MSC Industrial Supply
UK - Category Manager
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Built to Make You Better.
As you already know we are all about supporting your personal and professional development as well as helping you along the way with your career journey, that’s why we can’t think of anyone better to fill our open vacancies.
Whether your career path is vertical or squiggly we’d love to support your progression internally and watch you grow.
Requisition ID
: 21099
Employment Type
: Full Time
Job Category
: Supply Chain
Work Location
: Wednesbury, UK
Potential Work Location
:
Role Overview
As a Category Manager with MSC, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of our business by bringing our Category strategy to life. You’ll develop strong relationships with industry-leading suppliers and deliver innovative solutions to meet the ever-changing needs and behaviours of our customers.
The Category Management team is evolving to establish an industry-leading range of products and solutions, led by an exceptional team. This team is critically important to the continued success of MSC.
What will you be doing?
Drive Category Growth
- Develop and execute category growth plans focused on machine performance optimisation, tooling accuracy and process reliability.
- Work closely with suppliers specialising in Workholding systems, Metrology, Inspection equipment and Machine Tool accessories.
- Collaborate with Sales and technical teams to support customer productivity initiatives, including machine set-up optimisation and process improvement.
- Lead strategic supplier engagement to deliver innovation aligned with machining trends, automation and smart manufacturing.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Enhance Category Profitability
- Optimise portfolio mix across premium, performance-led solutions and strong value alternatives.
- Negotiate supplier agreements with a strong understanding of technical differentiation, application value and total cost of ownership.
- Identify cross-sell and bundling opportunities across cutting tools, workholding, measurement and inspection solutions.
Delivering Data-Driven Product Excellence
- Ensure technical products have best-in-class data, specifications and application content to support confident buying decisions.
- Build and maintain a clear Machine Optimisation product roadmap aligned to machining accuracy, repeatability and efficiency.
- Use insight from customer behaviour and supplier expertise to guide range rationalisation and expansion.
Additional Responsibilities
- Act as a subject-matter champion for Toolholding, Workholding and CNC machine equipment within the business.
- Support machine optimisation initiatives by aligning product selection to machining processes such as milling, turning and multi-axis operations.
- Evaluate emerging technologies including modular workholding, quick-change systems, probing and in-process inspection.
- Partner with Marketing to deliver application-led propositions and educational content.
- Monitor market and competitor trends to ensure ongoing category competitiveness.
What do you need?
- Experience or strong working knowledge of Workholding, Measuring & Inspection or related Machine Optimisation categories.
- Understanding of machining environments, tolerances, accuracy requirements and manufacturing productivity drivers.
- Ability to translate technical product benefits into clear commercial and customer value.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and confidence acting as a technical reference point.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Why MSC?
The journey to the best version of yourself starts with us. If you’re searching for an employer that will enable you to learn, grow and make a difference, you’ve found it.
You will feel a sense of purpose and belonging as we allow our people to have a voice and the opportunity to make a genuine impact.
We have created a psychologically safe and inclusive environment where we treat our associates as adults and give them autonomy to make decisions, take risks and learn from mistakes.
You will be encouraged to challenge the norm, make decisions and take ownership to make changes, enabling you to significantly contribute towards our business success.
Our people-centric culture will encourage you to continuously develop, both professionally and personally.
From our culture to our forward-thinking leadership, you’ll soon realise that you have an incredible opportunity here to be your best self.
Whether your career path is vertical or squiggly we’d love to watch you grow and reach your full potential with us.
Watch HERE to find out what it’s like to work at MSC and join us as we continue to build a team of people doing their best work
We won’t just give you a job, we’ll enable you to be yourself, discover opportunity, unlock your potential, and design your career.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location