Business Analyst - Warehouse & Master Data

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nJob Title: Business Analyst – Warehouse & Master DataLocation: Valparaiso, INWork Model: Remote with possible travel or Hybrid — onsite Tuesday through Thursday; remote Monday and FridayRate: $60–$67/hourContract Duration: Through December 31, 2026Possibility of Extension: To be determined; manager cannot comment on an extension at this timeEmployment Type: W-2 OnlyWork Authorization: U.S. Citizens Only | Green Card holders also eligible; no visa sponsorship availablePosition Overview\nWe are seeking an experienced Supply Chain Business Analyst – Warehouse & Master Data to support warehouse, inventory, procurement, and supply chain transformation initiatives within a large utility environment.\nThe primary focus of this role will be warehouse master data cleanup and normalization, along with analysis of inventory and procurement processes, identification of operational and data-quality issues, and development of practical recommendations for improvement.\nThis individual will work closely with warehouse operations, procurement, Supply Chain, IT, engineering, business stakeholders, and third-party implementation partners to understand current-state processes, identify root causes, validate requirements, and help drive improvements across systems, data, and operations.\nThe ideal candidate is highly analytical and comfortable working directly with data, business users, and technical teams. They should have practical experience with SAP inventory and order-processing functionality, material master data, warehouse operations, inventory processes, procurement workflows, barcoding, and inventory-tracking technologies.\nThis role is particularly well suited for someone who can move comfortably between detailed data analysis and stakeholder conversations, adapt quickly as priorities evolve, and translate findings into clear recommendations for both business and technical audiences.Key ResponsibilitiesWarehouse Master Data Management\n\n Lead analysis and cleanup of warehouse and supply chain master data.\n Identify and resolve data-quality issues involving:\n \n Material descriptions\n Units of measure\n Material attributes\n Compatible units\n Inventory classifications\n Duplicate materials\n Missing or inconsistent data\n Obsolete or inaccurate records\n \n Support normalization and standardization of warehouse and material master data.\n Identify root causes behind recurring data-quality issues.\n Recommend sustainable processes and controls to improve long-term data integrity.\n Support development of naming conventions, data standards, and material-governance practices.\n Partner with business and technical stakeholders to validate data corrections and requirements.\nInventory Process Analysis\n\n Review current inventory-management processes and identify opportunities for improvement.\n Analyze workflows related to:\n \n Receiving\n Stocking\n Material movement\n Inventory adjustments\n Transfers\n Replenishment\n Material issuance\n Returns\n Inventory reconciliation\n \n Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, data issues, and control weaknesses.\n Evaluate the relationship between inventory processes and system behavior.\n Recommend practical changes to improve inventory accuracy, material availability, and process efficiency.\n Support inventory-health and optimization initiatives as needed.\nProcurement Process Analysis\n\n Review procurement processes and identify operational, system, and data-related improvement opportunities.\n Analyze the interaction between procurement, inventory, warehouse operations, and material master data.\n Support review of:\n \n Purchase requisitions\n Purchase orders\n Material requests\n Supplier-related processes\n Material availability\n Order processing\n \n Identify process breakdowns and recommend corrective or preventive actions.\n Partner with procurement and Supply Chain stakeholders to improve workflow consistency and efficiency.\n Help ensure procurement processes align with warehouse and inventory requirements.\nSAP Analysis & Support\n\n Use SAP knowledge to analyze warehouse, inventory, procurement, and order-processing issues.\n Review SAP transactions, master data, and business processes to identify potential root causes.\n Support analysis of SAP functionality related to:\n \n Inventory management\n Materials management\n Order processing\n Procurement\n Material master\n Goods movements\n Inventory transactions\n \n Work with business users and technical teams to troubleshoot SAP-related issues.\n Translate business requirements into clear functional needs for SAP and related systems.\n Support requirements gathering, testing, validation, and implementation of system changes.\nBarcoding & Inventory Tracking\n\n Support implementation or enhancement of barcoding and inventory-tracking solutions.