Director of Supply Chain

Company Overview

GWBD Operations is a privately held manufacturing holding company headquartered in Grandview, Missouri, operating three complementary plumbing product brands: PRIER Products, Inc. (frost-proof wall and ground hydrants, sill faucets, hose bibs, boiler drains, and lead-free plumbing brass, founded 1881), Stern-Williams Products (terrazzo mop sinks, drinking fountains, and shower towers, founded 1962), and FIAT Products (mop service basins, shower floors, laundry tubs, and commercial faucets, founded 1919).

GWBD manufactures its products in the USA and serves engineers, mechanical and plumbing contractors, and institutional and commercial end-users through a network of manufacturers' representatives and wholesale distributors.

GWBD's companies are growing through new product development, organic growth, and acquisitions.

The Supply Chain Director is the leader accountable for Procurement, Sourcing, Buying, and Logistics/Traffic across all three GWBD operating companies (PRIER, Stern-Williams, and FIAT). This role owns an annual budget in excess of $24M spanning direct materials, indirect materials, MRO, consumables, and purchased services sourced from both domestic and international suppliers, and directs the inbound/outbound freight, 3PL, customs, and brokerage activity that keeps material and finished goods flowing across all three sites.

The Director sets the strategic direction for sourcing, supplier relationships, and logistics. The Director's primary mandate is to guarantee zero business disruption due to material flow while continuously improving total cost of ownership, service levels, and supplier quality — balancing Quality, Service, and Price (QSP) as the guiding framework for every sourcing and logistics decision.

The Director builds and leads a small team of buyers and a Traffic/Logistics Controller (with production planners joining the organization over time), instilling supplier scorecards, quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and structured negotiation discipline. The Director partners cross-functionally with Plant Managers, R&D, Finance, and Sales to align material strategy with SIOP/, new product development timelines, and enterprise cash-flow and inventory targets.

• Own the enterprise supply chain strategy for procurement, sourcing, and logistics across PRIER, Stern-Williams, and FIAT, aligning it to overall GWBD business objectives, growth plans, and acquisition integration.
• Serve as a key voice in SIOP processes, balancing forecast accuracy, capacity, and inventory investment.
• Partner with Plant Managers, R&D, Engineering, Quality, and Sales leadership to ensure sourcing decisions support production schedules, new product launches, and customer commitments.
• Lead business risk planning for the supply base — dual/backup sourcing, geopolitical and tariff exposure, single-source risk, and supply continuity planning.

• Direct all procurement, sourcing, and buying activity for direct materials, indirect materials, MRO, consumables, and purchased services across the three locations, managing a purchasing budget of $20M+.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with domestic and international suppliers to secure the best combination of price, quality, lead time, and service; lead or oversee high-value and high-risk negotiations personally.
• Implement and enforce supplier scorecards and a regular cadence of Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with key suppliers to hold the supply base accountable for performance.
• Maintain a Supplier Quality Program in coordination with the Quality Department to guide supplier selection and qualification, quality agreements, performance monitoring, and CAPA framework.
• Develop secondary/backup suppliers and diversified sourcing strategies (including exploration of alternate international sourcing regions) to mitigate supply risk and strengthen negotiating leverage.
• Apply PFEP (Plan For Every Part) and PFES (Plan For Every Supplier) principles to ensure each part and supplier has a defined replenishment,…