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Sourcing Manager - DS Brands

Direct Supply · Milwaukee, WI · Full time

Posted Sep 28, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a complex sourcing initiative you led from start to finish. What made it complex?

What they are checking: Real experience managing multi-party sourcing projects, which the posting names directly.

Tell me about a time you made a supplier recommendation that leadership pushed back on.

What they are checking: Ability to voice a clear point of view and own the result, as the posting asks.

Tell me about a time you helped a product get to market faster through a sourcing decision.

What they are checking: Whether sourcing work has supported growth and innovation, not just cost savings.

What would you do

How do you balance cost, quality, service, innovation and speed to market when they pull against each other?

What they are checking: Trade-off judgment across the five outcomes the posting lists for the role.

A new supplier offers a 15 percent cost reduction, but you have concerns about their quality controls. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they protect product quality for senior living customers while still pursuing savings.

How do you plan for supply continuity on a product that has only one qualified supplier?

What they are checking: Risk management for single-source items, central to growth and continuity of the portfolio.

About the work

DS Brands is the company's own brand portfolio. How does sourcing for owned brands differ from sourcing national brands?

What they are checking: Understanding that owned brands shift quality, spec and supplier development work onto the sourcing team.

Walk me through how you would decide whether to move a product to a new supplier network.

What they are checking: A structured view of cost, quality, capacity, risk and switching costs before recommending a change.

How have you worked with overseas or contract manufacturers on product quality and lead times?

What they are checking: Practical knowledge of managing manufacturing partners, which owned-brand sourcing often requires.

How would you use AI or data tools to support supplier decisions, and where would you not trust them?

What they are checking: Critical assessment of AI-generated outputs, a skill the posting names.

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The full job description

As published by Direct Supply.

Position Summary: Direct Supply is building the future of healthcare technology with industry-leading products, solutions and platforms to help improve the lives of millions of seniors and those who care for them. In the Sourcing Manager - DS Brands position, you’ll develop and execute sourcing strategies and supplier partnerships that support the growth, profitability and supply continuity of the DS Brands portfolio. You’ll manage complex sourcing initiatives, make supplier network recommendations and partner across the business to improve cost, quality, service, innovation and speed to market. Skills Needed: • Systems Thinking & Problem Solving - Identify the right problems to solve by understanding the broader system – customers, stakeholders, processes, data, technology, and AI. Connect root causes, dependencies, tradeoffs, and upstream and downstream effects to develop practical, scalable solutions that improve the whole. • Apply Judgment - Make sound decisions by evaluating data, context, assumptions, risk, and outcomes. Critically assess ideas and AI-generated outputs, consider interdependencies, voice a clear point of view, and own the results and impact. • Create & Shape Ideas - Generate, test, and develop new ideas into useful, high-quality solutions and experiences. Use creativity, curiosity, technology, and different perspectives to see around the corner, innovate and develop ideas into outcomes that create value and scale. • Influence & Collaborate - Build trust, communicate clearly, and work across boundaries to drive action and shared outcomes. Seek and integrate different perspectives, contribute ideas, work through dependencies, and help teams make progress together through change and ambiguity. • Learn & Adapt - Continuously grow and adapt as technology, customer needs, roles, and work systems evolve. Stay curious, learn beyond your core specialty, experiment with new approaches, use AI to accelerate learning, and improve through feedback and setbacks. What You’ll Do and Impact: • Own sourcing strategy and performance for one or more DS Brands categories. • Develop multi-year supplier and sourcing strategies that support portfolio growth, profitability, supply continuity, innovation and customer value. • Evaluate supplier networks and recommend supplier selection, market expansion, dual-sourcing strategies, supplier transitions and manufacturing footprint changes. • Lead sourcing activities within category planning and portfolio roadmaps in partnership with Product Management and business leaders. • Establish annual cost, margin, supplier performance and supply continuity objectives and drive execution against those targets. • Lead complex commercial negotiations involving strategic supplier partnerships, new manufacturing capabilities, tooling investments, exclusivity arrangements and long-term agreements. • Develop and recommend business cases for supplier investments, product transitions and sourcing model changes. • Analyze market opportunities, competitive activity, geopolitical risks, supply chain trends and emerging technologies to inform category and sourcing strategies. • Own relationships with strategic suppliers and lead senior-level business reviews focused on performance, opportunities and risks. • Lead cross-functional initiatives that span product categories, suppliers or business functions. • Mentor Sourcing Associates and Senior Sourcing Associates and help strengthen sourcing practices and standards. • Use AI, market intelligence and advanced analytics to improve portfolio performance and support strategic decision-making. • Partner with Product Management and Finance to identify opportunities for profitable portfolio growth and margin improvement. • Contribute to annual business planning, OKR development and long-range strategic initiatives. • Advise leaders on sourcing opportunities, supply risks, capacity constraints and potential supply chain investments. Experience: • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Marketing or a related field. • 6-10 years of experience in sourcing, product supply chain, supplier management, product development or a related area. • Experience managing strategic supplier relationships and negotiating commercial agreements. • Strong analytical, financial and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to make data-informed recommendations. • Proficiency with data analytics, reporting and business intelligence tools. • Ability to travel by car and/or plane up to 20%. Additional Items of Interest: • Experience with private label or branded products, product lifecycle management or category management. • MBA. • Professional certification such as CSCP or CPSM. • Experience working at a software or technology company. Job to be performed in the location listed. Generous benefit package available. © 2013 to 2026 Direct Supply, Inc. All rights reserved.

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