Apex Wheels

Manager

• Elevate and enhance Apex’s quality control program, assessing current practices both domestically and overseas, and refining standards, documentation, and inspection criteria to ensure consistency, scalability, and world-class product quality.
• Develop and implement quality systems and processes for supplier-side, in-process, and inbound inspections with a strong focus on preventing nonconformances before shipment and ensuring alignment between factory and Apex standards.
• Lead and develop a lean quality team composed of Apex employees, contractors, or third-party partners to ensure consistent, on-the-ground inspection coverage. Hire, train, mentor, and evaluate quality personnel for technical accuracy and performance, providing coaching and feedback as needed. This may include managing a full-time quality Technician based at our partner’s Thailand factory who will oversee daily inspections, enforce Apex’s quality standards, and ensure that nonconforming products are reworked or rejected before shipment. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and craftsmanship excellence across all inspection activities.
• Review, improve, and maintain clear documentation, including control plans, inspection templates, work instructions, and visual standards for both overseas and domestic teams.
• Conduct supplier audits and process reviews, including mid-production and pre-shipment inspections at our international manufacturing facilities, providing actionable feedback and following up on corrective action reports (CARs).
• Partner with Engineering and R&D on product specifications, measurement standards, and testing methodologies to ensure new products and manufacturing techniques meet Apex performance expectations.
• Collaborate closely with the Customer Service Manager to capture detailed data on quality issues, including root cause, frequency, and cost impact, and use those insights to drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Work with the Vendor Manager to communicate defect rates, error types, and supplier performance trends, ensuring quality data informs vendor scorecards and cost recovery discussions.
• Coordinate with Apex’s 3PL warehouse team to define and document efficient workflows for domestic inspections, including weight verification, visual checks, and product quarantine or release procedures.
• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) initiatives, collaborating across departments and with supplier partners to resolve issues and prevent recurrence.
• Define and track KPIs such as defect rates, rework rates, supplier quality scores, and cost of poor quality, using these metrics to identify trends and guide improvements.
• Implement continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma or Kaizen to reduce variation, eliminate recurring defects, and strengthen supplier training and accountability.
• Communicate findings and recommendations through concise reports, dashboards, and presentations to leadership, providing transparency into supplier performance, quality trends, and progress toward company goals.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and accountability within the quality function, mentoring staff, promoting technical excellence, and ensuring every product that leaves the factory upholds Apex’s reputation for precision and performance.
• Lead and develop your team through radical candor, balancing direct, honest feedback with genuine care while managing all aspects of people leadership, including hiring, interviewing, onboarding, coaching, mentoring, performance reviews, setting clear performance expectations, managing to OKRs and KPIs, and when necessary, making tough decisions around discipline or termination to maintain a healthy, high-performing team culture.
• Other duties as assigned.

Quality Manager

Supply Chain

• Demand Planning & Forecasting: Build, maintain, and continuously refine statistical and trend‑based demand forecasts across multiple time horizons (monthly, quarterly, annual). Develop dynamic tools to categorize product movement (A‑E movers) and pair wheel SKUs for bundled demand, mirroring systems pioneered by our Demand &  Inventory Manager. Develop a deep understanding of our catalogue and specific markets, allowing you to add a human element to your forecasting. Translate marketing campaigns, product launches, external environmental factors, and seasonality into forecast adjustments; communicate impacts to Purchasing and Finance.
• Inventory Planning & Forecasting: Align forecasts with internal data to ensure that we have enough inventory in good standing to meet existing and future demand without holding too much in excess. Automate calculations for safety stock, reorder points, and preferred inventory levels based on rules you help define that balance service rate and working capital goals. Monitor transitory inventory (in‑production, in‑transit, at 3PL) to provide holistic availability views.
• Data Stewardship, Analysis & Reporting: Own the integrity of demand‑planning data in NetSuite and connected tools; audit for anomalies and drive root‑cause fixes. Produce weekly and ad‑hoc dashboards for executives, inventory turn rate, forecast accuracy, and aged inventory highlighting insights that drive business decisions. Daily, weekly, and monthly KPI reporting for the department to give stakeholders insight into internal Supply Chain operations and our 3PL.
• Process Improvement: Identify and automate manual data pulls; streamline the hand‑off between forecasting and PO creation. Partner with eCommerce to implement new SKU schemas (e.g., WIN codes) so that the process is more automated. Keep a pulse on AI forward demand planning tools and workflows and propose investments with high ROI.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Support the Purchasing Coordinator with forecast inputs for PO timing and container bookings. Provide ETA updates to Customer Service; supply pairing guidance to Sales; align forecast assumptions with Marketing’s campaign calendar.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset: Structure ambiguous problems, interrogate data to separate signal from noise, and translate findings into practical, business-impacting actions.

