Company Name

Confidential

Search Job Title

Director of Purchasing

Client Profile

This confidential client is a private equity-backed automotive aftermarket platform comprised of multiple specialized manufacturing and distribution businesses serving performance automotive markets across North America. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, the organization had assembled a portfolio of distinct brands, each with its own operational processes, supplier relationships, and purchasing practices.

As the company continued to expand through acquisition, leadership recognized a significant opportunity to create greater alignment across the portfolio. While each business maintained a strong brand identity and loyal customer base, procurement processes remained largely decentralized. The organization sought to build a more strategic purchasing function capable of identifying supplier synergies, leveraging enterprise-wide buying power, and supporting future acquisitions.

Role Objectives & Challenges

The Director of Purchasing role was a newly created position designed to elevate procurement capabilities across the organization and establish a more strategic approach to purchasing. Leadership needed someone who could step back and evaluate the entire purchasing function from an enterprise perspective, identifying opportunities to improve processes, standardize practices, and drive cost savings across multiple operating companies.

A key challenge was the lack of centralized purchasing strategy. Individual business units often purchased similar components and materials independently, creating missed opportunities for volume leverage, supplier consolidation, and procurement efficiencies. The organization needed a leader capable of taking a bird’s-eye view of purchasing operations, understanding what was being purchased, who it was being purchased from, and where opportunities existed to improve performance.

The role also required a strong builder mentality. Leadership was not looking for someone to maintain an existing procurement infrastructure. Instead, they needed a leader who had successfully created purchasing processes, implemented structure, and developed procurement organizations in environments where systems and standards were still evolving.

Travel added another layer of complexity. While the role offered remote flexibility, the successful candidate would be expected to spend significant time at operating locations and supplier sites across the eastern United States. The ideal candidate needed to be comfortable balancing strategic leadership with a highly visible, hands-on presence throughout the organization.

Additionally, the company’s private equity ownership and acquisition strategy created urgency around value creation. Leadership sought a procurement executive capable of identifying synergies across brands, supporting integration efforts, and helping position the business for its next phase of growth.

Our Approach to Solve the Search

The search strategy focused on procurement leaders from mid-sized manufacturing organizations where candidates had experience building processes rather than simply operating within mature corporate structures. Given the company’s acquisition-driven growth strategy, candidates with experience in multi-site, multi-brand, or private equity-backed environments were heavily prioritized.

The remote nature of the role, combined with extensive travel requirements, provided flexibility from a geographic perspective. Rather than concentrating on a single market, the search targeted manufacturing professionals throughout the eastern United States who were comfortable spending approximately half their time traveling between facilities and suppliers.

Particular attention was given to candidates who demonstrated true process-building experience. The client needed someone who could evaluate existing purchasing practices, identify inefficiencies, establish standards, and create a roadmap for future scalability. Candidates from highly structured organizations without hands-on transformation experience were generally less aligned with the role's requirements.

The search ultimately centered on manufacturing leaders who combined procurement expertise, supplier management capability, and the practical experience required to build purchasing functions within growing organizations.

The Hire & Results

The search was completed in approximately five months and was conducted in close partnership with the Vice President of Human Resources, who played an active role in coordinating feedback, scheduling, and stakeholder alignment throughout the process.

A rigorous screening process resulted in five highly qualified candidates advancing to formal interviews. Because of the specific requirements surrounding travel, process development, multi-site leadership, and procurement transformation, significant effort was dedicated to evaluating candidates' ability to operate successfully within a fast-growing, acquisition-oriented environment.

The selected candidate came from a manufacturing background and brought direct experience building purchasing organizations and procurement processes where little formal structure previously existed. He had successfully developed purchasing teams, implemented process improvements, and managed procurement operations across multiple locations of comparable size and complexity. His combination of manufacturing expertise, leadership capability, and process-building experience aligned closely with the client's long-term objectives.

The successful hire provided the organization with a dedicated procurement leader capable of creating structure, driving supplier efficiencies, and supporting continued growth across a portfolio of businesses. More importantly, the placement positioned the company to better leverage its collective purchasing power, improve operational consistency, and capture value across future acquisitions.

This engagement highlights SCM Talent Group’s ability to identify leaders who can build functions, not simply manage them. By focusing on candidates with proven experience creating processes, leading through ambiguity, and operating within growth-oriented manufacturing environments, the team delivered a solution aligned with both the organization’s immediate needs and long-term strategic goals.