The posting
Job Title: Manager – Resin & Indirect Materials (Greases/Solder Paste/Felts, etc.)
Company: AISIN World Corp. of America
Department: Purchasing, Materials & Machinery
Location: Northville, MI, Seymour, IN, Cibolo, TX, Torrance, CA, Smyrna, TN, or Durham, NC
Position Responsibilities
The incumbent is expected to perform the following functions that the company has determined are essential to this position:
- Commodity Management – Resin & Indirect Materials Lead North America purchasing strategy and commercial management for resin raw materials and indirect chemical commodities, including greases, felts, solder paste, glues, etc. Serve as the commodity leader for resin and assigned chemical commodities, with a strong working understanding of polymer/material properties, applications, manufacturing processes, suppliers, feedstocks, and market drivers. Apply a basic understanding of organic chemistry and material properties to manage technically complex resin, grease, lubricant, and chemical commodities in cooperation with Engineering and Manufacturing. Develop and execute short- and long-term commodity strategies covering sourcing, localization, cost reduction, supply continuity, capacity, and supplier development. Analyze total North America spend, volumes, forecasts, material-market movements, raw-material indices, feedstock impacts, supplier cost structures, and total landed cost. Lead RFQ, sourcing, quotation analysis, negotiations, commercial terms, and supplier selection for assigned commodities. Lead annual cost-reduction activities through competitive sourcing, localization, specification review, VA/VE, commercial negotiation, and supply-chain optimization. Support Component Purchasing with resin and chemical raw-material cost inputs, benchmarking, and supplier/material cost analysis. Manage supply-chain risks including capacity constraints, allocation, supplier operational risk, logistics, tariffs, force majeure, and material discontinuation or transition. Lead commercial activities associated with material changes, production change requests, engineering changes, last-time buys, inventory builds, and supplier transitions. Maintain sourcing documentation including RFQs, LOIs, ECIs/PCRs, agreements, pricing records, and supplier commercial documentation.
- People & Organizational Management Manage, develop, and provide direction to buyers responsible for resin and assigned indirect/MRO chemical commodities. Establish priorities, assign responsibilities, review workload, and ensure timely execution of sourcing, cost-reduction, supply-risk, and program activities. Develop team members’ commodity, technical, analytical, negotiation, and supplier-management capabilities. Establish clear objectives and performance expectations and provide regular coaching, feedback, and performance evaluation. Coordinate activities across multiple AISIN North America plants and affiliated companies and ensure consistent purchasing direction and communication. Escalate significant commercial, supply, quality, or program risks to Purchasing management with clear countermeasures and timing.
- Program Development / Cross-Functional Leadership Lead purchasing support for new programs, including supplier identification, material sourcing, localization, prototype/trial materials, cost estimates, and launch readiness. Work closely with Design, Materials Engineering, Production Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance, Component Purchasing, and AISIN plants to evaluate material requirements and commercial impact. Support material qualification and validation activities by coordinating suppliers, technical data, samples, commercial conditions, timing, and supply requirements. Identify potential suppliers and assess technical capability, manufacturing footprint, capacity, cost competitiveness, supply-chain structure, and commercial risk. Manage key supplier relationships and act as the primary commercial escalation point for assigned strategic suppliers. Develop and maintain supplier and market intelligence including new materials, technology, capacity, competitor activity, VA/VE, cost improvement, and supply-risk developments. Prepare and present weekly/monthly status, commodity strategies, cost-reduction results, sourcing recommendations, supply-risk assessments, and management-level presentations. Operate with a cross-functional approach and assume additional responsibilities as required by the business environment.
- Other tasks and duties as assigned.
Required Skills and Abilities
Essential Skills and Experience:
- At least 7+ years of responsible purchasing, commodity management, supply-chain, or related manufacturing experience.
- Demonstrated experience in resin, polymers, chemicals, lubricants, greases, or related materials used in manufacturing.
- Automotive manufacturing experience with practical understanding of manufacturing processes, material applications, quality requirements, and associated cost drivers.
- Basic working knowledge of organic chemistry, polymer/material properties, and chemical terminology sufficient to manage technically complex resin and indirect chemical commodities.
- Prior experience managing and developing employees in a larger or multi-site organization.
- Demonstrated ability to develop commodity strategies and lead complex commercial negotiations with strategic suppliers.
- Strong analytical capability including spend analysis, market/index analysis, quotation and cost-driver analysis, forecasting, and cost-reduction tracking.
- Ability to manage multiple high-priority activities, supply issues, program requirements, and supplier negotiations simultaneously.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with technical teams, plant management, suppliers, and senior leadership.
- Strong organization, judgment, fact verification, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional and multicultural environment.
Beneficial Skills and Experience
- Experience managing resin categories such as PP, engineering plastics, compounds, elastomers, or other automotive polymers.
- Experience purchasing industrial greases, lubricants, process chemicals, or other indirect chemical commodities.
- Experience with material localization, supplier transitions, technical validation, and production change processes.
- Experience in a Japanese-based or other global/multicultural automotive organization.
Education/Training/Certifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, or a related field is preferred.
- A business degree may be acceptable with demonstrated technical knowledge and substantial relevant resin/chemical commodity experience.
Travel Requirements
- Approximately 10 - 20 % depending on supplier, plant, and program requirements.
- Must be willing and available to travel to such locations and with such frequency as is necessary and desirable to meet business needs.
Work Environment Requirements
With reasonable accommodation:
- Must be able to operate a personal computer, telephone, and other office equipment.
- Must perform job duties onsite, when necessary, except those duties that are customarily or by their nature performed offsite (for example, offsite customer visits).
- Must be able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
- Must be able to work on multiple assignments at once, and complete assignments within deadline and budget (if applicable) with satisfactory quality.
- Must be able to operate as an effective team member.
- Must be committed to a high standard of safety and be willing and able to comply with all safety laws and all company safety policies.
Attendance/Work Hour Requirements
- Must maintain an acceptable attendance record.
- Must be willing and available to work weekends and holidays as necessary and desirable to meet business needs.
