Career Area:
Supply Chain and Logistics
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.
Role Definition
Manages purchased material requirements, taking appropriate actions to ensure material availability when needed, with appropriate inventory levels required to support customer requirements and inventory administration.
Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain material planning methods and safety stock strategies, understand and monitor delivery/response times, forecasting methods and the subcontracting process, in accordance with assigned products and services, complying with materials and demand planning guidelines.
- Execution and monitoring of purchase orders according to the demand signals for the assigned products, starting from placing purchase orders until the delivery of the product, ensuring that the correct material is delivered to the right place and at the right time.
- Monitor inventory levels and tools to disposition inactive, obsolete or excess inventory following materials and demand planning guidelines.
- Monitor material shortages tools, adjusting the delivery schedule with suppliers as needed, according inventory availability and demand signals. Communicate shortages or risk of shortages to customer.
Degree Requirement
Degree or equivalent experience desired
Skill Descriptors
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 Working Knowledge:
- Gathers data for use in the analysis of business processes.
- Illustrates problems, opportunities and methods for improving existing business processes.
- Suggests ways to reduce variation and/or waste in processes.
- Helps evaluate what factors should be addressed in the change program.
- Participates in requirements analysis for process changes.
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 Working Knowledge:
- Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue and determining its significance.
- Makes a systematic comparison of two or more alternative solutions.
- Uses flow charts, Pareto charts, fish diagrams, etc. to disclose meaningful data patterns.
- Uses logic and intuition to make inferences about the meaning of the data and arrive at conclusions.
- Identifies the major forces, events, and people impacting and impacted by the situation at hand.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Level Working Knowledge:
- Applies an assigned technique for critical thinking in a decision-making process.
- Identifies, obtains, and organizes relevant data and ideas.
- Participates in documenting data, ideas, players, stakeholders, and processes.
- Recognizes, clarifies, and prioritizes concerns.
- Assists in assessing risks, benefits and consideration of alternatives.
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 Working Knowledge:
- Delivers helpful feedback that focuses on behaviors without offending the recipient.
- Listens to feedback without defensiveness and uses it for own communication effectiveness.
- Makes oral presentations and writes reports needed for own work.
- Avoids technical jargon when inappropriate.
- Looks for and considers non-verbal cues from individuals and groups.
Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
Level Working Knowledge:
- Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives.
- Examines a specific problem and understands the perspective of each involved stakeholder.
- Develops alternative techniques for assessing accuracy and relevance of information.
- Helps to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches and obtain decision on resolution.
- Uses fact-finding techniques and diagnostic tools to identify problems.
Matrix Management: Understanding of the importance of being able to leverage external resources when required and ability to build and use effective working relationships within own department and across department, functional, and geographic reporting lines.
Level Working Knowledge:
- Communicates effectively up, down, and across the organization.
- Balances requirements and deliverables from various functional areas.
- Describes basic viewpoint of own functional specialty.
- Under guidance, identifies and resolves potentially conflicting requirements.
- Keeps relevant functional and line associates involved on key project or tactical issues.
Vendor/Supplier Management: Knowledge of external provider management processes and ability to effectively manage the business relationship with external providers (e.g., vendors, service providers, contractors, consultants, and suppliers).
Level Working Knowledge:
- Works with vendors to assure that products or services are delivered to time and quality specifications.
- Provides feedback on vendor performance to responsible contract administrators.
- Resolves routine issues or problems with vendors in organization's best interest.
- Identifies communications bottlenecks and recommends appropriate solutions.
- Builds effective working relationships with counterparts in vendor or supplier's organization.
Procurement: Knowledge of buying and procurement; ability to work with organizational strategies and practices, and use tools for buying goods, supplies, equipment and services needed to conduct business.
Level Working Knowledge:
- Works with the procurement of services, materials or equipment.
- Follows established procedures, documentation requirements and approval level requests to conduct procurement activities.
- Interprets benefits, issues and considerations of using e-procurement.
- Uses available procurement systems and tools in transactions with approved suppliers.
- Assists in reviewing the fulfillment of administrative and documentation requirements for the completion of purchase.
Posting Dates:
May 27, 2026 - June 7, 2026
Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply
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