\n Analyze current warehouse tracking processes and identify opportunities to reduce manual work or data errors.\n Partner with warehouse teams, IT, and implementation partners to define business requirements.\n Help validate barcode-enabled workflows and system integrations.\n Support testing and operational adoption of new inventory-tracking capabilities.\n Ensure barcoding solutions align with inventory processes, SAP, and master-data requirements.\nBusiness Process Analysis & Recommendations\n\n Document current-state processes and identify operational pain points.\n Facilitate discussions with business users to understand how work is performed today.\n Identify gaps between current-state and desired future-state processes.\n Develop clear recommendations based on business needs, system capabilities, and data analysis.\n Create future-state process recommendations and improvement opportunities.\n Support standardization of warehouse, inventory, procurement, and master-data processes.\n Evaluate whether identified issues stem from:\n \n Process\n Data\n System configuration\n Governance\n Training\n User practices\n \n Help stakeholders prioritize improvement opportunities based on business value and operational impact.\nData Analysis & Insights\n\n Analyze warehouse, inventory, procurement, and master-data information to identify trends, inconsistencies, and root causes.\n Use data to validate operational concerns and business assumptions.\n Develop insights and recommendations based on quantitative and qualitative analysis.\n Identify recurring issues and patterns requiring process or system changes.\n Prepare analysis for business and leadership stakeholders.\n Translate detailed findings into concise, actionable recommendations.\n Support metrics, reporting, and dashboards as needed.\nThird-Party Implementor Coordination\n\n Serve as an effective liaison between the client and third-party implementation partners.\n Translate business requirements into clear functional and operational expectations.\n Help implementation teams understand current-state processes, pain points, and desired outcomes.\n Review vendor recommendations and assess whether proposed solutions address actual business requirements.\n Identify gaps between vendor designs and operational needs.\n Facilitate discussions between business users and technical implementation teams.\n Track open questions, requirements, decisions, and actions.\n Help resolve misunderstandings or requirements gaps before they affect delivery.\n Maintain strong, collaborative relationships while holding third parties accountable for agreed-upon requirements.\nRequirements Gathering & Documentation\n\n Facilitate requirements-gathering sessions with business and technical stakeholders.\n Document:\n \n Business requirements\n Functional requirements\n Process requirements\n Data requirements\n Business rules\n Current-state processes\n Future-state processes\n \n Develop process flows, requirements documentation, issue logs, and analysis materials.\n Maintain traceability between business problems, requirements, recommendations, and implemented solutions.\n Ensure requirements are understandable to both business and technical audiences.\nTesting & Implementation Support\n\n Support testing of system and process changes.\n Develop or review business test scenarios and acceptance criteria.\n Participate in validation of:\n \n SAP changes\n Warehouse technology\n Barcoding solutions\n Inventory processes\n Master-data changes\n \n Document defects and coordinate resolution with business and technical teams.\n Support User Acceptance Testing and business readiness activities.\n Help confirm implemented solutions address identified business requirements.\nStakeholder Collaboration\n\n Work closely with:\n \n Warehouse Operations\n Supply Chain\n Procurement\n IT\n Engineering\n Standards teams\n Vendors\n Third-party implementors\n Business leadership\n \n Facilitate cross-functional problem-solving discussions.\n Translate technical concepts into business language and business needs into technical requirements.\n Build credibility with both operational and technical stakeholders.\n Communicate risks, findings, recommendations, and decisions clearly.\n Maintain effective working relationships across multiple teams.\nAdaptability & Project Support\n\n Adapt quickly as project priorities, scope, or business needs change.\n Support multiple concurrent workstreams when needed.\n Shift between analysis, requirements, stakeholder coordination, testing, and implementation support based on project needs.\n Maintain action trackers, issues, dependencies, and decisions as appropriate.\n Help ensure analysis and recommendations remain aligned with changing business priorities.\n Support project leadership with status updates and issue escalation when necessary.