Job title: Strategic Sourcing Specialist
Department: Sourcing, Avon, OH
At Henkel since: 2002

What are day-to-day responsibilities?
My activities involve finding the best suppliers for our products and helping to resolve any issues in terms of price and quality. Most of my tasks involve being the interface between internal teams and the supplier, and keeping open projects on track. I also work with suppliers in identifying problems and opportunities for improvement. 

Did you have personal responsibility from day one?
From day one I was given full responsibility; however, I still had support from my colleagues. I have responsibility for pricing, supplier management, and involvement in teams of other units in the company to make sure that we reach our goals. Our activities are communicated with all internal teams as well.

What further professional training programs have you taken part in while with Henkel?
Henkel brought in a negotiations class. We received a lot of hands-on experience where we were able to learn techniques for improving our negotiation skills. We were able to practice them by working with our colleagues and we took turns role-playing as supplier and purchasing agent. Since our team is always on the purchasing side, it was helpful practicing the supplier role to understand the different viewpoints.

What distinguishes Henkel from others?
I think that Henkel really has invested a lot in its people. That’s what helps make companies most competitive today. Henkel is flexible enough to offer opportunities for employees to transfer or rotate to different locations, divisions, and even countries. That can be an invaluable experience for both Henkel and the employee. I feel Henkel has allowed me to grow with the company, as I recently transferred from a different division in Madison Heights, MI.

What about the term, "learning on the job"?
That was probably the most important part of my learning where I’ve learned the most. There are things you can’t learn in school that you learn just by doing the job.

What makes your working environment special?
My workplace  environment is unique first because of the team I work with. Everyone is very open in communication, and motivated to work together. Henkel is a very large company but the people really help to run it, and that helps the larger organization as a whole. There is feedback and communication between all the different divisions to help understand what other purchasing groups are doing to take advantage of all the synergies we have. Also, the headquarters in Germany communicates terms and procedures within the entire purchasing group to make sure we’re standardized, and that we can have a common goal that is aligned with company goals.