays, quality issues, communication gaps, and capacity constraints.
• Escalate persistent underperformance to supplier management and relevant Voith Hydro leadership.
• Track supplier improvement commitments and verify that agreed actions deliver measurable results.

3. Supplier Qualification, Development, and Onboarding

• Identify, evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers in alignment with Voith Hydro's technical, quality, commercial, and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate supplier qualification and onboarding activities with Procurement, Quality, Engineering, EHS, and other relevant functions.
• Manage and support supplier registration and onboarding through the Jaggaer (PureOne) vendor portal.
• Ensure that supplier documentation, certifications, company information, and required approvals are completed and maintained.
• Support supplier audits, capability assessments, and risk evaluations as needed.
• Develop improvement plans for suppliers that require additional support to meet Voith Hydro's expectations.
• Identify new suppliers for specialized manufacturing processes, critical components, and regional service requirements.
• Support the development of qualified alternatives for high-risk or single-source components.
• Maintain a structured record of qualified suppliers, capabilities, limitations, and approval status.

4. Supplier Agreements and Commercial Frameworks

• Support the development, negotiation, implementation, and maintenance of Master Supply Agreements (MSAs) and General Terms and Agreements (GTAs), in coordination with Strategic Procurement, Legal, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Help establish consistent commercial and contractual frameworks for strategic suppliers.
• Support the alignment of commercial terms, lead times, delivery commitments, escalation mechanisms, and supplier performance expectations.
• Coordinate with Operational Buyers and project teams to ensure that supplier commitments are understood and aligned with purchase orders and project schedules.
• Support contract reviews, renewals, and updates where required.
• Monitor supplier compliance with agreed contractual obligations and identify deviations requiring corrective action or escalation.
• Support the documentation and resolution of supplier-related commercial issues, including delivery failures and recovery commitments.

5. Securing Critical Deliveries and Operational Expediting

• Provide hands-on support to Operational Buyers in securing on-time delivery of critical and long-lead-time components from strategic suppliers.
• Proactively monitor supplier delivery commitments, production progress, capacity constraints, and potential schedule deviations.
• Identify delivery risks early and coordinate mitigation measures before they affect project milestones, manufacturing schedules, or customer commitments.
• Act as an escalation point for critical supplier delivery issues and coordinate cross-functional recovery actions.
• Conduct on-site supplier visits and expediting activities when necessary to verify production status, identify bottlenecks, and accelerate recovery plans.
• Work directly with supplier production, planning, quality, and management teams to resolve delivery constraints.
• Establish recovery plans with clear milestones, responsibilities, and follow-up mechanisms.
• Coordinate with Project Management, Manufacturing, Logistics, Quality, and Operational Buyers to prioritize deliveries based on business criticality.
• Support the resolution of material shortages, delayed manufacturing operations, capacity limitations, incomplete documentation, and transportation constraints.
• Maintain visibility of critical supplier deliveries and communicate risks, recovery status, and escalation requirements to internal stakeholders.
• Ensure that delivery recovery actions are documented and tracked through to closure.

Particular focus will be placed on strategic and technically complex suppliers, including:

• Forgings and castings.
• Large & Mid and complex machined components.
• Generators and generator-related equipment.
• Generator poles, stator and rotor components, and coils.
• Other long-lead-time or project-critical hydroelectric equipment and components.

The SRM is expected to take a proactive, fact-based approach to supplier escalation, combining data analysis, direct supplier engagement, and on-site intervention when required.

6. Supplier Risk Management and Business Continuity

• Identify and assess supplier risks related to capacity, delivery performance, financial stability, quality, manufacturing capability, logistics, and geopolitical or regional dependencies.
• Maintain a risk overview for strategic suppliers and critical components.
• Develop mitigation plans for suppliers with elevated delivery or business continuity risks.
• Identify alternative sourcing options and support contingency planning for critical components.
• Monitor supplier capacity and production constraints in relation to current and future Voith Hydro project requirements.
• Escalate risks with potential impacts on project execution, customer commitments, cost, or contractual obligations.
• Support cross-functional risk reviews and contribute to supplier-related business continuity planning.

7. Supplier Development and Continuous Improvement

• Work with suppliers to improve delivery reliability, production planning, capacity utilization, responsiveness, and overall performance.
• Facilitate structured problem-solving and root-cause analysis for recurring supplier issues.
• Encourage suppliers to improve planning transparency, milestone reporting, manufacturing readiness, and communication.
• Identify opportunities to reduce lead times, improve schedule adherence, and strengthen supply chain resilience.
• Promote a continuous improvement culture across the strategic supplier base.
• Share lessons learned and successful supplier development practices across Procurement and project teams.

8. Support for HyService, Upgrades, and Service Projects

• Support HyService and Upgrades/Service teams in identifying and developing new suppliers to meet project-specific and customer-specific requirements.
• Identify qualified suppliers located near customer facilities, project sites, or service locations where local sourcing can improve responsiveness, reduce logistics complexity, or support execution.
• Evaluate regional supplier capabilities for machining, fabrication, repair, refurbishment, field services, and other relevant manufacturing or service activities.
• Coordinate with Service Project Managers, Engineering, Quality, and Procurement to establish supplier qualification and approval requirements.
• Support the development of a regional supplier network that can respond to urgent service needs and modernization projects.
• Identify local sourcing opportunities for replacement parts, special components, and time-sensitive service requirements.
• Balance local availability with technical qualification, quality requirements, commercial competitiveness, and Voith Hydro standards.
• Maintain visibility of qualified regional suppliers and their capabilities for future service and upgrade opportunities.

9. SAP ERP and Jaggaer (PureOne) Vendor Portal

• Use Voith Hydro's SAP ERP system to review and analyze relevant purchasing, supplier, order, and delivery information.
• Work with Operational Buyers to identify overdue purchase orders, at-risk delivery dates, open commitments, and critical material requirements.
• Support the maintenance and accuracy of supplier-related information and relevant procurement data within established system responsibilities.
• Use Jaggaer (PureOne) to support supplier registration, qualification, onboarding, documentation, and supplier data management.
• Monitor completion of supplier onboarding requirements and coordinate resolution of missing or outdated documentation.
• Develop and maintain transparent supplier performance and delivery tracking reports using available ERP data and reporting tools.
• Promote consistent use of procurement systems and standardized supplier management processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve data quality, reporting, process transparency, and supplier management efficiency.

10. Cross-Functional Collaboration and Reporting

• Work closely with Operational Buyers and Strategic Procurement to align supplier priorities, sourcing strategies, and delivery recovery actions.
• Collaborate with Project Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Logistics, HyService, and Upgrades teams to address supplier-related challenges.
• Provide regular updates to stakeholders on supplier performance, critical delivery risks, recovery plans, and supplier development activities.
• Prepare supplier performance reviews, risk assessments, escalation summaries, and management reports.
• Support procurement and project reviews by providing a consolidated view of supplier status and emerging risks.
• Contribute to standardization and continuous improvement of supplier relationship management processes across Voith Hydro North America.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field; equivalent relevant professional experience may be considered.
• 5 - 10 years of experience in supplier relationship management, strategic or operational procurement, supplier development, production planning, expediting, or supply chain management.
• Experience working with industrial manufacturing suppliers and complex, engineered-to-order products.
• Experience managing suppliers of forgings, castings, large machined components, electrical equipment, generators, poles, coils, or comparable heavy industrial components is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to manage critical deliveries, coordinate supplier escalations, and drive recovery plans under time pressure.
• Experience with supplier qualification, performance management, audits, development plans, an