Product Manager(s)

Over de functie

Excellent Product Management is crucial in meeting the objectives of Pregis and the promises to their customers. As a Product Manager you’re responsible for managing the assigned Paper or Air portfolio throughout the entire product life cycle. As a Product manager you roughly manage the whole process from product creation to product lifecycle management. The first process is about creating new products. The second process is about optimizing existing products, rationalizing/simplifying and ultimately fade out. You control the product life cycle and the innovation process like a spider in the web. You work from a plan and process and use business plans, business cases and roadmaps. The Product Managers are the drivers for the Business. You are engaged in or leading initiatives to develop new products or optimize existing products with Sales, R&D and Operations based upon the product and marketing strategy for the product/solution. Being an expert on your portfolio, you support sales (and customers) in meeting their targets by providing them proper product information, training and ensuring availability of products in line with the demand planning. In this job you report to the Commercial Director.

More specific, focus on this role is:

• Market analyses / Business Intelligence

Understand the strength and weaknesses of our competitors. Responsible for accurate and relevant market analyses, including key target opportunities. Lead trends and competitive pricing analyses. Responsible to identify new market opportunities and present to senior management

• Product category management

Own the product lifecycle for your product category (from initiation to fade out). Instruct engineering (R&D) to identify opportunities to improve existing products and develop product line extensions. Co-develop new products and improve existing products in cooperation with sales, marketing, production, purchasing, R&D and customer service. Coordinate alpha and beta testing. Launch and rolls out product improvements, with all collateral materials, competitive data, training and promotion.

• Pricing/ P&L

Manage / guard the pricing model and product margins. Own the margins of the products and co-authorizes large individual deals, sales wants to close. Proactively contacts sales and lead sales and margin improvements. Continuous analyses versus alternative products, strategies to manage competitive threats and tracking of competitive activity. Provide sales tools to improve business results. Work closely with finance to manage the working capital related to the products.

• Communication

Manage all aspects of timely, complete and relevant communication to the business (across all functions - sales, marketing, production, purchasing, R&D and customer service) on product introductions and changes.

• Distribution

Understand (local) opportunities in different categories and use them to improve business results. Work together with sales management and solution specialists on the right channel strategy for the product category. Improve packaging resulting in lower distribution cost.

• Training

Work with the engineering, marketing, sales and sustainability team to develop training and provide tools necessary to maximize the results of the responsible products of the commercial organization to focus on the right prospects, obtain trials and close business at good margins.