Demand Planner

• Vendor Relationship Management: Serve as the primary liaison between Apex and international manufacturing partners, ensuring mutual understanding across time zones, languages, and cultural expectations. Own vendor relationships and consistently and proactively follow up with vendors for their deliverables to ensure production objectives are not delayed by any vendor-side disorganization.Own vendor relationships and consistently and proactively follow up with vendors for their deliverables to ensure production objectives are not delayed by any vendor-side disorganization.
• Vendor Onboarding: Identify and onboard new vendors strategically to mitigate risk, diversify supply, and support future product launches. Develop scalable vendor onboarding and evaluation frameworks that can support future growth and new product categories.
• Vendor Performance Management: Develop and maintain vendor scorecards to evaluate performance on quality, lead time, cost, communication responsiveness, and risk.Collaborate with internal teams (engineering, inventory, and finance) to translate forecasts, design changes, and launch plans into clear vendor deliverables. Track and negotiate cost structures, identifying opportunities for cost reductions or process efficiencies without compromising quality. Mediate and resolve vendor disputes effectively and diplomatically while safeguarding Apex’s operational and financial interests.
• Vendor Communications: Lead morning or early evening group calls to check in with vendors and solve problems. Conduct quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with vendors to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with Apex’s evolving priorities. Maintain timely, clear, and thorough communication with all vendors, tracking all deliverables due for both sides. Foster a culture of transparency by maintaining clear communication channels and documentation of all key decisions, commitments, and follow-ups. Train and mentor internal stakeholders on vendor communication best practices, cultural fluency, and escalation protocols.
• Contract Management and Negotiations: Own the vendor contract lifecycle, from drafting and negotiation (with leadership support) through renewal and compliance tracking. Continuously refine vendor management systems, leveraging AI and automation tools where they make sense to increase visibility and accountability. Collaborate with leadership to align vendor strategy with Apex’s long-term growth, innovation, and sustainability goals. Analyze market trends and regional developments that could impact vendor performance or cost structures.
• Support Quality Management: Ensure compliance with Apex’s quality standards, coordinating with cross-functional teams to audit processes and implement corrective actions and hold vendors accountable to product quality standards through improved contract language and follow up. Reduce product issues by pushing each vendor to improve. Own each problem and work with vendors and various department heads to catch issues and find solutions. Establish and enforce corrective action plans for recurring performance issues, documenting outcomes and learnings. Chase vendors down for compensation for errors and implement solutions to prevent repeats.
• Continuous Improvement: Improve our current processes and results using APICS or another similar methodology. Establish department-level KPIs in alignment with organizational goals. Implement and monitor risk mitigation plans for geopolitical, environmental, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Ensure compliance with international trade regulations, ethical sourcing policies, and Apex’s internal code of conduct. Create knowledge-sharing resources (such as vendor management playbooks or cultural best practices guides) for internal teams.
• Internal Collaboration: Act as a liaison to Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and Supply Chain teams to ensure that information is being disseminated to relevant team members and the factory. Support engineering by keeping your finger on the pulse of run-rates of molds and providing for future projects. Eventually, you may manage one or more individuals, from hiring to termination, including performance evaluations, coaching, and mentoring.
• Other duties as assigned.