Senior Buyer

**General Information about the Company**

Founded in 1922, Doyen Auto is a major player in the distribution of spare parts and services to automotive professionals.

Its powerful logistics allows the company to ensure rapid deliveries with 110,000 items stocked in its Belgian warehouse.

Doyen Auto is part of PHE, the leading independent distributor of spare parts for light vehicles and heavy goods vehicles in Western Europe, with operations in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and Spain.

Doyen Auto serves distribution networks including API and Autodistribution, and repairers including 1,2,3 AutoService and AD, as well as OmniTech (technical concept). The Group has forged numerous partnerships with suppliers of parts, tools, equipment and consumables to best serve the needs of its networks.

The company operates in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and runs with a staff of 467 headcounts across 24 sites in Belgium.

To support their strategic development, Doyen Auto is looking to hire a **Senior Buyer**, the incumbent will be a member of the Product Marketing & Pricing Team and will report to the Purchasing Manager. The aim of the job is to provide the Group's internal users with goods and services acquired from external partners under the best possible conditions in terms of price, delivery times, quality and service required by the company and its customers.

**Number of Employees Group**:734

**Total Turnover Group in € / Turnover Company in €**:Doyen Auto GRP: 310 Mi€

(2024) / PHE GRP: 2,8 Bi€ ( 2024)

**Main tasks**

**1. Manages day-to-day relations with suppliers**

1.1. Provides training on the most important product lines in order to understand the essential technical characteristics

used to select a manufacturer

1.2. Knows the suppliers in his/her portfolio and their products

1.3. Visits the suppliers in his/her portfolio on a regular basis

1.4. Keeps abreast of market developments (suppliers, technologies and products)

1.5. Supports the countries' promotional activities (events, supplier/customer meetings, etc.)

**2. Negotiates and drafts framework contracts**

2.1. Takes into account the needs of Product Marketing and local operational marketing divisions

2.2. Needs to know the pricing structure (parts prices, payment terms, guarantees, etc.) per product from the supplier

in his/her portfolio

2.3. Leads negotiations with suppliers

2.4. Strives to achieve a balance between prices, discounts, budgets and commissions.

2.5. Takes into account the level of logístical performance of suppliers

2.6. Drafts contracts, amendments and Service Level Agreements and submits them for approval

**3. Is responsible for purchase prices**

3.1. Manages triple net purchasing prices (discounts, budgets, Year-End Rebates) and implements action plans to

optimise YERs and stock levels and/or manages commissions on supplier sales for non-stock products.

and, if necessary, negotiates compensation.

3.3. Ensures that new prices are updated on time.

**4. Supports continuous improvement initiatives**

4.1. Keeps abreast of best practice in its field

4.2. Must be able to make proposals

4.3. Shares its expertise with other departments

Cross-functional operation with the Product Marketing Department as well as with the Group's countries (commercial entities) and with the PHE CPU (central purchasing unit).

Specific projects:

- Participate in the ERP changeover (2025-2027)
- Participate in the change of electronic catalogue

**Professional Career / Experience**

5 years experience in a purchasing department or 3 years' experience in a central purchasing office or a company

distributing automotive or technical parts.

**Position Information**

**Average amount of travel time in % : 20%**

Home office : Maximum 6 days/month upon mgr's approval, but not the first 6 months

**Reason for the placement of the position**:Replacement

**Responsibility**:Strategic purchases - around 200 suppliers

**Professional Skills**

1- Knowledge of the automotive parts market, preferably the aftermarket (Supplier/Brands)

2- Purchasing skills: negotiating in an international environment, solving negotiation-related problems and

maintaining good relations with all the internal and external players involved; ability to conduct strategic negotiations effectively; ability to draft and negotiate purchasing contracts with the support of the legal team.

3- Data analysis and project management: analysing the needs of internal and external customers; analysing and comparing supplier offers to make sound purchasing decisions; managing multiple purchasing projects in a simultaneous, rigorous and structured manner.

4- Experience of supplier management: establishing and maintaining good relations with suppliers through

clear and regular communication, problem solving and dispute management.

5- Performance monitoring: ability to determine and monitor performance indicators in terms of quality, service