(Senior) Strategy Manager of Sourcing

ASML is the only firm in the world capable of making the highly-complex equipment to manufacture the most advanced chips. The Strategic Sourcing team is a perfect landing spot for a strategy consultant looking for a high-impact role with lots of exposure and exciting next steps.

About ASML

As the world-leading manufacturer of chip-making machines, ASML enables its customers to develop ever faster, smaller, cheaper, more energy-efficient, and more powerful computer chips.

ASML is a catalyst for innovation, pushing the boundaries of what’s technically possible. By shining very narrow beams of light onto silicon wafers that have been treated with photoresist chemicals, their machines can create intricate patterns, thus forming transistors. This process is known as lithography, an art ASML has been perfecting for thirty-seven years. 

They are currently the only manufacturer in the world that is creating high-volume machines with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) capabilities, a step-up from the more common deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines. So far, ASML has sold over a hundred of these rare EUV machines, which cost approximately 150 million dollars each.

The company is headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, and employs nearly thirty-two thousand people worldwide, spread across over sixty offices in sixteen countries. In 2020, ASML’s net sales added up to fourteen billion euro.

“With a market value of around $350 billion, Dutch-headquartered ASML is a little-known tech juggernaut that’s set to keep on growing in line with the insatiable demand for semiconductors.” – CNBC, Nov 24, 2021

Strategic sourcing
ASML’s lithography systems consist of over a hundred thousand parts, nearly all of them manufactured by suppliers. With the vast majority of parts being sourced externally, the Strategic Sourcing department is key to success. The department, which is responsible for the make/buy policy and process and supporting suppliers, counts 16 experts and has multiple openings at different levels.

Vacancy: (Senior) Strategy Manager of Sourcing

The (Senior) Strategy Manager is responsible for the corporate make/buy strategy, covering areas such as Optics, Mechatronics & Mechanics, and Electrical Sourcing. That means preparing and presenting proposals to the Board of Management/Executive Committee, to decide which technical and manufacturing competencies ASML should develop in-house and which should be developed by the external ASML eco-system. Fundamentally, this defines the identity of ASML.

Impact
These proposals can have double-digit impact on the Total Cost of Ownership of the system and product design. The make/buy proposals will be created throughout the Product Generation Process and beyond, starting in the Research phase and the beginning of each new Product Platform. Make/Buy-projects for existing activities often lead to sensitive situations with respect to the alteration of work allocation, jobs, and people, similar to what consultants encounter when restructuring organizations.

Collaboration
For every make-decision, the (Senior) Strategy Manager will work with Technology and/or Manufacturing to make it happen. For every buy-decision, this person will develop the Sourcing Strategy together with the responsible Category Manager and all cross-sector stakeholders (Technology, Operations, Business Lines, Finance and Legal). This includes aspects such as shaping the supply base and developing the external ecosystem of suppliers; balancing long-term supply capacity with expected market requirements; preventing strategic lock-ins; optimizing deal structures to improve long-term relationships with strategic suppliers. The (Senior) Strategy Manager will report to Mark van Spall, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing, and have frequent exposure to senior leadership and the Board of Management.

“Making an ecosystem work together to create leading edge technology is where ASML excels. The Strategic Sourcing Experts play a pivotal role in the internal and external network to make this happen. A great role to learn and grow.” – Jan Keller (ex-Kearney), Executive Vice President of Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain

Deep expertise
To be able to create these proposals, the (Senior) Strategy Manager requires technical knowledge, knowledge of what is available and possible in the ASML ecosystem, understanding the sourcing perspective, and deal-making skills. The (Senior) Strategy Manager will always be on the lookout for new/alternative technologies and for knowledge institutes and suppliers.

Strong career outlook
The Strategic Sourcing team is a proven landing spot for top-tier consultants, enabling them to secure a promising career path within ASML. In recent years, several members have successfully made the transition from firms such as Roland Berger, EY-Parthenon, and KPMG. Some of them stayed, others have grown into Category Management positions and into all kinds of leadership positions in the business lines EUV, DUV, or APPS.

Interested?

ASML is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Roland Vetten at roland.vetten@topofminds.com.