What are the responsibilities and job description for the Strategic Sourcing Specialist position at Whisker?
Description
Whisker is the maker of Litter-Robot, Feeder-Robot, and Litterbox.com. At Whisker, we believe pet parenthood can always get better.
As leading innovators in pet tech and refined pet accessories, we work tirelessly to solve problems and deliver smarter insights for pet parents while enriching the lives of pets. Whether it’s a self-cleaning litter box that automates scooping, an automatic feeder that helps pets develop healthier eating habits, or a modern cat tree that delights both humans and felines, we strive to deliver better solutions for consumers while transforming pet care along the way. To us, having a pet is the best thing ever. At Whisker, life together just keeps getting better.
Whisker is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan and Juneau, Wisconsin with 700 passionate team members.
What You’ll Do:
Whisker has an exciting opportunity for a Strategic Sourcing Specialist. The role of the Strategic Sourcing Specialist is to assist the execution of supplier management, cost out and new product introductions (NPI). The role will also aid in the quantitative analyses and analytical efforts in support of Whisker’s Operations Management Team. The Strategic Sourcing Specialist will support analytical efforts by collecting and managing the procurement data necessary for, and assisting with, conducting spend analysis, developing cost baselines, conduct market research to evaluate contracts, and obtain new contract ideas; perform benchmarking, and all other types of quantitative analyses required in the sourcing process for a broad range of spend categories.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as deemed necessary.
- Manages vendor relationship and spend for assigned supply partners
- Creates business and sourcing process(es) in areas of opportunity
- Creates bid lists for NPI, cost savings measurements, or supply continuity as required
- Assists in the preparation of high-level analytical reports pertaining to spend data
- Collects and manages procurement data necessary for various analytics initiatives
- Requests specific information from internal connections and/or business partners
- Researches, identifies, and collects available relevant external data sources, or extracting data directly by means of a detailed source document review
- Creates bid lists for NPI, cost savings measurements, or supply continuity as required
- Participates in RFI/RFP/RFQ calls, contract review meetings, and category meetings as required
- Collects the necessary data to identify the data constraints presented
- Consolidates, normalizes, cleanses and manages all the data collected
- Analyzes, summarizes, documents, and reports findings
- Assists with the cleansing, enriching, categorizing, loading, and testing of spend data
- Will perform additional responsibilities when required
Requirements
What You’ll Bring:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Statistics, or Applied Mathematics is highly desired
- 2-5 years of experience in a business-related field or field requiring quantitative skills
- Work experience in procurement or strategic sourcing
- Experience in Contracting/Supplier/Company researching
- Understand basic, relevant research info/resources/techniques in a procurement environment i.e. industry, competitors, revenue/spend, rankings
- Ability to summarize and present findings to all levels of the company
- Solid Analytical Skills
- Proficient with Microsoft Office with a high level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel software
- Understanding of data sampling techniques and approaches
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Demonstrated ability to work with others both internally and externally
- Working knowledge of the procurement function
- Ability to multitask and prioritize
- Requires up to 40% travel both domestically and internationally
- Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information
- Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions
- A high degree of initiative, self-motivation, and ability to motivate others
- Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with Team Members and colleagues
- Comfortable with office pets (cats, dogs)
Not Required but Nice to Have!
- DOMO or Power BI software experience
- Spend Management Application experience
Benefits & Purrks:
Join a tenacious, inventive company that empowers team members to chart their own path, lead by grounding decisions in the “why”, and has a strong sense of empathy and openness to new perspectives. Be a part of exciting growth, work with incredible people, and create tomorrow’s pet products—plus a whole lot of extras. You will also be provided with:
- Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Whisker Parents Program
- 1 day "pawternity" leave for new pet adoption
- Pet Insurance Discount
- 401K match
- Flexible spending accounts
- Company-paid short-term disability and life insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Generous paid time off
- 14 Paid Holidays
- Top of the line equipment
- Pet-friendly office
- Whisker products and swag
- Continuing education Support
- On-site gym with Peloton
- Referral program
Statement of Inclusivity:
We believe different perspectives make Whisker better and strive to create a place where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.
Please ensure to regularly check your email spam folder for any communication from Whisker to avoid missing important updates regarding your application status.
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