Assistant Purchasing Manager (Automotive)

Our client, a global leader in automotive parts manufacturing, is seeking an Assistant Purchasing Manager, Advance Sourcing. The ideal candidate will lead strategic sourcing, support global commodities, and manage global and regional commodity purchasing to optimize supplier performance. This role is crucial for developing sourcing strategies, reducing supply costs, and exploring new technologies and best practices to ensure the successful development and launch of new products.

Salary: ฿80,000 – ฿100,000 per month
Reports to: Regional Purchasing Manager

Responsibilities:

• Manage the overall advance sourcing strategy and advise on material and parts purchasing activities.
• Negotiate key supplier contracts and resolve commercial and systematic delivery issues from suppliers, including both overseas and local acquisitions for new and existing models.
• Collaborate with commodity and program buyer teams to develop a proactive global supply base that supports current and future sourcing and business growth.
• Ensure commodity plan deliverables meet designed strategies, execute supplier resourcing in alignment with global supply management commodity strategies, and manage kick-off meetings with awarded suppliers.
• Act as the primary supplier contact and manage supplier data, including contacts, prices, terms, and changes for development and mass production.
• Verify supplier capacity to meet program volume requirements.
• Finalize agreement terms and conditions, including freight, payment terms, and currency.
• Maintain competitive pricing with an emphasis on cost reductions, quality, and supplier delivery performance.
• Manage and develop cost reduction projects and Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VA/VE) activities to meet business unit targets.
• Create eRFQ packages, analyze and score them to select the best suppliers, release tooling purchase orders, and manage required supplier tooling documents.
• Negotiate complex and/or critical supplier agreements in line with existing strategies.
• Manage value-add and non-value-add permanent supplier changes, and track and improve supplier performance in terms of cost, quality, and delivery.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs through negotiation, process improvements, and strategic sourcing.
• Drive cost reduction initiatives, manage indirect material costs, and develop and implement ideas for reducing them.
• Evaluate part designs with engineering, quality, and suppliers to achieve optimal efficiencies.
• Manage and administer multiple databases, including SAP Purchasing and global supply systems essential to the purchasing function.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 8 years of experience in advance sourcing, purchasing engineering, commodity buying, program buying, or a related field within a multinational manufacturing or automotive industry.
• Experience in overseas procurement, sourcing, and developing international suppliers for direct parts (e.g., metal, machining, stamping, casting, forging).
• Proven ability to develop and implement long-term sourcing strategies.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong supplier management skills and the ability to analyze data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• Proficiency in English and the ability to travel overseas as required for business.