About the Company

Simpsons employs about 1000 engineering and management personnel at its modern manufacturing facilities located in Chennai and Kumbakonam. These plants with their state of the art equipment manufacture. Currently manufacture more than 1,75,000 diesel engines a year for nearly 200 applications catering to domestic as well as export markets.

About the Role

Position Overview The Sourcing & Development Manager will lead sourcing, supplier development, product development, and commercial execution activities to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality, cost-effective, and market-relevant products. The role will manage the complete sourcing and development lifecycle, from identifying suitable suppliers and evaluating capabilities to coordinating product development, negotiating commercial terms, and supporting successful production execution. The ideal candidate will bring strong experience in supplier management, sourcing strategy, product development, cost optimization, quality coordination, and cross-functional collaboration.

This position requires a commercially aware professional who can build reliable supplier partnerships while meeting organizational expectations for quality, cost, delivery, compliance, and innovation.

Responsibilities

- Key Responsibilities

- Sourcing Strategy and Supplier Management
- Develop and implement sourcing strategies aligned with business requirements, product specifications, budget objectives, and delivery timelines.
- Identify, evaluate, onboard, and develop qualified suppliers and manufacturing partners.
- Conduct supplier capability assessments covering capacity, technical expertise, quality systems, lead times, scalability, and commercial competitiveness.
- Maintain a solid and diversified supplier base to support business continuity, cost efficiency, and supply-chain resilience.
- Build and manage long-term relationships with suppliers, vendors, manufacturers, and other external partners.
- Monitor supplier performance using measurable indicators such as quality, cost, delivery, responsiveness, compliance, and service levels.
- Lead supplier improvement initiatives and collaborate with partners to resolve recurring performance issues.

- Product Development and Commercial Execution
- Manage product development activities from initial concept, specification, and sampling through approvals and production readiness.
- Work closely with design, merchandising, engineering, quality, production, planning,



and sales teams to ensure product requirements are clearly defined and executed.
- Review product specifications, technical requirements, samples, prototypes, and development timelines.
- Coordinate development milestones and ensure timely completion of approvals, revisions, testing, and final sign-offs.
- Support the evaluation of alternative materials, components, manufacturing processes, and suppliers to improve product performance and commercial viability.
- Ensure that products are developed in line with quality standards, customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and organizational guidelines.

- Costing and Negotiation
- Prepare and review product costing, supplier quotations, commercial proposals, and cost-breakdown analyses.
- Lead negotiations related to pricing, payment terms, minimum order quantities, tooling, lead times, logistics, and other commercial conditions.
- Identify cost-saving opportunities through supplier negotiations, value engineering, material optimization, process improvements, and alternate sourcing.
- Balance cost objectives with quality, delivery, technical requirements, and long-term supplier sustainability.
- Track development and sourcing budgets and provide timely updates on cost performance and commercial risks.

- Quality, Compliance, and Risk Management
- Partner with quality and technical teams to establish and maintain product and supplier quality standards.
- Coordinate testing, inspections, corrective actions, and approval processes as required.
- Ensure suppliers comply with applicable legal, ethical, environmental, safety, and organizational requirements.
- Identify sourcing and development risks related to capacity, raw materials, quality, delivery, compliance, and market volatility.
- Develop mitigation plans and maintain appropriate contingency options for critical products and suppliers.
- Support audits, supplier reviews, and continuous-improvement programs.

- Planning, Reporting, and Stakeholder Collaboration
- Create and maintain sourcing, development, sampling, and production timelines.
- Track project progress, identify delays or dependencies,



and implement corrective actions to protect delivery commitments.
- Prepare regular reports on supplier performance, development status, costing, savings, risks, and key project milestones.
- Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders across different functions and organizational levels.
- Lead or participate in supplier meetings, product reviews, development reviews, and cross-functional decision-making forums.
- Maintain accurate sourcing records, supplier documentation, product data, costing information, and approval history.

Qualifications

- Experience Required

12 - 15 years of relevant professional experience in sourcing, procurement, supplier management, product development, manufacturing, or a related function.

Required Skills

- Required Qualifications and Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Procurement, Business Administration, Engineering, Product Development, Manufacturing, or a related discipline.
- 12 - 15 years of relevant experience in sourcing, supplier management, procurement, product development, or manufacturing operations.
- Strong understanding of sourcing processes, supplier evaluation, product development, cost analysis, negotiation, and supply-chain management.
- Proven ability to manage multiple products, suppliers, projects, and deadlines simultaneously.
- Strong commercial judgment with the ability to evaluate quotations, identify cost drivers, and negotiate effectively.
- Knowledge of quality-management principles, supplier audits, product testing, and corrective-action processes.
- Excellent communication, presentation, influencing, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office or comparable productivity tools; experience with ERP, procurement, product-lifecycle-management, or sourcing platforms is advantageous.
- Willingness to travel for supplier visits, audits, product development reviews, and business requirements when necessary.

Preferred Skills

- Preferred Competencies
- Strategic thinking combined with strong hands-on execution capability.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, and cross-functional environment.
- Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
- Ability to build trust-based relationships while maintaining commercial discipline.
- Proactive approach to identifying risks

📌 Strategic Sourcing Manager (Chennai)
🏢 Simpson u0026 Co.
📍 Chennai