Parts Product Manager

Company Description

Hobart Service and Parts, both part of Illinois Tool Works (ITW), have been supporting the food equipment industry for over 125 years. Together, we provide industry‑leading service solutions and parts distribution for commercial food equipment across the country.

With more than 1,800 associates nationwide, we serve as trusted partners to our customers—helping keep their operations running efficiently. Our employees are committed to delivering exceptional customer service, giving back to the communities where they live and work, and living out ITW’s core values of Integrity, Simplicity, Trust, Respect, and Shared Risk.

Reporting to the Senior Product Line Manager, the Product Manager is responsible for the product and marketing strategy for their primary parts product line while supporting other product lines. This includes management of pricing, kitting, product differentiation analysis, and part lifecycle management from new equipment launch to end of life. Responsibilities also include defining target markets and establishing market size and trends.

The Product Manager requires a high level of collaboration with internal and external stakeholders including Strategic Sourcing, Inventory Planning, Quality and Customer Care. The Product Manager provides technical leadership for all parts related issues and owns the relationship between the Hobart Parts team and the associated FEG Service & Product engineering teams.

• Develop, communicate, and implement product policies and pricing strategies to drive sales growth while achieving or exceeding parts profitability targets. Manage, communicate, and implement price adjustments based on market data and corporate goals as required.
• Define the parts product line portfolio strategy to include recommendations on parts sales categories (individual piece parts, sub‑assemblies, and parts kits) as well as management of the parts item master to ensure integrity of all parts data in the system. Create impactful messaging enabling sales and marketing efforts to demonstrate the increased value of using ITW/FEG parts to end customers.
• Facilitate development and implementation of high impact and differentiated product positioning through competitive analysis studies, feature/benefit analysis and documentation, and identification of growth opportunities. Monitor marketplace trends regarding customer needs (VOC) and competitive pressures for both competitive parts suppliers (generics) and competitive equipment.
• Proactively manage the product lifecycle from equipment concept development, through launch, up to the end of life of parts and service support. Collaborate with the Inventory Planning team by compiling parts stocking recommendations based on engineering data and comparable parts sales to ensure parts availability at launch and throughout the remaining lifecycle of the associated equipment.
• Provide leadership in efforts to develop and maintain strategic partnerships with all ITW Food Equipment groups including engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, product management, field support, training, logistics, and field service offices.

This position does not have any direct supervisory responsibilities.

• Education and
  
  Work Experience:
  
  Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 3 years relevant product management, technical marketing, or engineering experience is required.
• Desired Education/
  
  Experience:
  
  Experience in parts and service support is highly desired. Bachelor’s degree in engineering, marketing, or business is desired. Master of Business Administration is desired. Experience with ITW/FEG parts and service solutions and/or equipment products is desired.
• Certificates and Licenses: N/A
• Job‑Specific Knowledge:
  • Strong knowledge of the product line management function and best practices
  • Strong analytical skills
  • Excellent decision‑making skills
  • Strong engineering acumen
  • Project Management skills
  • Computer skills, particularly in relation to parts management through an ERP system / workflow
  • Management and leadership skills to motivate and develop employees
  • Financial skills,…