Category Buyer - Cowling

Mercury Marine; Fond du Lac (WI); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercury Marine, located in Fond du Lac, WI, is seeking a Category Buyer to join the global direct material procurement group. The role focuses on highly engineered cowl systems, supplier management, and cost/quality improvements to support Mercury’s manufacturing and product development.

The position is hybrid (3+ days in office weekly) with 20% travel. Relocation is available and visa sponsorship is not offered.

Responsibilities

• Visit suppliers to evaluate capabilities and risks.

Skills

Supplier management

Project management

Cost analysis

Negotiation

Job description

Are you ready for what’s next?

Are you ready for what’s next?
Come explore opportunities within Brunswick, a global marine leader committed to challenging conventions and innovating next-generation technologies that transform experiences on the water and beyond. Brunswick believes “Next Never Rests™,” and we offer a variety of exciting careers and growth opportunities within united teams defining the future of marine recreation.
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
Workplace Category: Hybrid; 3+ days in office per week
Travel Required: 20%
Direct Reports: Yes
Pay Range: $73,600 – $106,200
Visa Sponsorship: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship now or in the future.
Relocation: Yes
Innovation is the heart of Brunswick. See how your contributions will help transform vision into reality
The Category Buyer is a key individual contributor in Mercury’s global direct material procurement organization, focused on highly engineered and complex cowl systems. Reporting to the Category Manager, the Category Buyer helps develop and execute sourcing and supplier management strategies to continuously improve cost competitiveness, quality, delivery, and innovation to support Mercury’s global manufacturing operations and product development efforts.

Essential Functions

Supplier Management

• Proactively support the Category Team in strategy development, execution, and communication while providing supplier and market intelligence to support decision making.
• Visit current and potential suppliers to evaluate capabilities, assess risk, develop category expertise, and maintain visibility to supplier operations, capacity, industries, and markets
• Conduct in-person business reviews with suppliers to drive accountability and continuous improvement in quality, delivery, cost, and capacity performance.
• Facilitate Requests for Quote, analyze quotations, and build supplier selection recommendations based on total landed cost, capabilities, risk, capacity, and business requirements.
• For new or changing component designs, obtain supplier quotations and feasibility assessments to ensure manufacturability, cost, timing, and capacity requirements are fully understood prior to sourcing decisions.
• Execute purchase orders, requisitions, and appropriation requests for the purchasing of tooling, components, and services as required
• Identify supplier risks and develop mitigation plans to support business continuity and uninterrupted supply.
• Drive supplier performance improvement activities utilizing Mercury's Supplier Progress Review process and related continuous improvement tools.
• Monitor supplier capacity and readiness to support current and future production requirements.

Project Management

• Utilize effective project management tools to ensure timely completion of sourcing, supplier development, and new product launch activities.
• Manage supplier-driven and Mercury-driven changes through established change management processes.
• Develop, align, monitor, and communicate project schedules with suppliers and internal stakeholders to manage risk and ensure successful execution.
• Coordinate supplier readiness activities supporting new product launches, engineering changes, and production transitions.
• Lead supplier action plans and recovery activities when performance gaps or project risks are identified.
• Ensure supplier deliverables and milestones are completed in alignment with program timing requirements.

Cost Management

• Conduct detailed analysis of supplier quotations and commercial proposals utilizing industry benchmarks, market data, and should-cost methodologies.
• Develop cost reduction opportunities through supplier collaboration, value analysis, process improvements, and sourcing initiatives.
• Manage tooling lifecycle activities with suppliers, including monitoring condition, capacity, maintenance requirements, and replacement planning.
• Support processes to quantify and recover costs associated with supplier performance issues.
• Negotiate commercial agreements, pricing adjustments, tooling investments, and other supplier-related activities to obtain the best possible outcome for