At Lely, we develop high-tech, innovative solutions that make the lives of dairy farmers more enjoyable, sustainable, and efficient. As a Category Manager, you play a pivotal role in our mission by enabling supplier innovation, selecting and connecting the right suppliers to our innovations. Suppliers who deliver on time, within budget, and with the highest quality standards to ensure our business continuity.

You will act as the crucial link between suppliers and internal stakeholders such as R&D, Engineering, and Operations, ensuring that sourcing efforts support product performance, lifecycle cost, and sustainability. Within your category team, you are end-to-end responsible for sourcing and contracting complex high-tech components and systems, aligned with the category strategy. You’ll work closely with Engineering) and Intergrated Supply Chain colleagues to integrate procurement early in the product development cycle and drive joint innovation with suppliers.

A key aspect of this role is to broaden and deepen the team’s knowledge of different materials and manufacturing techniques. You will focus especially on plastics—such as injection molding, machining, and vacuum forming—as well as silicones and rubbers, including injection molding and extrusion. By enhancing the team’s technical expertise, you help ensure that sourcing decisions contribute to product performance, innovation, and sustainability.

Your main responsibilities:

• Contribute to and execute the category sourcing strategy and policy;
• Monitor market and technology trends to proactively adjust sourcing strategy and supplier selection;
• Execute sourcing and contracting projects in line with category and business needs, including supply risk mitigation and sustainability;
• Lead negotiations and establish supplier contracts;
• Foster long-term relationships with suppliers, monitoring and improving their performance;
• Manage supplier risks, compliance, and contracts to maximize value.

With your calm and structured approach, you bring balance to the team while thriving on collaboration with suppliers and enjoying being frequently on the move.