Job Description

Established in 1919 and traded on the NYSE, Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP) is a leading independent manufacturer and distributor of premium automotive replacement parts utilized in the maintenance, repair, and service of vehicles in the automotive aftermarket. Additionally, SMP provides customized solutions for vehicle control and thermal management products in diversified end markets represented by its Engineered Solutions segment.

Globally, SMP employs over 6,000 employees across nearly 40 manufacturing, distribution, and engineering facilities and offices located in North America, Europe and Asia. SMP sells its products primarily to automotive aftermarket retailers, program distribution groups, warehouse distributors, original equipment manufacturers, and original equipment service part operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Mexico, and other Latin American countries.

1. Position Summary

The Customer Collaboration Manager serves as the primary demand-planning liaison between the company and its largest national retail and aftermarket customers. The role owns the company’s Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment (CPFR) programs end-to-end — translating customer demand signals, inventory positions, and supply constraints into coordinated replenishment plans that protect customer fill rates and service levels.
This is a cross-functional, customer-facing position that blends strategic account collaboration with hands-on analytical and operational execution. The incumbent balances external relationship management with internal coordination across customer service, procurement, manufacturing/business units, logistics, and sales — acting as the connective sinew that keeps high-priority customer programs on track. Success requires equal fluency in customer relationship management, statistical inventory analysis, and day-to-day order orchestration. In addition to direct account ownership, the Manager supervises the Customer Collaboration group.
2. Key Responsibilities

A. CPFR Program Management
• Own and facilitate recurring (weekly / bi-weekly / monthly) CPFR meetings and pre-meeting preparation sessions with major customers, organized by product category
• Set meeting agendas around a consistent framework: reviewing existing initiatives and progress, introducing new initiatives, and surfacing preseason status and shipment constraints.
• Build, maintain, and distribute category-level CPFR decks and supporting data files, including a written summary of key discussion points for each session.
• Maintain the cadence and continuity of the customer partnership, coordinating scheduling and stakeholder participation across both organizations.
B. Backorder, Fill-Rate & Service-Level Recovery
• Produce and distribute recurring customer backorder (CBO), and top-outs reports, prioritizing the highest-impact shortages.
• Drive fill-rate recovery by soliciting ETAs and root-cause/delay explanations from internal business units and plants, then consolidating them into customer-facing commitments.
• Track anticipated vs. actual fill rates at the activity and category level, providing narrative commentary on significant shortfalls.
• Monitor and respond to customer supplier scorecards.
C. Cross-Functional Coordination & Escalation
• Act as the single point of contact between the customer and internal functions (customer service, procurement, manufacturing/business units, logistics, and sales/account teams) for supply and replenishment issues.
• Escalate capacity constraints, lead-time extensions, and supply risks with proposed mitigation options.
• Coordinate documentation requests (shipment/delivery proof, EDI/transmission verification) to resolve customer disputes and compliance items.
D. Reporting & Communication
• Generate and distribute recurring purchase order, backorder, and performance reports to internal and customer stakeholders.
• Maintain timely, professional written communication across a high volume of concurrent customer and internal threads.
E. Team Leadership & Supervision
• Supervise the Customer Collaboration group, providing direction, workload prioritization, and coverage planning across assigned customer accounts and product categories.
• Set performance expectations, conduct regular one-on-ones and performance reviews, and support the coaching, development, and training of team members.
• Allocate customer and account assignments and balance high-volume, time-sensitive workloads across staff.
3. Qualifications / Requirements
Required Qualifications
◦ Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, or related field.
◦ 5+ years of experience in demand planning, customer collaboration, replenishment, supply chain analysis, or related supply chain function.
◦ Experience supporting large retail, aftermarket, manufacturing, or distribution customers.
◦ Advanced Excel skills, including the ability to analyze large data sets and build recurring reports.
◦ ERP/MRP system experience.
◦ Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills with attention to detail.
◦ Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly across customer, internal, and cross-functional stakeholders.
◦ Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume, time-sensitive work while balancing multiple priorities.
◦ Experience managing supply, replenishment, backorder, fill-rate, or service-level issues.
◦ 2+ years of supervisory, team-lead, or people-management experience
Preferred Qualifications
◦ Direct CPFR program experience with major retail customers.
◦ Experience with Power BI, SQL, or other reporting and analytics tools.
◦ Experience with customer/supplier portals and EDI transmissions.
◦ Knowledge of demand forecasting and replenishment planning, including projected demand, future supply, and anticipated-vs.-actual fill-rate analysis.
◦ Experience interpreting inventory, forecast, open order, and supply data to support customer-facing replenishment decisions.
Automotive aftermarket or retail replenishment experience

Standard Motor Products is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.