Independent Aftermarket Supply Chain Lead

The IAM Supply Chain Manager will lead the supply chain strategy, planning, and execution supporting the company’s Independent Aftermarket (IAM) business. As IAM continues to be a significant growth priority, this role will establish the supply chain capabilities, processes, and operating rhythms required to deliver superior product availability, service levels, inventory productivity, and scalable growth.

This role will lead a dedicated IAM supply chain team and serve as the primary liaison between the IAM organization and the parent organization’s supply chain functions. The manager will partner cross-functionally with Planning, Purchasing, Logistics, Warehousing, Sales, Product, Finance, and Operations to align supply chain priorities with IAM customer and commercial requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

IAM Supply Chain Strategy

• Develop and execute the end-to-end supply chain strategy for the IAM business.
• Establish IAM-specific supply chain processes, governance, KPIs, and operating cadence.
• Translate IAM growth objectives and customer requirements into supply chain priorities and actions.
• Identify supply chain capabilities and investments required to support future IAM growth.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on availability, service, cost, and inventory productivity.

Demand & Supply Planning

• Lead IAM demand forecasting and supply planning processes.
• Partner with Sales and Product teams to incorporate customer intelligence, market trends, promotions, launches, and growth plans into forecasts.
• Challenge and improve forecast assumptions to increase forecast accuracy and supply reliability.
• Establish appropriate supply planning parameters based on demand, lead times, service requirements, and business priorities.
• Participate in and represent IAM within broader S&OP processes.

Inventory Management

• Develop inventory strategies by SKU, customer, and channel.
• Establish inventory targets, safety stock, and inventory positioning strategies.
• Balance inventory investment with product availability, customer service, and sales growth.
• Identify and proactively address excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Develop strategies to improve inventory turns and working-capital efficiency.
  
  

Customer Service & Product Availability

• Own IAM supply chain performance related to fill rate, availability, backorders, and service levels.
• Identify supply constraints that could impact IAM sales and customer satisfaction.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for significant service issues.
• Establish escalation processes for critical supply constraints and customer-impacting issues.
• Partner with commercial teams to understand and prioritize customer requirements.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Serve as the primary IAM supply chain partner to the parent organization’s supply chain organization.
• Partner with Planning, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Logistics, Warehousing, and Supplier Management to resolve supply constraints and improve performance.
• Represent IAM requirements in enterprise supply chain planning and decision-making forums.
• Establish clear priorities for parent-company supply chain resources supporting IAM.
• Build strong relationships across Sales, Product Management, Finance, Operations, and other functional teams.
• Ensure effective communication of supply risks, opportunities, and priorities to IAM leadership.

Supply Allocation & Business Prioritization

• Establish allocation strategies when supply is constrained.
• Prioritize inventory across customers, channels, products, and markets based on business objectives.
• Make recommendations regarding incremental inventory investments required to support growth.
• Balance service-level commitments, revenue opportunities, inventory investment, and supply constraints.
• Lead cross-functional decisions regarding critical supply and availability issues.

New Product & Customer Launches

• Define supply chain requirements for new products, categories, customers, and distribution programs.
• Develop inventory and supply plans to support product launches.
• Ensure supply-chain readiness prior to commercial launch.
• Partner with Product, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to identify and mitigate launch risks.
• Establish post-launch performance reviews and adjust supply plans based on actual demand.

Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, and coach the IAM supply chain team.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, objectives, and performance expectations.
• Build a high-performing team capable of operating across both the IAM organization and parent-company functions.
• Develop talent and create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Establish standardized processes and operating rhythms across the IAM supply chain organization.

Performance Management & Analytics

• Develop and maintain IAM supply chain dashboards and performance reporting.
• Monitor key metrics and identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Use data and analytics to drive supply chain decisions and prioritize improvement opportunities.
• Provide regular performance updates and recommendations to IAM leadership.
• Establish corrective-action plans when performance falls below agreed targets.
• Key Accountabilities / KPIs

The IAM Supply Chain Manager will be accountable for improving the supply chain's ability to support IAM growth, with primary measures including:

• IAM Fill Rate / Product Availability
• Backorder Rate and Backorder Value
• Lost Sales Due to Supply Constraints
• Forecast Accuracy
• Inventory Turns / Inventory Days
• Excess & Obsolete Inventory
• On-Time Delivery
• Inventory Investment / Working Capital
• Supply Chain Cost and Expedite Expense
• New Product Launch Supply Readiness
• IAM Sales Growth Supported by Supply Availability

Key Decision Rights

The role will have responsibility for making or driving decisions related to:

• IAM inventory targets and stocking strategies
• Safety stock and inventory positioning
• Supply prioritization and allocation during constraints
• IAM demand planning assumptions and forecast inputs
• Service-level targets and supply-chain priorities
• Inventory investment recommendations
• Supply readiness for new products and customers
• Prioritization of supply-chain improvement initiatives
• Escalation of critical supply risks
• IAM requirements and priorities presented to the parent organization’s supply chain teams

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in supply chain, demand planning, inventory management, operations, or related disciplines.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and influencing without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of demand planning, supply planning, inventory management, S&OP, and distribution.
• Experience working in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Automotive, aftermarket, distribution, or other complex multi-SKU industry experience strongly preferred.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or related field.