Category Analyst (Power BI, Python, QlikView, SQL, and relational databases)

Job Title: Category Analyst (Power BI, Python, QlikView, SQL, and relational databases)

Location: Atlanta, GA 30308 (Hybrid: 4x/Week)

Contract duration: 6 Months. Long-term.

Industry: Rail Transportation.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Category Manager, the Category Analyst role supports the Category Management group in analyzing data and the development of category strategies by translating data and facts into information used to develop category strategy and manage ongoing supplier performance. The Category Analyst is responsible for gathering necessary data, completing spend analysis, developing and updating baselines using category data, supply market analysis, sourcing evaluation models, developing negotiation models, and supplier performance metrics and monitoring solutions. Candidates must have an engineering or finance background with very strong analytical skills.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Category Manager, the Category Analyst role supports the Category Management group in analyzing data and the development of category strategies by translating data and facts into information used to develop category strategy and manage ongoing supplier performance. The Category Analyst is responsible for gathering necessary data, completing spend analysis, developing and updating baselines using category data, supply market analysis, sourcing evaluation models, developing negotiation models, and supplier performance metrics and monitoring solutions. Candidates must have an engineering or finance background with very strong analytical skills.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identify, gather, and analyze various spend data as it applies to Category Sourcing
• Perform detailed analysis on various categories to understand and capture market trends, indices, benchmarks, cost drivers, suppliers, and best practices
• Perform periodic "spend criticality analysis" at the category and Enterprise level
• Provide input to value propositions and sourcing options leveraging various SCM tools
• Develop and maintain a database of potential sourcing suppliers
• Gather external category data and regularly segment category spend to understand off-contract or non-compliant spend within a category
• Build total cost of ownership models and prioritize opportunities
• Analyze the marketplace and identify industry structure and levers in the supply market
• Assess new market entrants, non-traditional suppliers, and substitute products/services while summarizing improvement opportunities
• Develop strategic sourcing evaluation models and negotiation models
• Develop supplier scorecards and assist in measuring Key Performance Indicators and Service Levels for strategic suppliers
• Support the development and documentation of current-state maps, future-state processes, and technology requirements

OVERALL QUALIFICATIONS:

Academic Certification

• An undergraduate degree in a technical or business discipline or equivalent is desired
• Engineering or Computer Science degree
• Finance and/or Economics Bachelor's degree

Professional Certification

• Project Management certification or Professional Supply Chain certification is desirable

Role Specific Experience

• 3–5 years of experience in category management and/or data analysis, including experience with leading analytics and visualization solutions such as Power BI, Tableau, Python, QlikView, Alteryx, or SQL to extract data from relational databases

Industry Specific Experience

• Experience within the rail industry is preferred, and preference will be given to candidates with industry experience in these or alternative leading-practice Supply Chain industries

Other Technical Skills / Abilities

• Competency in written and oral communication skills, project management skills, analytical and problem-solving skills, people management skills, and financial acumen is required

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Project Management

• Demonstrates thorough understanding of project management competency, tools, and techniques and can help solve problems or breakdowns in the process
• Ability to create work/project management tools (work breakdown structures, Gantt charts, etc.)
• Plan and run basic projects using project management best practices; develops schedules and task/people assignments

Risk Management

• Provides input to complex risk analyses and uses concepts in own work by proactively considering appropriate mitigating and contingency actions

Supplier Performance Management

• Understands the principles of supplier relationship management but has limited commercial focus and awareness beyond the sourcing stage
• Able to develop supplier performance management KPI tracking solutions

Contract Writing and Management

• Has a basic understanding of contracting and its impact on business; can help solve problems or breakdowns in the process
• Scopes standard work, performance criteria, guarantees, warranties, and payment terms and conditions

Spend Analysis

• Capable of developing detailed category spend analysis to the line level and using appropriate spend analysis tools
• Able to provide ongoing category-level spend monitoring analysis to understand off-contract or rogue spend

Negotiation

• Support and participate in negotiations of contracts between $1 and $10 million with successful results (i.e., savings, diversity, value discovery) in driving the best total cost of ownership for the company
• Proficient ability to develop strategies and tactics for conflict resolution and to understand distributive and integrative bargaining techniques, with familiarity in multiparty negotiations

Strategic Sourcing

• Thorough understanding of strategic sourcing steps and processes (opportunity quantification, supplier selection, evaluation, negotiation, RFI/RFP)
• Develop documents to support the process and facilitate a team in developing Strategic Sourcing supporting documents

Category Strategy Development and Management

• Fully understands, can articulate, and enact the principles of a strategic category approach (inclusive of Strategic Sourcing, Change Management, Process Improvement, and Technology Enablement)

Market Analysis

• Provide direction/oversee market research for a specific product, service, or firm, and understand internal and external market forces
• Advanced ability to understand indices for certain product or service categories, identify cost components, and perform pricing analysis based on applicable market indices
• Direct SWOT analysis and risk analysis for public and private companies

Procurement Process

• Proficient knowledge and application of applicable policies, processes, and procedures across the end-to-end procurement process
• Design and coordinate procurement processes and ensure efficient utilization of resources across all activities
• Coordinate with appropriate stakeholders to develop project plans; work with others to manage vendor/contractor integration

The Category Analyst supports Category Management initiatives by conducting spend analysis, supply market analysis, sourcing evaluations, negotiation modeling, supplier performance tracking, and category strategy development. Responsibilities include analyzing category spend and market trends, developing total cost of ownership models, managing supplier databases, supporting strategic sourcing activities, creating supplier scorecards and KPI tracking solutions, and assisting with procurement process improvement and technology requirements. Candidates must have 3–5 years of experience in category management, procurement analytics, or data analysis, with strong expertise in Power BI, Tableau, Python, QlikView, Alteryx, SQL, and relational databases. Required qualifications include an undergraduate degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Finance, Economics, or a related business/technical discipline. Preferred qualifications include Project Management or Professional Supply Chain certification and experience within the rail or other leading-practice supply chain industries. The role also requires expertise in strategic sourcing, spend analysis, contract management, supplier performance management, negotiation support, procurement processes, market analysis, risk analysis, and total cost of ownership modeling.