Business Line Manager - Parts

Primary Function:

As Business Line Manager - Parts, you own commercial performance, catalog strategy, and growth of our aftermarket parts and third-party component offering. Rather than managing a standalone facility, this role focuses on turning market insight into revenue—identifying what complementary products our customers are already buying elsewhere, importing or sourcing them, and bundling them into a convenient, one-stop-shop experience.

This role carries line-level financial accountability for revenue, margins, and inventory health, leading through influence to align Sales, Operations, Procurement, and Finance around a highly efficient distribution model. 

The ideal candidate is a mature, data-driven, strategic thinking with a proven ability to scale and grow the parts and aftermarket business. The ideal person will be resourceful, a self-starter, innovative, someone experienced in customer-facing roles and forward-thinking.

Qualifications and Educational Requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related, and/or equivalent relevant experience; MBA an asset.
• Minimum 5+ years’ experience in sales, product, operations, aftermarket
• Experience in manufacturing or industrial industry preferred
• Proven strong written and verbal communication
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability
• Demonstrated financial accountability for a product line or business unit
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive business outcomes (Sales, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, Distribution)
• Strong background in pricing strategy, inventory management, and demand planning
• Demonstrated experience leading and coaching teams
• Computer aptitude and MS Office skills - Advanced Excel Skills preferred
• Experience with using ERP/ inventory system (Syspro preferred)
• Able to work independently with minimal oversight
• Ability to travel often, up to 25-50% to customer sites, primarily domestic
• Occasional international travel as required
• Valid driver’s license with a satisfactory driving record required
• Clear Background Checks - Credit and Criminal (required)
• Eligible to work in Canada

Preferred Functional Experience:

• Strategic planning and business plan development
• Sales and promotional program development
• Market analysis/ competitive intelligence
• Annual and mid-term budgeting
• Exposure to procurement/ supplier management
• New SKU or product launch introductions (NPI)
• Channel pricing differentiation (jobber/ wholesale/ retail)
• Demonstrated KPI fluency - turns, fill rate, obsolescence, gross margin
• Cataloging, e-commerce, or website data maintenance

Responsibilities, Skills, and Competencies:

1. Financial
   • Responsibility: revenue, gross margin, contribution, and inventory health.
   • Approve pricing changes, promotions, and stocking commitments within delegated authority limits.
2. Pricing Strategy
   • Set list pricing, customer- and channel-specific pricing tiers, MOQ rules, and discount policies. 
   • Refresh pricing on a defined cadence. Monitor competitor pricing and elasticity.
   • Approve price list changes and customer-specific exceptions within authority.
   • Own margin floors below which sales cannot quote without approval.
3. Stocking & Assortment
   • Decide which SKUs are carried, target stocking levels, and which SKU to source versus make.
   • Drive SKU rationalization (add, cut, consolidate).
   • Own service-level targets by SKU class (A/B/C).
   • Approve new SKU adds, discontinuations, and target stock levels.
   • Set reorder points and safety-stock policies with Procurement and Operations.
4. Demand Forecasting
   • Produce and maintain the demand forecast for the line.
   • Reconcile top-down (market) and bottom-up (account) views.
   • Update forecast on monthly basis.
   • Own the official forecast number used for purchasing and S&OP.
5. Customer Discovery & Voice of Customer
   • Visit target customers on a defined cadence to learn: what they buy, what they wished we carried, what they buy from competitors, what pricing/ service looks like in the field.
   • Synthesizes findings into stocking and pricing actions.
   • Own the customer visit plan and the Voice of Customer backlog feeding decisions.
6. Customer/ Account Strategy
   • Define segmentation of the spare parts customer base (e.g. key accounts, OEM vs. distributor vs. end-user), and value proposition by segment.
   • Approve segmentation, target account list, and channel terms.
7. Sourcing/ Vendor Mix (Parts We Resell)
   • Decide which suppliers to buy from based on cost, quality, lead time, exclusivity, and margin.
   • Negotiate commercial terms with key vendors alongside Procurement.
   • Approve supplier additions and changes for the line.
   • Set vendor performance thresholds.
8. Internal Make-Parts Coordination (Part We Make)
   • Collaborate with Operations on capacity, MOQ, and lead time to ensure spare parts line is a reliable customer of the plant.
   • Provide forecast horizon Operation needs.
   • Recommend which parts to continue making vs. shifting to buy on a TCO basis.
9. Marketing & Sales Enablement
   • Own the sales collateral, catalog content, price sheets, and any promotional programs for the line.
   • Brief Sales on new SKUs, price changes and competitive moves.
   • Approve catalog content and promotional calendar.
10. Competitive & Market Intelligence
    • Track competitor product offerings, pricing, lead times, and channel moves.
    • Track market sizing and growth by segment.
    • Brief leadership on quarterly basis.
    • Own the competitive intelligence file for the line.
11. Reporting & Cadence
    • Run a monthly business review for the line covering: financials, inventory health, customer activity, pipeline, and risks.
    • Maintain a single, accurate and up-to-date dashboard for leadership for quick access.
    • Own the dashboard definition and source-of-truth. 
12. Cross-functional Leadership
    • Act as liaison between Sales, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Finance for all inquiries that are spare parts related.
    • Resolve trade-offs (e.g. service level vs. inventory dollar value) within the business unit.
    • Final decision authority on cross-functional trade-offs scoped to this line to ensure consistency with corporate policy.
13. Other duties as assigned.
14. Able to lift up to 15lbs; may work in hot areas 5%, noise 0%.
15. Participate actively in Health & Safety programs, 5S activities, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Measures of Success (Key Performance Indicators):

Current Core Metrics

1. Growth and Commercial Performance

• Aftermarket revenue growth (% YoY)
• Gross Margin % and contribution margin
• Share of wallet/ customer penetration
• Revenue by segment

1. Customer and Market

• Fill rate (service level)
• NPS (top accounts)
• Competitive win rate/ price index
• Number of customer visits per quarter
• Voice of Customer items closed

1. Inventory and Operational Effectiveness

• Inventory turns and working capital efficiency
• Obsolescence % and slow-moving inventory reduction
• Stockout rate for critical A-items
• Same day Shipments

1. Execution and Business Health

• Forecast accuracy
• SKU productivity and assortment effectiveness
• New SKU performance and commercialization success