Category Manager (1 of 3) at Abbott Laboratories

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 114,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Free medical coverage for employees* via the Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO
• An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This position (1 of 3 open roles) works onsite at our Temecula, CA, St. Paul MN, or Westford MA location in the Abbott Vascular Division. Abbott Vascular provides innovative, minimally invasive, and cost-effective products for treatment of vascular disease.

As a Category Manager, you will be responsible for directing and setting the strategies for goods, material and/or services, identifying opportunities for cost negotiation, contract development, capacity planning, project management, process development, cost and quality improvement plans and management of business reviews.

What You’ll Do

• Implements sourcing strategies to support a competitive advantage in the areas of materials, supplies, and services, leveraging analytics, market, supplier and competitive intelligence.
• Manages a consolidated supplier base to meet current and future business needs, maintaining and promoting sound relationships with an extensive network of suppliers as well as the wider business community.
• Leads the negotiation and management of contracts/agreements for assigned commodities with medium to high risk and medium to high complexity.
• Identifies and delivers gross margin improvement opportunities, collaborating cross-functionally to drive both commercial and design/process optimization.
• Manages supplier performance against contracts, achievement of KPIs.
• Develops risk management strategies and recommends short and long term initiatives with defined risks/benefits.
• Develops robust contingency plans.
• Understands, tracks and forecasts the key cost drivers and market factors for assigned commodity.
• Maintains budget and performs analysis of costs and delivery of agreed budget.
• Monitors supplier capability and performance to ensure delivery of quality and price commitments.
• Communicates forecasts and works to ensure supplier has sufficient capacity to support requirements.
• Ensures early supplier participation in new product developments activities.
• Leads projects to assure all procurement activities are performed as required. Leads weekly cross-functional Supplier Management Team meetings.
• Conducts quarterly business reviews with the supplier.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree Business, Supply Chain or equivalent or an equivalent combination of education and work experience Experience/Background Experience
• Minimum 10 years Progressively responsible experience in purchasing/commodity management
• Minimum 3 years Working in a highly regulated environment
• Minimum 8 years Working with purchasing/commodity management software
• Substantial Ability to work within a team and as an individual contributor in a fast-paced, changing environment.

Preferred qualifications

• 4 yr. Degree strongly preferred
• Medical Device, Automotive, Pharma or Aerospace industry experience strongly preferred
• Experience with supplier negotiations, contract management and development, having developed category strategies in previous roles
• Supplier relationship management
• Financial Acumen a plus
• Able to travel 10%-25% domestic, some international

Apply Now

* Participants who complete a short wellness assessment qualify for FREE coverage in our HIP PPO medical plan. Free coverage applies in the next calendar year.

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

The base pay for this position is $95,000.00 – $190,000.00. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.