Value Chain Designer

Caterpillar•Decatur, IL

6h•Onsite

About The Position

As a Value Chain Designer in our Decatur, IL facility, you’ll play a critical role in shaping how some of the largest, most advanced mining equipment on the planet is designed, sourced, produced, and delivered by owning the full value chain from inbound material planning to final product flow. As a Value Chain Designer, you won’t just improve processes… you will operate like an engineer embedded in purchasing and supply chain, driving end-to-end optimization across a global enterprise. This highly visible role sits at the intersection of engineering, purchasing, supply chain, manufacturing, operations, and logistics, where you’ll act as the prime contact to resolve material shortages and keep production moving. You’ll define boundary conditions, identify system constraints, and develop data-driven solutions spanning product sourcing, supplier capacity planning, footprint analysis, and inbound material flow. Partnering closely with the supply base and internal teams, you’ll build and refine value-stream models that uncover waste, improve cost and delivery performance, and ensure continuity across the network. If you thrive on solving complex system challenges, influencing cross-functional teams, and delivering measurable impact across the value chain, this role offers unmatched scope and visibility.

Requirements

Degree or equivalent experience desired
Business Process Design: Ability to redesign or enhance business processes, lead process design initiatives, and assess cross-functional re-engineering impacts.
Process Management: Expert-level ability to remove barriers to improvement, create mechanisms for process reviews, and consult on optimization approaches, tools, and techniques.
Analytical Thinking: Ability to break down complex problems, quantify costs/benefits/risks, and choose from a diverse set of analytical tools.
Effective Communication: Ability to adapt messages for the intended audience, influence stakeholders, and communicate clearly upward, downward, and across functions.
Problem Solving: Expert-level ability to orchestrate solutions for high-impact, cross-functional issues and establish decision criteria and assessment processes.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Expert-level capability to lead structured investigations, mentor others, and foster a root-cause-driven improvement culture.

Nice To Haves

Around 10 years of relevant value-chain-related work experiences .
Ability to understand and translate business and process conditions into feasible value stream models.
Understanding ERP systems’ lead-time elements as they relate to supply chain & purchasing.
Strong end-to-end supply base understanding , including customers and dealers
Experience building future-state process maps , leading cross-functional transformation , and developing business cases for operational improvements.
Strong comfort with data analysis , optimization thinking , and translating insights into action across a complex manufacturing value chain .

Responsibilities

Lead and coordinate cross ‑ functional teams (Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Suppliers) to optimize end ‑ to ‑ end value chain performance from the supply base through final delivery.
Operate as an “engineer within the value chain,” blending technical, purchasing, and supply chain expertise to solve complex system challenges.
Serve as the prime contact for material continuity , proactively resolving part shortages and ensuring production remains uninterrupted.
Define boundary conditions , identify system constraints , and develop solutions that improve flow, capacity, and overall network performance.
Drive critical value chain activities including inbound material planning, product sourcing, supplier and internal capacity planning, and footprint/network analysis.
Develop and maintain global value stream and network models , comparing current ‑ and future ‑ state configurations to inform strategic decisions.
Partner closely with the supply base and internal stakeholders to strengthen supplier performance and enable a resilient, high ‑ performing value chain.
Analyze data across systems to model physical flows, transit times, variability, and delivery performance by translating insights into actionable recommendations.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives by identifying inefficiencies across inbound through outbound flows and implementing data ‑ driven solutions.
Apply structured problem-solving, root cause analysis, and process mapping to resolve complex operational issues and prevent recurrence.