\nDay-to-Day Responsibilities\n\n Review warehouse and material master data for accuracy and consistency.\n Analyze material descriptions, units of measure, inventory attributes, and related data issues.\n Meet with warehouse and procurement teams to understand current processes and pain points.\n Review SAP transactions and processes affecting inventory and order management.\n Analyze inventory and procurement data to identify trends and root causes.\n Document current-state processes and develop improvement recommendations.\n Work with third-party implementors to clarify business requirements.\n Validate proposed solutions against operational needs.\n Support barcoding and inventory-tracking initiatives.\n Develop business and functional requirements.\n Facilitate stakeholder meetings and requirements sessions.\n Support testing and validation of system and process changes.\n Prepare analysis, presentations, and recommendations for leadership.\n Track open issues, decisions, and follow-up actions.\n Adjust priorities as project needs evolve.\nRequired Qualifications\n\n 5+ years of experience in business analysis, supply chain, warehousing, inventory management, procurement, master data, or related work.\n Demonstrated success performing master data cleanup within a warehouse or supply chain environment.\n Strong understanding of warehouse and inventory-management processes.\n Experience reviewing inventory and procurement processes and developing recommendations for improvement.\n Familiarity with SAP, particularly functionality supporting:\n \n Inventory management\n Order processing\n Materials management\n Procurement\n \n Experience analyzing operational or system data and translating findings into actionable recommendations.\n Experience gathering and documenting business and functional requirements.\n Strong process-analysis and problem-solving capabilities.\n Ability to identify root causes across data, process, system, and governance issues.\n Strong written and verbal communication skills.\n Ability to work effectively between business and technical teams.\n Experience coordinating with third-party vendors, systems integrators, or implementation partners.\n Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.\n Ability to adapt and pivot quickly as project needs change.\n Ability to work onsite in Valparaiso, IN Tuesday through Thursday.\nPreferred Qualifications\n\n Experience with warehouse master data normalization and remediation.\n Experience with SAP Materials Management or Inventory Management functionality.\n Familiarity with:\n \n Material master\n Units of measure\n Compatible units\n Bills of Material\n Material naming conventions\n Catalog standardization\n \n Experience implementing or supporting barcoding and inventory-tracking technologies.\n Experience with warehouse-management systems or related inventory technologies.\n Experience supporting warehouse transformation or optimization programs.\n Experience with inventory forecasting, inventory optimization, or inventory-health analysis.\n Experience working with procurement processes and supplier-related workflows.\n Experience supporting User Acceptance Testing and implementation readiness.\n Utility, energy, infrastructure, industrial, or manufacturing experience.\n Experience collaborating with engineering or standards organizations.\n Business Analysis, Lean, Six Sigma, SAP, or related professional certification is a plus.\nCore Competencies\n\n Business Analysis\n Supply Chain\n Warehouse Operations\n Master Data Management\n Master Data Cleanup\n Data Quality\n Data Normalization\n SAP\n Inventory Management\n Order Processing\n Procurement\n Material Master\n Process Analysis\n Process Improvement\n Requirements Gathering\n Data Analysis\n Root-Cause Analysis\n Barcoding\n Inventory Tracking\n Vendor Coordination\n Systems Integration\n Testing & Validation\n Stakeholder Management\n Business / IT Liaison\n Adaptability\nIdeal Candidate Profile\nThe ideal candidate is a hands-on Supply Chain Business Analyst who understands how warehouse operations, inventory, procurement, master data, and enterprise systems interact.\nThe strongest candidates will have personally worked through warehouse master-data cleanup, investigated inventory or procurement problems, analyzed SAP-related issues, and developed recommendations based on both operational input and data.\nThey should be comfortable sitting between business users and a third-party implementation team, asking detailed questions, identifying gaps, clarifying requirements, and making sure proposed solutions actually address the client's business problems.\nThis role requires someone who is analytical without being overly theoretical, technically comfortable without needing to be a developer, and flexible enough to shift priorities as the transformation evolves.