Industrial Products Strategy Manager

Purpose of the Role

The Industrial Products Strategy Manager leads the overall strategy for Arc3's industrial hardgoods portfolio-including welding supplies, safety products, and other critical product lines. This role is central to continuously improving our competitive positioning, supporting the field sales team, and enhancing the customer experience.

This is a high-impact, field-connected role focused on serving the sales team and delivering more value to customers. The position requires at least 35% time spent in the field, engaging directly with branch sales teams, vendors and customers to ensure strategy is informed by real-world needs. While the role carries no direct reports, it includes strategic and cross-functional leadership across purchasing, marketing, sales, and vendor partners.

The Industrial Products Strategy Manager will help ensure Arc3 delivers differentiated, technically sound solutions while improving vendor partnerships, optimizing product offerings, guiding private brand development, and supporting product marketing execution.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Development & Field Insight

• Define and guide Arc3's industrial products strategy to strengthen customer value, product relevance, and market differentiation.
• Spend at least 35% of time in the field across Arc3's footprint to gather real-time feedback from sales reps and customers, ensuring the strategy reflects actual customer needs.
• Translate field and customer input into clear strategic priorities, product decisions, and trade-offs.

Vendor Program Leadership

• Own primary relationships with key industrial product vendors, ensuring alignment with Arc3's needs and sales focus.
• Collaborate with Purchasing to manage vendor programs and rebate structures-maximizing value while ensuring program alignment with actual product movement.
• Maintain active vendor agreements across supply partners and hold vendors accountable for service, support, programs, and partnership strength.

Product and Offering Optimization

• Lead vendor and product line rationalization to reduce fragmentation, strengthen leverage, and simplify the customer offering (e.g., reducing 50+ abrasive vendors to <10).
• Standardize product selection and help sales protect negotiated margins through better field pricing discipline and awareness.
• Develop and guide Arc3's private brand strategy over the next three years and beyond.
• Recommend pricing strategies and promotional programs in collaboration with the VP of Sales and General Managers-this role does not own final pricing authority but provides informed recommendations.

Sales Enablement & Product Marketing Direction

• Serve as a strategic partner to sales leadership and the branch field team-helping reps win more business, faster, by improving product clarity, consistency, and support.
• Coordinate technical training and sales tools in partnership with vendors and Marketing to ensure sales reps are equipped to represent industrial products effectively.
• Collaborate closely with Marketing to set product marketing direction-ensuring alignment between strategy, messaging, and go-to-market execution.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Drive a unified One Arc3 approach by aligning purchasing, sales, marketing, and operations around a consistent commercial strategy.
• Ensure that industrial product priorities are reflected across internal systems, tools, and processes-promoting consistency across all regions and branches.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Track vendor and product performance through sales, margin, and usage data.
• Provide actionable insights and lead improvement efforts based on performance trends, customer feedback, and field sales input.

Key Competencies

• Customer Focus & Field Connection: Deep commitment to serving field sales teams and improving the customer experience through product strategy and offerings.
• Strategic Thinking & Business Acumen: Able to set long-term direction, make trade-offs, and connect product strategy to financial outcomes.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Strong leadership across teams without direct authority; capable of driving alignment and execution through collaboration.
• Analytical Capability: Confident analyzing product performance and using data to support recommendations.
• Communication & Collaboration: Clear communicator with the ability to build consensus across Sales, Marketing, Purchasing, and vendor stakeholders.
• Industry Understanding: Technical competence and product fluency in welding and industrial hardgoods or willingness to learn quickly.

Success Metrics

• Increased gross margin performance in key industrial categories, driven by smarter product mix and vendor program leverage
• Measurable growth in private brand adoption and revenue
• Greater consistency in product offering and vendor terms across the company
• Higher field sales engagement with priority product lines
• Strong vendor agreement coverage and improved supplier accountability
• Clear product marketing direction and tools that support a unified One Arc3 sales approach