Job Description:

Category Manager

3M Health Care is now Solventum

At Solventum, we enable better, smarter, safer healthcare to improve lives. As a new company with a long legacy of creating breakthrough solutions for our customers’ toughest challenges, we pioneer game-changing innovations at the intersection of health, material and data science that change patients' lives for the better while enabling healthcare professionals to perform at their best. Because people, and their wellbeing, are at the heart of every scientific advancement we pursue.

We partner closely with the brightest minds in healthcare to ensure that every solution we create melds the latest technology with compassion and empathy. Because at Solventum, we never stop solving for you.

The Impact You’ll Make in this Role

As a Category Manager, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative and diverse people around the world. Here, you will make an impact by:

• Responsible for the commercial, strategic and tactical operational management of contract manufacturing suppliers to ensure product availability by developing and maintaining a competitive supply base for Solventum.
• Manages and partners with suppliers to develop business relationships that deliver effective operational control to agreed performance levels (service/performance, cost, quality and working capital) via contractual agreements, periodic business reviews and scorecards.
• Identifies, leads & implements solutions to complex and multi-faceted situations including contract negotiations, category strategies, supplier management, internal/external sources of supply and dual-sourcing decisions.
• Engages with key affiliates within Solventum [Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Business team, Regulatory, etc.] to ensure timely issue resolution and completion of strategic business projects.
• Develops continuous supply chain improvement practices to support the focus on delivering improved value and performance levels (e.g. lead time reductions, increasing supply chain agility, capacity availability, cost reductions, risk assessments/risk mitigations, etc).
• Engages and leads (as needed): RFP/RFQ process, contract negotiations, benchmarking activities, make vs buy reviews/decisions, should cost analysis, total cost analysis, supply chain mapping and New Product Introduction initiatives.

Your Skills and Expertise 

To set you up for success in this role from day one, Solventum requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited institution

In addition to the above requirements, the following are also required:

• Five (5) years of experience in a third-party supply chain and/or category management environment's with demonstrated experience in managing and developing supplier relationships including contract negotiation.
• Business-level fluency in English and Japanese, both written and spoken, with the ability to communicate effectively across diverse stakeholders and functions.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Medical device experience and dealing with contract manufacturers
• Leadership, decision-making, problem-solving and negotiation skills to include, demonstrated success in resolving complex supply chain related issues with multiple stakeholders and win-win outcomes, when possible.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and team leader/member skills at all levels of the organization.
• Working knowledge of Quality Systems (ISO) within a regulated environment and an ERP system (SAP-preferred).
• Working knowledge of Japanese regulations (PMD Act, Subcontract Act, Worker Dispatch Act).
• High understanding of Supply Chain Finance (strong financial acumen), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), product validation requirements and Regulatory expectations.
• Experience successfully collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on complex projects.

Work location: Japan (Tokyo/ Sagamihara/ Osaka preferred, also welcome candidates based in other prefectures)

·       Hybrid (Onsite and Remote): Eligible

Travel: May include up to 10~25% domestic/international

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Supporting Your Well-being 

Solventum offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, Solventum regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope. 

Solventum is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in our recruitment process.  Applicants must remain alert to fraudulent job postings and recruitment schemes that falsely claim to represent Solventum and seek to exploit job seekers.

Please note that all email communications from Solventum regarding job opportunities with the company will be from an email with a domain of @solventum.com. Be wary of unsolicited emails or messages regarding Solventum job opportunities from emails with other email domains.

Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.

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