Director of Category Management & Supply Chain

Location:Meriden, CT (corporate) — regular travel to branches, distribution centers and vendor sites

Reports To:President, Plimpton & Hills

Direct Reports:Buyers /Replenishment Analysts;
Inventory & Demand Planning

Scope:All product categories for Plimpton & Hills, with cross-company influence across the Hills Distribution platform

FLSA Status:Exempt

Travel:Approximately
25–30% (within Region)

Plimpton & Hills has served plumbing and HVAC contractors across Connecticut, Western Massachusetts and New York since 1902. As part of the Hills Distribution platform, we are investing in the commercial and supply chain capabilities that will support the next phase of our growth.

Reporting directly to the President, the Director of Category Management & Supply Chain owns the end-to-end economics of the entire product portfolio — what we sell, who we buy it from, what we pay, how much we carry, and how it gets to the branch. This is a general-management role, not a transactional purchasing role. The Director is accountable for gross margin dollars, vendor program income, inventory productivity and product availability across all categories, and serves as the company's primary commercial interface with our manufacturer partners.

Because Plimpton & Hills sits within the Hills Distribution platform alongside Bender Plumbing Supply, Coastal Supply Group and RJ Murray, this role also carries influence beyond our own four walls. The Director is expected to identify and pursue cross-company leverage on shared vendors, contribute to platform-level category thinking, and help set the standard for how category management is practiced across the group — earned through credibility and results rather than through reporting lines.

The successful candidate will combine hard-nosed negotiation ability with genuine planning discipline, and will be equally comfortable in a vendor business review, in a branch aisle with a counter manager, and in a monthly planning review with the executive team.

• Manage and deploy the category strategy across the full product portfolio — HVAC equipment and ductless/VRF, heating and hydronics, water heaters, PVF, valves, plumbing specialties, fixtures and showroom (including Waterware and Kohler Signature Store assortments), water treatment, and tools/MRO.
• Prioritize deliberately. With full-portfolio ownership, this role must segment categories by strategic importance and margin contribution, invest personal time accordingly, and delegate the balance to the buying team with clear guardrails.
• Build and maintain the category line architecture: good/better/best positioning, brand mix, and the balance between premium OEM lines and value, second-tier or exclusive-brand alternatives.
• Make disciplined decisions on line additions, consolidations and exits based category strategy, vendor strategy, gross margin dollars, program income, turns, market share and contractor loyalty.
• Track and act on category-relevant market dynamics: refrigerant transition and regulatory change, energy codes and utility rebate programs, heat pump and electrification incentives, tariff exposure, and commodity movement in copper, steel and resin.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing on category promotions, contractor loyalty programs, co-op advertising, counter days and showroom merchandising.
• Own the replenishment function and the buying team. Set and govern the parameters that drive automated replenishment — min/max, safety stock, order cycles, review cycles, lead times and service level targets — by SKU, by branch and by season.
• Ensure product availability at our Branches and at our Distribution Center.
• Manage seasonal buy-in and pre-season stocking strategy for heating and cooling seasons, balancing program economics against carrying cost and cash.
• Own vendor lead time and on-time-in-full performance management, including escalation paths and contingency sourcing.
• Govern purchasing controls: PO approval thresholds, price file integrity, cost discrepancy and invoice variance resolution, and receiving accuracy in partnership with Operations and Finance.