Value Chain Designer

at Caterpillar, Inc. in Decatur, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Career Area:

Engineering

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you’re joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don’t just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

As Value Chain Designer at Caterpillar, you will ensure linkage between product value stream teams and end-to-end value chains, including process planning and execution to meet or exceed customer order to delivery market requirements while improving the business’ Operating Profit after Capital Charge (OPACC). In addition, you will support the development and execution of end-to-end value chain network improvement activities, including strategic process transformation, value chain simplification and planning, value chain performance, logistics, and overall value chain costs.

What you will do:

- Lead NPI teams for efficient value chain design aligned to our Rigid Frame Valure Chain Strategy.

- Analyzing and identifying opportunities for Value Chain improvement and develop project scope and lead projects to address Value Chain challenges and opportunities, with emphasis on Quality, Cost & Flow.

- Developing business cases and capability studies, recommending improvements to stakeholders.

- Implementing new and enhanced processes and tools and governing changes through collaboration across multiple workstreams to ensure alignment.

- Identifying process inefficiencies and wastes of time, money, materials, and energy.

- Support other members of the value chain design team to help to identify OIA opportunities, solve problems and resolve model feasibility gaps.

- Support business and operational decisions of both internal and external value chain partners, by providing data-backed proposals to drive continuous improvements across the overall value stream.

- Responsible for working to maintain and strengthen communications and alignment between various NPI teams, as well as driving collaboration between all members of the enterprise value chain network.

- Review future LMT factory investments and make decisions/recommendations in alignment with RFT OIA strategy.

- Overseeing project progress and costs; communicating status with stakeholders and participating functional areas; addressing and resolving problems.

- Directing project staffing; motivating and developing project team and team members.

Background/Experience:

- Value stream or related experience

- Bachelor’s degree in operations research, engineering, industrial engineering, supply chain, management, or related quantitative field

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

- NPI and value chain transformation experience

- Demonstrated financial acumen

- Working knowledge of basic statistics in business context

- Excellent communication and data visualization skills

Top Candidates Will Have:

- Ability to understand and translate business and process conditions into feasible value chain trade off.

- Ability to translate options and scenarios into well-developed business case proposals and OIA projects.

- Understanding ERP systems’ lead time elements (supply chain, manufacturing, and marketing)

- Understanding product cost rollups and full value stream costs

- Value stream mapping experience

- Ability to work with cross functional teams globally and gather data for value chain design.

- Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills throughout the Cat network, such as global facilities, transportation organizations, marketing, accounting, etc.

- Ability to apply value stream models to extended applications within Caterpillar’s value stream processes.

- Very strong end-to-end supply base understanding, including customers and dealers.

- Ability to ramp up quickly within a new environment.

What Skills You Will Have:

Business Process Design: Knowledge of business process design; ability to develop appropriate techniques to re-examine key processes and focus on optimizing organizational performance.

Level Extensive Experience:

- Participates in the design and implementation of a supporting organizational structure.

- Redesigns or enhances business processes to meet regulatory requirements.

- Trains others to identify and implement required infrastructure to support specific processes.

- Leads a variety of types of business process design initiatives.

- Assesses potential implications of re-engineering for multiple functions or departments.

- Demonstrates mastery of re-engineering concepts, methods, and tools.

Business Process Improvement: Knowledge of business process improvement best practices and ability to use methods for identifying, evaluating, introducing and implementing more efficient approaches to performing business related activities.

Level Extensive Experience:

- Analyzes business processes, identifies alternative solutions to outdated processes and assesses their feasibility.

- Evaluates financial, cultural, technological and other factors that need to be addressed.

- Recommends new approaches that seek the use of advanced technology.

- Establishes requirements for large changes in the overall mission, roles, responsibilities and processes necessary to make business improvements.

- Participates in defining organizational strategic goals and purposes; defines how to gather and keep customers.

- Works to overcome BPI resistance from managers, the labor force and other groups.

Process Management: Knowledge of business process improvement tools and techniques; ability to understand, monitor, update, control, or enhance existing business or work processes.

Level Extensive Experience:

- Helps others learn the tools and techniques for process value analysis.

- Carries out process evaluation, diagnosis, and optimization.

- Demonstrates a thorough understanding of a major process flow, its components and issues.

- Synchronizes the efforts of, and resource requirements for, several teams within a process.

- Makes the business case for new processes, including their cost-benefit ratios.

- Possesses knowledge of tools and techniques for designing and implementing new processes.

Analytical Thinking: Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis; ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve these problems.

Level Extensive Experience:

- Seeks discrepancies and inconsistencies in available information; explains variances.

- Organizes and prioritizes the sequence of steps to be taken to remedy the situation.

- Identifies many possible causes for a problem based on prior experience and current research.

- Quantifies the costs, benefits, risks and chances for success before recommending a course of action.

- Approaches a complex problem by breaking it down into its component parts.

- Chooses among a diverse set of analytical tools according to the nature of the situation.

Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.

Level Extensive Experience:

- Reviews others’ writing or presentations and provides feedback and coaching.

- Adapts documents and presentations for the intended audience.

- Demonstrates both empathy and assertiveness when communicating a need or defending a position.

- Communicates well downward, upward, and outward.