Regional Indirect Procurement Leader – Dresden, Germany

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.

The Challenge

KLA sought a procurement leader to oversee multicategory indirect procurement operations throughout Germany. The ideal candidate needed to possess comprehensive expertise in all facets of indirect procurement and demonstrate comfort in managing a substantial budget across diverse territories.

This role represented a crucial hire for enhancing strategic sourcing activities across the region, overseeing vital supplier relationships, and conducting cost analyses. The objective was to ensure operational efficiency and achieve cost savings that would contribute to the continued success of the organisation.

The Approach

An exhaustive search had already been conducted by the Client across ideal locations in Germany. Consequently, we were tasked with exploring the German market to identify an individual open to relocation or someone from an industry closely related to semiconductors. Our market mapping efforts covered Germany, with a particular emphasis on similar capital equipment companies, where there would be a substantial overlap in responsibilities and the level of expenditure the candidate would handle. Initially, the candidate pool proved to be limited. To address this, we expanded our search region by region, while maintaining our focus on the specified requirements. To further refine our search, we specifically sought candidates with German language skills.

The Numbers

186 potential candidates were initially identified with potentially relevant experience across EMEA, we held forty screening conversations, five first interviews, three second interviews and two final interviews.

The Outcome

Following a rigorous search, we identified a strong candidate from within the semiconductor industry with an almost perfect responsibility match from South Africa who was looking to relocate back to Germany!