The Vendor Development Manager is responsible for building, strengthening, and optimizing strategic relationships with key vendors and suppliers. This role focuses on expanding product access, improving pricing and terms, increasing collaboration, and driving mutual growth between our company and our vendor network.

You’ll work cross-functionally with leadership, sales, purchasing, finance, and operations to ensure our vendor strategy supports revenue growth, margin improvement, and an outstanding customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

Vendor Strategy & Development

• Identify, evaluate, and onboard new vendors that align with company strategy, product needs, and margin targets.
• Develop and execute a vendor partnership roadmap, including target vendors, categories, and growth opportunities.
• Segment vendors (strategic, core, transactional) and define partnership strategies for each tier.
• Analyze vendor portfolios to identify gaps, overlap, and consolidation opportunities.

Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for key vendor partners.
  Lead regular business reviews with vendors (quarterly/biannual), including performance, pipeline, pricing, and joint initiatives.
• Negotiate commercial terms (including pricing, rebates, freight, payment terms, and marketing funds) to enhance profitability and competitiveness.
• Resolve escalated issues related to performance, quality, lead times, or service levels.

Commercial & Financial Impact

• Work with finance and leadership to structure and track rebate programs, volume incentives, and other commercial agreements.
• Monitor and report on vendor performance KPIs: fill rate, on-time delivery, cost changes, rebate performance, and margin impact.
• Collaborate with sales and product teams to turn vendor programs into revenue-driving campaigns, promotions, and go-to-market plays.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with purchasing/procurement to align purchasing strategies with vendor programs and incentives.
• Work with sales and marketing to promote vendor-backed campaigns, new products, and strategic initiatives.
• Coordinate with operations / logistics on vendor-related service improvements, stocking strategies, and lead time reductions.
• Support leadership with vendor insights for strategic planning, category expansion, and pricing decisions.

Data, Reporting & Insights

• Use data to evaluate vendor performance and identify areas for improvement or re-negotiation.
• Maintain accurate records of agreements, rebates, and key terms in internal systems.
  Prepare regular reports and presentations on vendor performance, program ROI, and partnership opportunities for leadership.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

1. Onboard 5 new high-value vendors that fill portfolio gaps, support category expansion, or improve competitiveness. Partner with sales and marketing to see each of these vendors reach $100,000 (COGS) within 12 months of onboarding.
2. Reduce cost-of-goods (COGS) by 2–4% for 10 Core / Growth brands through renegotiated terms, freight optimization, and consolidation opportunities with existing growth brands, resulting in over $500,000 in cost savings.
3. Partner with vendors to collect over $200,000 in Co-Op Marketing Funds for use in promotions, GTM campaigns, and strategic programs to increase the brands revenue growth by 40-50% from its current organic growth trajectory. 

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Marketing, or related field; or equivalent experience.
• 3 years of experience in vendor management, procurement, strategic partnerships, category management, or business development.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating commercial terms and managing external relationships.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial and operational data.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and influence without direct authority.

Preferred

• Experience in distribution, manufacturing, industrial parts, or B2B environment.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and reporting/BI tools (e.g. NetSuite, SAP, Power BI, etc.).
• Proven track record of improving margin and/or securing vendor-funded programs (rebates, MDF, co-op, etc.).

Competencies

• Strategic Thinking – Can see the big picture of vendor ecosystems and how they impact growth and profitability.
• Negotiation & Influence – Comfortable driving win–win agreements while protecting company interests.
• Relationship Builder – Builds trust and credibility with both internal teams and external partners.
• Data-Driven – Makes decisions backed by analysis, not guesswork.
• Ownership & Initiative – Proactively identifies opportunities and drives them to completion.