Category Analyst - Package Transport

Morton Salt is an iconic company with a strong heritage and a bright future. Since 1848, we have been improving lives and enhancing everyday moments - at home, at work and virtually everywhere in between. We help unlock the flavors in food, make roads and sidewalks safer, improve the water in baths, pools, and homes, and keep businesses and industries running. We are a dedicated team who constantly strives to do better together, and we are passionate about building a sustainable future for our company, the communities in which we operate, and the world around us. By joining our team, you will contribute to producing and delivering every form of salt that enhances everyday life.

Job Summary

The Category Analyst plans, sources and negotiates transportation services for their assigned transportation category (package truck & intermodal transport) to provide to the organization the lowest total cost to serve and ensures that the carriers and suppliers KPIs, SLAs, and contractual obligations are being met.

The jobholder is responsible for the preparation of all data for RFXs activities, developing and executing category strategies, managing supplier performance and the day-to-day activities within their assigned transportation category. The jobholder will also provide freight expense estimates for new or potential business, for project analysis to support network and modal optimizations, and source the necessary capacity with suppliers and carriers to support the business.

Success in this position is primarily measured by cost reduction/avoidance impact, successful management of suppliers, the ability to work with other departments on transportation-related projects, thus providing a high level of service to the company.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for the procurement and execution of the company's package transport business.
• Work closely with sales and marketing team to timely respond to forecast changes, sales spikes, volumes, and trends on a real time basis.
• Review freight bills that do not match with freight expense shown as the expected cost. Make corrections as required. Approve for payment and perform root cause analysis and provide contractual information for freight invoice discrepancies.
• Review and monitor & report on supplier performance and cost performance by use of operational and cost metrics and investigate and resolve service issues.
• Review actual costs vs budget by performing analysis and forecasting as required.
• Develop best practice tools, templates and processes.
• Prepare RFIs, RFPs, and RFQ and lead negotiations with providers to achieve competitive rates and mitigate price increases.
• Work with Legal and internal stakeholders, as needed, to complete required contracts.
• Interface independently with internal and external customers at all levels, including senior leadership.
• Participate in or lead special projects as assigned along with communicating project findings/results to logistics team, manufacturing facilities and others as required.
• Travel Required: Approximately 15% annually

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor's degree preferred, with preference towards Business, Logistics, Supply Chain or Operations Management or 5 years of experience in Supply Chain, Operations and/or Project Management or 3 years working with transportation shipment execution and/or freight procurement.
• Experience with internet-based load management (track and trace) software.
• Familiar with package freight transportation equipment along with transportation regulatory requirements preferred.
• Experience with SAP, Warehouse Management or Transportation Management systems, Business Warehouse or similar reporting packages, databases, and analytical tools highly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Exhibits confidence and ability to interact with various levels both internally & externally.
• Able to work independently as well as across functional or matrix team structures.
• Ability to influence and build consensus around proposed opportunities within and outside of Supply Chain (Transportation, Customer Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Operations, etc.).
• Strong analytical skills with high level of organization, follow through & accuracy. Ability to collect, organize, analyze and disseminate information with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Well-developed relationship-building, problem-solving, decision-making, negotiation, data extraction and analysis.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously. Strong track record for execution and follow through when managing critical deadlines.

At Morton Salt, we work best when we work as a team, when we treat one another with dignity and respect, and value the unique contributions of others. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin, sex, religion, color, disability, marital status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.