Supply Chain Analyst

Title: Purchasing, Procurement & Supply Chain Supervisor – Rail Systems & Assets (C2H)

Location: Atlanta, GA 30308 (Hybrid: 2x/Week)

Type: Contract to Hire. 6 Months C2H.

Industry: Rail Transportation.

Job Overview:

• This position assists in or leads the procurement of assigned materials and/or services for the organization. The role is responsible for managing both short-term tactical requirements and long-term supply agreements at the lowest overall total cost of ownership, while ensuring compliance with quality, delivery, and service standards. The position also plays a critical role in sustaining a long-term, productive supply chain strategy aligned with internal customer departments to ensure the Corporation remains operationally competitive and delivers significant value to shareholders.
• Areas of responsibility vary by assignment and may include rolling stock (locomotive and freight car parts); wayside and locomotive communications and signal (C&S) systems and components, including Positive Train Control (PTC); shop and track equipment and tools; technology services and components; locomotive fuel services; as well as a wide range of track, train operations, marketing facility, and G&A services. Some positions also oversee system-wide disposition of surplus assets, including rolling stock, track materials, and all other non-real estate assets.
• The Client Corporation Enterprise Resources Department is part of the Operations Division.

Total Annual Purchases (avg.): $55 Million

Purchase Order Approval Limit: $0.1 Million

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyze procurement data to identify trends, savings opportunities, and compliance gaps; create dashboards and reports for leadership.
• Mitigate supply risk and ensure timely delivery of materials and services while reducing TCO and maintaining required product/service quality and specifications.
• Place orders for assigned items using existing price records, purchase agreements, and by conducting inquiries and/or price and terms negotiations with the most favorable suppliers.
• Manage purchase order updates, outline contracts, data cleanup, supplier follow-ups, and related tasks.
• Negotiate materials or services exceeding approval limits and escalate to the Manager for approval.
• Track and evaluate supplier KPIs, scorecards, and service levels to ensure alignment with contractual obligations and business objectives.
• Ensure all procurement activities comply with internal policies, corporate procedures, and applicable federal/state laws, including antitrust statutes and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Help minimize corporate inventory investment while maintaining high service levels for user departments.
• Once trained, provide sound recommendations to the Manager/Group Manager and demonstrate independent, creative thinking.
• Serve as a liaison between procurement, business units, and suppliers to resolve operational issues and ensure alignment.
• Work collaboratively with senior sourcing staff, internal stakeholders, and suppliers while identifying and driving process improvements, automation, and efficiencies.
• Leverage data to support complex purchasing decisions; demonstrate strong attention to detail and analytical ability
• Maintain engaged working relationships with assigned departments to ensure continuous improvement in procurement, cost control, and supplier competitiveness, including the development of alternate suppliers and total cost analysis.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of strategic suppliers, changing market conditions, new products, and technological advances relevant to assigned materials and services.
• Ensure effective use of SAP procurement tools (currently SRM and ECC, with planned migration to ARIBA and S4); continuously identify ways to reduce administrative burden and increase focus on cost control; maintain 80% or greater of standard catalog items under long-term contracts to reduce transactional workload.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards in all negotiations, ensuring fairness, adequate consideration of bids, and objective decision-making.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in sourcing, purchasing, or related roles.
• Strong ability to work independently, manage time, meet deadlines, and communicate complex information clearly.
• Familiarity with SAP ECC or S4.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in Microsoft Excel; comfortable leveraging data, financial, and TCO analysis in purchasing decisions. Experience with data-intensive projects (academic or professional) is a plus.
• Solid experience in purchasing and negotiations.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills; able to work in an inclusive, collaborative, and respectful team environment.
• Demonstrated leadership traits: composure under pressure, willingness to take calculated risks, decisiveness, and the courage to challenge long-standing practices.
• Proven ability to initiate and lead change, drive process improvements, and serve as a thought leader open to new ideas.
• Positive, energetic, forward-looking, and committed to continuous improvement.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree (BBA, BS).
• Preferred majors: Business or Industrial Engineering with supply chain management coursework from a highly accredited university.
• Master’s degree is a plus.

Key Attributes:

• Strong ability to manage multiple priorities, balancing project deadlines with daily tasks.
• Curious, proactive problem solver comfortable with ambiguity.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Clear, proactive communicator who collaborates effectively across teams.

Job Summary:

The Supervisor Purchasing/Supply Chain Analyst in rail transportation is responsible for procuring materials and services across diverse categories—including rolling stock, communications systems, tools, fuel, technology, and surplus asset disposition—while managing purchase orders up to $0.1M within an annual spend of $55M.

Core duties include negotiating supplier contracts, analyzing procurement data to identify savings and compliance gaps, managing supplier KPIs, ensuring adherence to corporate policies and regulations (including SOX and antitrust laws), minimizing inventory investment, and driving process improvements through SAP tools (SRM, ECC, with upcoming migration to ARIBA/S4).

The role requires at least 3 years’ experience in sourcing or purchasing, strong negotiation and analytical skills, SAP familiarity, advanced Excel proficiency, and experience leveraging financial and TCO analysis in decision-making. Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree (BBA, BS, preferably in Business or Industrial Engineering with supply chain coursework); a master’s is a plus.

Key attributes include independence, leadership under pressure, process improvement orientation, clear communication, collaborative mindset, and the ability to manage multiple priorities with attention to detail and a proactive, forward-looking approach.