Vice President of Supply Chain - High Growth - High Mix Company

Vice President of Supply Chain - High Growth - High Mix Company Retained Search Why you should be interested in this role: This is a build role. You will own the entire supply base for a growing, high-mix manufacturer, every commodity and every site, from sourcing and supplier negotiation to MRP planning, inventory, and warehouse execution. The buyers here work hard and know the parts. What the business needs now is a leader who can turn a capable purchasing group into a strategic supply chain organization that lowers cost, secures supply, and frees up working capital. The company has grown into a level of complexity its current buying model was not built for. Part shortages are the single largest cause of missed customer deliveries. The team is good at chasing the part in front of them, but no one is stepping back, connecting the dots, and building a process so the same fire doesn't keep coming back. The systems are already here, ERP and MRP, along with real investment in AI tools to predict shortages before they reach the floor. The gap is not the tools. It is someone who will leverage them and get ahead of the wave. The approach is practical and relationship-driven. This is a mid-size, privately held business, not a Fortune 500 procurement shop, so you win through finesse rather than the weight of a large PO. The right leader earns the trust of an established buying team, builds real partnerships with the suppliers who keep the plants running, takes the ball, and makes the business better methodically, one step at a time. Status quo is not the goal. The goal is to build a supply chain that becomes a competitive advantage, and the scope grows as the company does. Company: Privately held manufacturer, approximately $150M in revenue Industry: Heavy Fabrication, High Mix / Low Volume, Engineered-to-Order Manufacturing Location: Lexington, Kentucky (Northside Suburbs) | On-site | Relocation paid as a one-time lump sum, negotiable Reporting To: President Direct Reports: Buyers and purchasing staff across all locations, plus supply chain roles added under this leader Scope: Sourcing, vendor management, cost and contract negotiation, MRP driven planning, inventory, and warehouse execution across all divisions Compensation: Competitive Base and Bonus, plus Relocation Travel: Approximately 20%, domestic with occasional international Company Profile: Our retained client is a well-established U.S. manufacturer running a high-mix, low-volume, engineered-to-order operation across multiple facilities. The work is fabrication-heavy, and every order carries variation, so execution depends on tight coordination between the floor, engineering, scheduling, and the supply base. The business is growing, and it has reached the stage where the next level of performance requires a stronger, more strategic supply chain function, a deeper bench, and a more disciplined approach to sourcing, inventory, and supplier management. Position Description and Responsibilities: The Vice President of Supply Chain owns the end-to-end supply base for all divisions and owns inventory from day one. This is a hands-on leadership role that combines strategy with execution. The right leader stabilizes an imperfect environment, builds the structure and processes that make performance repeatable, and develops the team that runs it. Build and Develop the Team: Assess the current buying team and build development plans that move strong transactional buyers into strategic sourcing and commodity management roles. Design the org structure, roles, and career paths to support growth. Set clear standards, KPIs, and a regular operating cadence. Vendor Management and Relationships: Build strong, long-term supplier partnerships based on trust, transparency, and performance. Implement a supplier scorecard covering quality, on-time delivery, lead time, cost, and responsiveness, with regular business reviews for top suppliers. Lead vendor consolidation to increase leverage and simplif…

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