B3 - Category Specialist - Engineering, Mechanical, Intermodal, Fuel & Corporate Services

Requisition 38885: B3 - Category Specialist - Engineering, Mechanical, Intermodal, Fuel & Corporate Services 

Please note, applying for a position outside of your department will require a departmental release.

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Primary Purpose:

Reporting to their respective Category Manager (Engineering, Mechanical, Intermodal, Fuel & Corporate Services), each Category Specialist will support their Category Management group by analyzing data and contributing to the development of category strategies. This role is responsible for transforming data into actionable insights, supporting sourcing initiatives, and managing supplier performance. Key responsibilities include spend analysis, market research, supplier evaluation, and the development of negotiation and performance tracking models to drive value and efficiency across assigned categories.

Principal Duties:

• Identify, gather, and analyze spend data relevant to category sourcing.
• Conduct detailed category analysis to capture market trends, benchmarks, cost drivers, and supplier insights.
• Perform periodic spend criticality analysis at both the category and enterprise levels.
• Contribute to value proposition development and sourcing strategies using SCM tools.
• Build and maintain a database of potential sourcing suppliers.
• Segment category spend to identify off-contract or non-compliant spend.
• Develop total cost of ownership (TCO) models and prioritize sourcing opportunities.
• Analyze market structures and identify supply-side levers and improvement opportunities.
• Evaluate new market entrants, alternative suppliers, and substitute products/services.
• Create strategic sourcing evaluation and negotiation models.
• Develop supplier scorecards and assist in tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and service levels.
• Support documentation of current and future state process maps and technology requirements.

Job Related Experience:

• 1–5 years of experience in category management and/or data analysis.
• Experience with analytics and visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, QlikView, Alteryx, or SQL.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Business Intelligence/Analytics, or a related technical or business discipline.

Licenses / Certifications:

• Required: None
• Preferred: Professional Supply Chain certification (e.g., CPSM, CSCP)

Skills and Abilities:

• Technical Skills:

• Project Management – Proficient in project planning, scheduling, and task assignment using tools like Gantt charts and work breakdown structures.
• Risk Management – Applies risk analysis techniques and proactively identifies mitigation strategies.
• Supplier Performance Management – Develops KPI tracking solutions and understands supplier relationship principles.
• Contract Writing and Management – Understands contract structures and scopes standard terms and performance criteria.
• Spend Analysis – Conducts detailed spend analysis and monitors off-contract or rogue spend.
• Negotiation – Supports negotiations for contracts valued between \$1M–\$10M using advanced strategies.
• Strategic Sourcing – Leads sourcing processes including RFI/RFP development, supplier evaluation, and opportunity quantification.
• Category Strategy Development and Management – Applies strategic category management principles including change management and process improvement.
• Market Analysis – Conducts market research, pricing analysis, and SWOT/risk assessments for suppliers and categories.
• Procurement Process – Applies end-to-end procurement policies and procedures; coordinates with stakeholders and vendors.

• Non-Technical Skills:
  • Business Acumen

• Understands current business priorities and general business principles.
• Demonstrates moderate market awareness and insight.<