Why join us? 

Our purpose is to design for the good of humankind. It’s the ideal we strive toward each day in everything we do. Being a part of MillerKnoll means being a part of something larger than your work team, or even your brand. We are redefining modern for the 21st century. And our success allows MillerKnoll to support causes that align with our values, so we can build a more sustainable, equitable, and beautiful future for everyone.

Job summary

To lead the supply chain team, to focus on building a continuously improving regional supplier community that is part of an integrated and automated supply chain able to meet, and continue to meet, the requirements of our customers with competitive total cost of supply.

Drive initiatives to increase local sourced components and products. Working within an established team responsible for leading and managing the purchasing initiatives required within the new product development process and major product extension/enhancement programmes. Will also lead material cost improvement (value analysis) through the product development process.

Overall responsibility and accountability for MillerKnoll India Manufacturing, to exceed customer expectations for product quality, cost and delivery, maximising efficiency, optimising production levels and driving operational excellence. Work closely with internal and external key stakeholders, striving for best-in-class production and business practices to deliver to the customer’s expectations, managing teams and projects across Manufacturing. Provide clear leadership and vision, inspire, and motivate staff to achieve excellence and mentor them as they develop new skills. Drive Key Performance Indicators across all areas of the Manufacturing function to ensure that all projects are delivered on cost and on time to the highest quality standards. Ensure Health, Safety and Environmental issues are prioritised and facilitated, direct and drive implementation of HMPS across all manufacturing related areas of the business.

Specific responsibilities

Act as the operational country head for India building and maintaining relationships at the highest level of the organisation to ensure operational excellence.

Lead, develop, and maintain a high-performing team of manufacturing, logistics, Sourcing, and Supply Management professionals.

Align strategy to support company business plan / strategy and regional strategy.

Develop strategic relationships with supply base.

Manage the material cost, lead-time, capital investment, design effort, quality and testing initiatives within the supply base.

Negotiate and analyse material costs and capital investments relative to targets.

Identify and implement cost saving projects.

Develop and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external business partners.

Manage supplier audit process (SQP) and identify improvement plans (i.e., reliability, quality, delivery, documentation, and compliance standards).

Understand interpersonal relationships and impact of actions/decisions on suppliers and colleagues in all Herman Miller locations.

Drive an in-depth understanding of commodity market economics, e.g. cost drivers, global sourcing opportunities, and the competitive structure of targeted industries. Create a high level of team literacy in the development of commodity strategies and supplier education. Develop commodity sourcing processes and methods and measure performance against desired outcomes. Ensure the successful launch of new product development initiatives/implementation of major product extensions, enhancements or localisations through facilitating collaboration between teams to identify emerging supplier technology/processes and align new product development sourcing decisions with commodity strategies. Ensure all product is consistently manufactured to company quality standards and that all operating procedures are complete, accurate and conform to relevant ISO standards. Maintain an effective process for the manufacture of short lead customer orders. Plan and organise the material, people, process and facility across shifts to ensure that Herman Miller meets its commitments to customers. Ensure the compliance of the team with Company health, safety, and environmental standards. Maintain standards of housekeeping within the manufacturing facility which reflect the highest standards of professionalism. Learn and introduce the MKPS tools to ensure continuous improvement – leveraging where possible from experiences in other MK manufacturing units. To continually improve the level of service through identifying issues, establishing root causes and putting in place process improvements Build a high calibre team developing training plans for all staff. Coach and develop the skills, techniques, and experience of all team members. Maintain employee motivation by communicating company performance and other issues through team meetings. Understand the commercial aspects relating to the business and act as a member of the management team in implementing strategic plans and objectives for the function that will enable the business plan to be achieved. To achieve target levels demonstrated by data on the following key performance   measures:

Customer Reliability

Manufacturing Completions

Quality – Internal/External PPM

Stock Control Cycle counting

Costs, Labour & Productivity

Accident Rates

Margin improvement

Expense budget control

Company requirements

Health & Safety; ensure that safe working practices are followed. Attend safety briefings, as requested. Take responsibility for your own, employees, contractors and visitor safety in accordance with The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999

Compliance; ensure compliance with business systems, processes, certification schemes, regulations and legislation relevant to the scope of your role. Support internal quality controls and audits to demonstrate compliance.

Job holder requirements

At least

A relevant degree or equivalent experience

At least 5 years’ experience within supply chain/Operations at a leadership level.

A track record of working in a highly variable product and volume manufacturing environment.

Experience within a Multinational organization and/or global team

Preferred:

Strong negotiation skillsHighly developed problem-solving skillsHighly developed interpersonal communication skillsDemonstrated ability to influence and lead others without formal authorityExcellent verbal and written communication skillsHold others accountable to goals and targets.Excellent organisational skillsGood knowledge of systems & process literacy.Self-motivated ‘Team Player’ with disciplined & organised approach.Good Audit skillsAble to make decisions in isolation considering the business impact

Company values

Leadership – leading by example

Purpose – energy and drive

Beliefs – integrity and trust

Design – problem solving

Connections – relationships

Growth – continuous improvement

Performance – achieve standards

Who We Hire?

Simply put, we hire everyone. MillerKnoll is comprised of people of all abilities, gender identities and expressions, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, veterans from every branch of military service, and more. Here, you can bring your whole self to work. We’re committed to equal opportunity employment, including veterans and people with disabilities.

MillerKnoll complies with applicable disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact MillerKnoll Talent Acquisition at  careers_help@millerknoll.com.