Supply Chain Manager

About ZELP

ZELP is an agricultural technology company committed to creating a sustainable future for agriculture - one that meets the needs of present and future generations, promoting human and environmental health, animal welfare, and social and economic equity.

Our first focus is to develop and scale technology that measures and mitigates methane emissions in the livestock industry. Today, 1.3 billion people rely on the industry for their livelihoods and food security. However, it is the single biggest human-driven source of methane emissions globally, emitting more than both the oil & gas industry and the coal industry.

The deployment of our technologies on a global scale has the potential to drive half the global methane reduction needed by 2030, and to transform the beef and dairy industries.

ZELP was an inaugural winner of the Terra Carta Design Lab, and has received funding and support from the European Commission, Innovate UK, The Global Methane Hub and the Gates Foundation.

Role Summary

This is a hands-on, high-impact role covering the end-to-end supply chain from supplier through to finished product and customer delivery.

You will establish the systems, processes and supplier relationships needed to move ZELP from relatively low-volume prototype manufacturing to a repeatable, scalable production operation, ultimately supporting production of thousands to tens of thousands of units per year.

You will work closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product and Operations, and will be responsible for ensuring that the right components arrive at the right place, at the right time, at the right cost and quality.

This is not purely a procurement role. You will also design and scale-up the supply chains and logistics needed to fulfil spare parts, manage repairs and takeback, and enable our rental and serviced business modes.

We need someone who can understand the technical product, identify supply-chain risks, build robust planning processes and then personally drive issues through to resolution.

Main Responsibilities

Supply planning & production readiness

Own the end-to-end supply plan for ZELP Sense.

Translate the production plan and sales forecast into component and material requirements.

Ensure all long-lead and critical components are ordered sufficiently ahead of production.

Maintain accurate visibility of inventory, open orders, lead times and future requirements.

Identify potential shortages early and develop mitigation plans.

Establish appropriate safety stocks and inventory policies as production scales.

Coordinate closely with manufacturing to ensure uninterrupted production.

Supplier management

Manage relationships with key component and manufacturing suppliers.

Establish clear expectations for lead times, quality, pricing and delivery performance.

Negotiate commercial terms, MOQs, lead times and supply commitments.

Develop supplier performance KPIs including on-time delivery, quality, cost and responsiveness.

Work with Engineering and Quality on supplier qualification and supplier changes.

Develop dual-source strategies for critical components where appropriate.

Identify and develop new suppliers as ZELP scales.

Purchasing & inventory

Own purchasing processes and ensure purchase orders are placed accurately and on time.

Improve visibility and control of inventory across ZELP and its suppliers.

Establish robust processes for forecasting demand and managing inventory.

Reduce excess and obsolete inventory while protecting production continuity.

Ensure accurate BOMs, part numbers, costs and supplier information within the company's ERP system.

Manufacturing & industrialisation

Work closely with the Industrialisation and Manufacturing teams as ZELP moves into higher-volume production.

Support the transition from prototype purchasing to scalable production procurement.

Ensure suppliers can support planned volume increases.

Identify opportunities for cost reduction, standardisation and supply-chain simplification.

Support design-for-manufacture and design-for-supply-chain decisions.

Logistics & Supply Chain

Design and implement a global supply chain which can support spares, repairs, returns and recycling in line with our growth

Develop and standardise associated processes and KPIs

Own inbound logistics and coordinate with the goods-out/logistics function on outbound requirements.

Establish appropriate freight strategies across UK, European and international supply chains.

Manage shipping costs, customs requirements and international logistics partners.

Risk management

Build and maintain a supply-chain risk register covering critical components, suppliers, logistics and geopolitical risks.

Identify single-source and long-lead-time vulnerabilities.

Develop contingency plans for critical materials and suppliers.

Ensure supply-chain resilience as production volumes increase.

Requirements

Required

Significant (10+ years) experience in supply-chain management within a hardware, electronics, manufacturing or engineering environment.

Demonstrated ability to manage large numbers of suppliers and multi-million dollar contracts successfully

Experience taking products from low-volume development into commercial production.

Strong understanding of MRP/ERP systems, BOMs, purchasing and inventory management.

Experience managing electronics and mechanical component suppliers.

Experience with international suppliers, particularly Asian supply chains.

Strong commercial and negotiation skills.

Experience developing supplier KPIs and performance-management processes.

Excellent analytical and organisational skills.

The ability to work comfortably with engineers and understand technical component requirements.

A willingness to get into the detail and solve problems rather than simply manage them through others.

Excellent communication skills and ability to represent ZELP in commercial discussions with suppliers and logistics partners

Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Degree-educated in engineering, supply chain management or similar, or equivalent professional experience and qualifications

Eligibility to work in the UK with strong English language proficiency.

Nice to have / advantages

Experience in newly developed hardware, electronics, manufacturing, or IoT products.

Knowledge of international import/export requirements.

Experience with Odoo as an inventory management system

Understanding of battery shipping regulations and dangerous goods requirements.

Experience contributing to the design or implementation of new processes