Black Belt II

Supply Performance Engineer

Description:
This position provides supply chain expertise to material procurement teams. It is responsible for the evaluation and development of new and existing suppliers to the Aurora WLED facility to achieve and maintain Class A performance status. This includes implementation of Supply Chain strategies and initiatives, identification of root causes of poor supply, creation of proactive and reactive action plans, the development of the NPI supply base to achieve Class A from Pilot Build, and the identification of improvement actions within WLED internal processes and procedures.

Job Related Statistics
Number of Suppliers: Maximum of 6 key suppliers in terms of focused ongoing action, plus assistance for other ad-hoc poor supply priorities as required
Job Duties:
· Identify opportunities for improvement within external and internal supply chain processes and systems. Prioritize these opportunities, and drive change projects to conclusion.
· Support the development of proactive strategies supported by robust action plans to minimize suppliers identified as risks to Class A performance.
· Evaluate supplier capacity against Perkins demand profile feeding back to buyers as appropriate.
· Deploy diagnostic processes for root cause analysis of poor supply performance.
· Review suppliers with NPI commitments to ensure new components are available as required and will not impact Class A results.
· Train suppliers in the use and appropriate deployment of lean manufacturing, manufacturing planning, Class A and 6 Sigma tools and techniques.
· Use 6 Sigma methodology in this role, and to capture business benefits of projects undertaken in Supply Chain?s value proposition.
· Position requires frequent travel within USA and may require overseas travel. 60% of time will be within supplier facilities.
· Develop new processes to solve the problems preventing good supply as well as the improvement of existing processes.
· To lead and support 'project teams' that will be drawn from multiple functions such as the Logistics Planning, Supply Chain, Quality, Product and Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Purchasing, and Supplier representatives.

This Staff position general reports to the Purchasing Team Leader. The plant quality system is the agreed on plantwide operating work structure for guiding the coordinated actions of the people, machines and information of the plant in the best and most practical ways to assure customer quality satisfaction and economical costs of quality.

DEVELOPS, MAINTAINS, AND MANAGES SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT PLANS.
ASSISTS SUPPLIERS WITH QUALITY SYSTEM DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT.
ASSISTS MANUFACTURING AND MAJOR SUPPLIERS WITH THE PROCESS CONTROL PLAN FOR MANUFACTURING CELLS.
PROVIDES SUPPORT ON QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES TO CATERPILLAR EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS
REQUIREMENTS
Supply Performance Engineer

Qualifications:
Key Attributes Required:
· To be able to work and deliver results in an environment of extremely challenging and diverse problems.
· To be able to drive change at suppliers from the highest level of management to shop floor activities.
A seasoned specialist in the field of supplier management and development, who will provide guidance and support to supplier representatives
Knowledge/Background/Experience:
The incumbent must possess excellent interpersonal communication skills, have a minimum of 5 years experience in a broad range of Logistics / Supply Chain / Purchasing / Manufacturing / 6 Sigma activities, have demonstrated experience of project management techniques and be knowledgeable of Logistics/Supply Chain lean practices. The incumbent will need to communicate both internally and externally of the organization. Incumbent must be capable of utilizing Six Sigma methodology and be acknowledged as an expert in problem solving and the application of innovative solutions. Strong project leadership / management skills will be fundamental.


To apply for this position, please visit www.JoinTeamCaterpillar.com and search "Quality" jobs. Apply for position 043035 by September 30, 2006.