SAP Business Analyst (Manufacturing)

IEWC•New Berlin, WI

About The Position

Shape your future at IEWC! As an employee-owner, you will be a valued team member, contributing to something bigger and gaining skills that will set your career up for hypergrowth! The SAP Business Analyst (Manufacturing) serves as the bridge between IEWC’s manufacturing operations and IT enterprise applications in a global manufacturing and distribution environment. Working closely with production managers, operations leaders, quality teams, and a cross-functional team of SAP Business Analysts (SD, PP, FICO, LE, MM), this role translates manufacturing requirements into system solutions, drives process improvement initiatives, and ensures SAP effectively supports production operations. The focus is on understanding, supporting and optimizing manufacturing business processes rather than deep technical system configuration.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, or related field and 3 to 5 years of experience in manufacturing or operations environments; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Strong understanding of manufacturing operations including production planning, scheduling, MRP, shop floor execution, quality control, inventory management, and maintenance. Familiarity with discrete manufacturing, repetitive manufacturing, make-to-stock, and make-to-order environments.
Experience with SAP (ECC 6.0 or higher) in a manufacturing environment. Understanding of how SAP supports manufacturing processes across PP, MM, QM, SD, LE, and FICO modules. Ability to perform light configuration including master data updates, report modifications, and minor parameter adjustments. Deep technical SAP expertise not required; focus is on business process understanding and effective collaboration with technical SAP Business Analysts.
Strong capabilities in requirements gathering, process mapping, gap analysis, and workshop facilitation. Ability to create functional specifications, test scenarios, user acceptance criteria, and comprehensive business process documentation. Proficiency with business analysis tools, process mapping software, and Microsoft Office Suite.
Knowledge and experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, value stream mapping, and process optimization methodologies. Understanding of how to apply continuous improvement principles in conjunction with ERP systems.
Excellent communication skills with ability to interact effectively with manufacturing personnel at all levels, from shop floor operators to plant managers. Strong ability to collaborate with technical IT teams and translate between business and technical language.
Advanced analytical ability to work with complex manufacturing processes, perform root cause analysis, identify optimization opportunities, and solve operational challenges. Ability to collect and analyze data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions from business and operational information.
Valid driver's license and ability to obtain a passport.

Nice To Haves

APICS certifications (CPIM, CSCP) and Lean Six Sigma certifications (Green Belt or Black Belt) are valued.
SAP certifications beneficial but not required.

Responsibilities

Analyze and document manufacturing business processes including production planning, shop floor operations, quality control, material movement, and maintenance activities through interviews, observations, and collaboration with production teams.
Gather and translate manufacturing requirements into clear functional specifications, creating process flow diagrams, value stream maps, and business process documentation.
Facilitate workshops with manufacturing stakeholders to perform gap analysis between current processes and desired future state, identifying opportunities for improvement.
Perform light SAP configuration tasks such as updating master data parameters, modifying standard reports, and making minor system adjustments under technical guidance.
Collaborate with SAP Business Analysts across SD, PP, FICO, LE, and MM modules to ensure manufacturing requirements are properly addressed and integrated into system solutions.
Serve as the manufacturing subject matter expert, providing business context and domain knowledge to technical teams while translating SAP solutions into business terms for manufacturing users.
Participate in cross-functional SAP projects affecting manufacturing operations, representing the voice of the production floor and coordinating with external consultants as needed.
Lead or participate in continuous improvement initiatives to streamline manufacturing processes, reduce waste, and improve operational efficiency using Lean tools
Benchmark manufacturing processes against industry best practices and support the company's strategic plans through process optimization recommendations.
Apply Waterfall as well as Agile project management methodologies including Scrum and Kanban for manufacturing system implementations.
Develop and execute user acceptance test scenarios from a manufacturing business process perspective, supporting unit and integration testing activities in coordination with other SAP BAs.
Create training materials, conduct training sessions for manufacturing end-users, and develop process documentation, SOPs, and user guides.
Provide first-level end-user support for manufacturing-related questions, escalating to technical SAP BAs as needed while ensuring minimal disruption to production operations.
Analyze manufacturing data and create reports to support data-driven decision-making for production optimization.
Support users and facilities at all IEWC locations across the globe.