Do you want to work for a global company where promoting gender equality is central to our vision of creating a truly diverse and inclusive business ? Where everyone matters, and everyone belongs.

This role forms part of our Supply Chain team reporting into the Operations Leader and is based in Wadeville, Johannesburg..

Primary Function

The role of Supply Chain Manager Africa comprises of 5 different elements: Distribution Operations, Strategic Procurement, Materials Planning, Manufacturing Support and Leadership responsibilities in Africa. The principle task for Distribution Operations is to ensure that all Distribution Centers in Africa maintain a best practice process concerning “inbound and outbound logistics”, “picking and packing”,  “value added services” and “Transportation/Freight Management” as well as “Order management”. This also involves fulfillment of orders and defining of communication processes. It includes taking care for a cost controlling that guarantees market driven expenditure for those processes and for implementation of lean processes.

• The Strategic Procurement part of the role is to support development of Category Strategies. Key goals of the position are to develop and integrate African suppliers to achieve an appropriate balance between supplier quality/delivery expectations versus cost reduction mandates. Scope of the position encompasses major suppliers, broad mix of categories.

• The Materials Management part of the role consists of coordinating the materials management and local Operations Procurement of finished goods in the Wadeville and other distribution centers and local warehouses in the Region we may have in the future as part of the regional and EMEA Strategy. Also raw and semi-finished goods in the plant including Product Data Master are in the responsibility of this role. The position will be responsible for the Electrical Sector in the Africa Region for planning demand and quantity of components, defining stock assortments of finished goods (including development and implementation of stock policies, phase-in/phase-out management and sell-off Management ), setting and controlling of inventory targets. This will also involve SIOP (Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning). Sales & Product Management support through SIOP is critical and maintaining the key KPi’s like DOH and OTP / OTR must be met.

• Manufacturing support is primarily relevant to the Wadeville ESS & Meissner businesses but will include any Manufacturing locations in the Africa region under the Electrical Sector. Supporting project type manufacturing is critical with parts procured on time to meet deadlines with our customers. Close relationships and communications are essential with the manufacturing & engineering teams to ensure projects are completed with the full support of SCM. 

Essential Functions:

• To develop, agree and roll out an optimized distribution logistic structure depending on the regional conditions (e.g. labor costs, distribution market, degree of automation).
• To ensure a high-quality distribution and customer focus.
• To ensure a customer-orientated “Value Added Services” to maximize the organization turnover.
• To install an effective cost control system in the distribution centers and plants.
• To continuously improve the Order Management process.
• To care for fulfillment of orders according to committed dates and customer requirements.
• To fully engage with Manufacturing & Engineering teams to ensure project deadline dates are achieved by carefully controlling that procured components arrive on time in accordance with the build planning schedule.
• To put in place an efficient process to cope with emergency situations during the ordering process.
• To manage the core “Management of Distribution Operations team” in order to ensure a global functional distribution and order management structure.
• To implement Lean processes in distribution centers and production logistics.
• Supply Chain Specific EHS Responsibility – Establish ZISC/ Site Specific Health & Safety Regulatory/ Non-Regulatory requirements as part of our culture.
• To monitor the performance of core service providers to ensure compliance and alignment with customer requirements and contractual obligations.
• To control Inventory Targets for Electrical Sector within Africa
• To ensure the information system is properly used and set up according to the needs of the team (ERP) and ensure the Parts Master Database is up to date.
• Negotiation skills (suppliers, forwarders etc.) 
• Support localization processes (E2E) which is a key strategic development stream for the local organization
• Thinking outside the box to establish innovative solutions in SCM operations
• SAP and Change Management knowledge and experience

Qualifications

What we are looking for:

• Undergraduate Supply Chain degree required, MBA or Masters degree in Engineering / science highly desirable.
• 7+ years experience or more with leading supply chain management function
• Expertise with integrated logistics network design.
• Ability to lead a Regional cross-functional team in the development and implementation of initiatives.
• Regional Africa business experience highly desirable.
• Expertise with lean process engineering and process modeling, specifically in relation to supporting manufacturing with SCM material flow through the factories.
• Knowledge in English language mandatory, French language an added advantage.

What we offer:

• At Eaton, we aspire to be a model of inclusion and diversity in our industry—a place where everyone matters and everyone belongs. These aren’t just words, they are part of our culture and code of ethics
• Learning & Development  - We invest in our employees for the long term – not just with salary and benefits, but with ongoing learning and development opportunities made available through Eaton University.

Candidate applying to the vacancy may be subject of the background screening.

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We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for job applicants and employees. Our recruitment processes use balanced selection criteria and avoid unlawful discrimination against applicants on the basis of their age, colour, disability, marital status, national origin, gender, gender identity, genetic information, race or racial origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other status protected or required by law.

We make what matters work. Everywhere you look—from the technology and machinery that surrounds us, to the critical services and infrastructure that we depend on every day—you’ll find one thing in common. It all relies on power. That’s why Eaton is dedicated to improving people’s lives and the environment with power management technologies that are more reliable, efficient, safe and sustainable. Because this is what matters.

We are confident we can deliver on this promise because of the attributes that our employees embody. We’re ethical, passionate, accountable, efficient, transparent and we’re committed to learning. These values enable us to tackle some of the toughest challenges on the planet, never losing sight of what matters.

Job: Supply Chain / Logistics

Region: Europe, Middle East, Africa
Organization: Africa

Job Level: Manager
Schedule: Full-time
Is remote work (i.e. working from home or another Eaton facility) allowed for this position?: Yes
Does this position offer relocation?: No
Travel: Yes, 10 % of the Time