Technical Manager Wire Rod

I. Purpose of the Role

Wire rod is at the core of the vast majority of products we make for our broad and diverse customer base.
In this role you represent the technical wire rod team in India and give support to the regional wire rod category manager and the local production plant. Main goal is to roll-out and realize the Indian wire rod strategy linked to the global best practices and develop the supplier in a sustainable way, tuned towards the needs of the production plant.
The main pillars of the strategy are having the best cost position, establish a resilient supply chain, realize our sustainability ambitions and develop a high-performance supplier base.
To be successful in this role you will need to connect and interact with a wide variety of actors and/or stakeholders: wire rod suppliers, local and global purchasing, Bekaert plants, other services, expertise centers, in India and abroad.

II. Roles and Responsibilities

Development of (new) wire rod suppliers:
• Develop and manage relationships with supplier’s technical and marketing team at the necessary levels and leverage this to bring the right quality, consistency and service level to Bekaert. 
• Lead a systematic stage gate approach towards qualifying the suppliers from sample development stage to commercialization in an effective manner. Use suitable metrics, timelines, and coordinate effectively with the correct stakeholders (operations, purchasing, testing) and wire rod suppliers themselves to move forward towards commercialization.
• Maintain up to date storyboards of suppliers through performance data (eg: fractures/T), Ppk trends and market intel on suppliers that can be used to devise the negotiation strategies, conduct periodic vendor quality reviews and make decisions on annual volume procurement. Using tools such as SWOT, DMU, statistical and TCO formulations would be necessary in developing these storyboards. 
• Lead specification handling process with suppliers using a balanced approach between process performance at Bekaert and vendor capability and cost. Ensure alignment in testing methods to facilitate this process smoothly.
• Manage cross-functional discussions in Bekaert influencing development of the supplier (technology, quality, operations, procurement)
Continuous improvement of wire rod supplier:
'• Create vendor performance metrics, generate external and internal performance reports in a periodic manner and as necessary in close coordination with purchasing and the plant to review and provide feedback on wire rod supplier’s performance. 
• Through sufficient understanding of wire rod process, equipment and capabilities challenge the suppliers in their mindsets and way of working to solve issues (in a cost effective manner) related to wire rod quality thereby moving them towards the needed quality direction. 
• Perform detailed audits periodically at the supplier locations in coordination with local and global purchasing and follow up rigorously the actions derived from these audits. 
• Manage claims with suppliers and follow-up quality of 8D's and linked actions plans.
Support global technical WR team:
• Mapping the processes of the various suppliers, including future investments (to be able to discuss and prepare approval programs if necessary in a timely fashion)
• Look into the trends & direction the Indian steel industry is going with respect to sustainability (carbon emission and circular economy) + approach selected suppliers with specific requests towards certification 
• Maintaining and improving our P-FMEA
• Feeding our lessons learned from technical meetings with suppliers and/or 8D reports
• Actively participate in any kind of risk assessment requiring technical input
• Give support by means of fact and figures to the local wire rod category manager to define, deploy and execute the dynamic supplier footprint for India

III. Skills & Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree or above, major in metallurgy or Material science
• At least 10 years of relevant work experience, preferably in a steel mill or with metallurgical background.
• Excellent communication skills including ability to build strong stakeholder relationships externally (customers, suppliers) & internally (English)
• Excellent project management skills
• Preferred knowledge on Quality Management Systems (Min. ISO 9001, preferred IATF 16949)
• Willingness to travel if required (max 30%)
• Statistical knowledge, min 6 sigma green belt
• Have at least basic financial understanding to estimate total value impact. Ability to see the big picture.
• Experience in engaging with customers and or suppliers.