The Sourcing Specialist is responsible for the operational execution of sourcing and procurement activities, with a focus on RFQ follow-up, purchase order placement, and supplier order follow-up to ensure reliable and on-time delivery from suppliers.
The role acts as the primary operational interface to assigned suppliers and is accountable for supplier performance, including delivery execution and availability of relevant order and production information.
Supplier selection, sourcing regions, and initial RFQs are defined by Strategic Sourcing. The Sourcing Specialist ensures RFQ execution, supplier responsiveness, and operational competitiveness, including regional supplier engagement where applicable.
For source-controlled items, the role places purchase orders against specific drawings with pre-identified suppliers and manages lead times and delivery dates to support on-time supply continuity.
The role ensures and that accurate and timely supplier information is available, enabling internal stakeholders to provide reliable status updates to customers.
Key Responsibilities:
- Follow-up of RFQs initiated by Strategic Sourcing and initiation of additional RFQs within the region where relevant
- Placement of purchase orders and management of order confirmations in line with required delivery dates
- Manage source-controlled tools and items by placing purchase orders with pre-identified suppliers against specific drawings and requirements
- Track and manage supplier lead times, delivery commitments, and order status for source-controlled purchases to ensure timely fulfillment
- When a pre-identified supplier can no longer be used, coordinate with Engineering and OEM stakeholders to identify and source an approved alternate vendor
- End-to-end follow-up of supplier orders to ensure on-time delivery, including tracking, expediting, and escalation
- Owns operational supplier performance, including delivery adherence, risk identification, and escalation to Fulfillment Specialist, Supplier Management, etc. when required
- Definition, coordination, and execution of recovery measures in case of delivery delays or supplier performance deviations
- Ensuring availability, accuracy, and communication of supplier order, production, and status information to enable reliable customer updates
- Close coordination with internal functions (Fulfillment Specialists, Quality, Logistics, etc.) and contribution to forecasting through effective date management
- Negotiation and maintenance of competitive pricing for individual products and catalogue price lists
- Management of commercial claims towards suppliers (e.g., late delivery penalties, cost of non-quality), including invoicing and ensuring cost recovery
- Coordination of supplier-related activities including non-conformances (MRB/DMR), supplier change requests (non-technical), timing adjustments, and support for new product introduction (NPI) into the supply chain
- Depending on the operational needs of the business, additional responsibilities may be included in this role, or an employee may be assigned responsibility for multiple roles