Alliance Sourcing Analyst

Be part of a growing, successful company in an exciting and challenging field. Border States is 100% employee-owned, which means you’re empowered to make decisions, find solutions and receive rewards for your hard work.

This position will be located in: Fargo, ND

Application Deadline: Posted Until Filled

Please note that the position may be filled before or after the listed application deadline. Applications will only be accepted while the posting remains active.

Job Summary

The Alliance Sourcing team executes sourcing activities in alignment with key strategic priorities of cost savings, risk reduction, vendor alignment, and strategic vendor agreements for Border States’ top Alliance customers through execution, analysis, and coordination.

The Alliance Sourcing Analyst negotiates supplier pricing to ensure competitive costs and supports sourcing initiatives through analysis of savings events, quote comparisons, category reviews, and other related processes. In this role, the Alliance Sourcing Analyst collaborates with Strategic Alliance teams, cross-functional support center teams, vendor partners, and branch staff to deliver cost savings, mitigate risk, and clearly communicate actionable sourcing insights that support Alliance customer objectives and achieve savings goals.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Executes sourcing processes and ensures sourcing activities are completed accurately and within required timelines.
• Analyzes sourcing and cost data to identify cost savings opportunities, pricing trends, and sourcing priorities while ensuring accuracy and consistency across reporting outputs.
• Collaborates with branch support and cross-functional teams to gather inputs, align priorities, and execute customer-specific sourcing and savings requirements.
• Negotiates supplier pricing to ensure competitive costs for Border States’ Alliance customers.
• Validates and quantifies savings events through monthly invoice data analysis.
• Identifies and mitigates single-source exposure and supply chain risk.
• Prepares clear summaries, insights, and recommendations that support informed decisions for stakeholders and Alliance customers.
• Provides relevant market and global supply chain assessments with potential impacts to Alliance customers.
• Conducts sourcing category reviews to validate optimal vendor alignment and drive cost confidence.
• Partners with Strategic Alliance teams and branch staff to understand and support customer specific sourcing management needs.
• Demonstrates executive presence through clear, confident, and professional communication with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Supports the development and implementation of sourcing tools, systems, and process improvements.
• Builds product, supplier, and market knowledge and participates in training or development opportunities.

Non-essential Functions

• Contributes to the evaluation and enhancement of sourcing tools, systems, and technology to support team efficiency and effectiveness.
• Promotes a culture of service excellence by sharing best practices, supporting team collaboration, and identifying opportunities to improve team performance and/or processes.
• Expands industry, product, and supplier knowledge through branch visits, customer interactions, supplier engagements, and training opportunities.
• Adapts to evolving business needs, priorities, and sourcing initiatives.
• Participates in cross-functional initiatives, including customer implementations, and other business-critical projects as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervisor or designate.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a 4-year business, technical, engineering, or marketing degree preferred or the equivalent in work experience.
• Minimum of 2 years’ prior procurement, sales, or marketing experience with above average knowledge of electrical, utility, industrial, or communication wiring products and systems preferred.
• Advanced technical knowledge of SAP and Microsoft office (Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint) required.
• Strong commercial knowledge of Border States’ vendors, products, and services.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of pricing systems, processes, procedures, and methods.
• Ability to read, write, and speak in English preferred.

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to meet or exceed expectations of job duties in current of previous jobs.
• Excellent customer service skills, including consistent delivery of our core service excellence expectations of being competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged.
• Proven leadership in innovation by identifying and documenting continuous improvement opportunities.
• Ability to uphold strong relationships with department peers, other employees, branches, and vendors.
• Ability to work independently and with initiative.
• Strong organization and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication, presentation, reading, and analytical skills.

Physical Requirements

Frequency at which you would carry/lift in a typical day:

Occasionally 0 - 33% Frequently 34 - 66% Continuously: 67 - 100%

• Lift from Waist:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at all
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Not at all
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Lift from Floor:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Frequently
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Frequently
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Occasionally
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all
• Carried for Distance:
  • < than 10 lbs. - Not at all
  • 10 to 25 lbs. - Not at all
  • 26 to 50 lbs. - Not at all
  • 51 to 75 lbs. - Not at all
  • 75 to 100 lbs. - Not at all
  • 100+ lbs. - Not at all

Physical Activity

Frequency at which you would do the following in a typical day:

• Sitting (a continuous period of being seated) - Continuously
• Standing (for sustained periods of time) - Frequently
• Walking (moving about on foot to accomplish tasks) - Frequently
• Bending/stooping (downward and forward) - Occasionally
• Crawling (moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet) - Not at all
• Climbing/Walking Stairs (ascending or descending) - Frequently
• Reaching (extending arms in any direction) - Frequently
• Crouching/squatting (bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine) - Occasionally
• Kneeling (bending legs at knee to come to rest on knee(s)) - Occasionally
• Balancing (maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling) - Occasionally
• Repetitive motion (substantial movement (motions) or the wrists, hands, and/or fingers) - Continuously
• Pivoting (movement in any direction with one foot, keeping the other in contact with the floor) - Occasionally
• Pushing/Pulling (using upper extremities to press against or draw or tug) - Occasionally
• Grasping (Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm) - Continuously
• Fingering (picking, pinching, typing; working with primarily fingers and not whole hand) - Continuously
• Talking (expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word) - Frequently
• Driving (the control and operation of a motor vehicle) - Occasionally
• Desk work (work usually performed at a desk) - Continuously
• Use of a computer - Continuously
• Use of a telephone - Frequently
• Hearing (Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels) - Continuously
• Exposure (to adverse weather & temperature conditions)- Not at all
• Travel (travel needed to perform job duties) - Occasionally

Additional Information

This job description is a summary of the job duties and responsibilities and is not intended to cover all possible job duties and is subject to change at the employer’s discretion. Employees must be able to perform the essential job duties and satisfy job requirements either with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Our History

Border States is a leader in the electrical supply distribution industry with approximately 130 locations in 31 states. Our employee-owners are second to none in delivering top-notch customer service and in demonstrating extra-ordinary people skills. We are one of the largest independent electrical distributors in the United States providing products and services to the construction, industrial and utility industries. Border States has a competitive benefit package and is a 100 percent employee-owned company. Employee-ownership is a significant part of our culture and our success stems from the dedication of our employee-owners. We practice open-book management and our employee-owners are empowered with clearly defined levels of authority to be innovative and decisive, allowing us to respond quickly to the needs of customers. Employee-owners understand their roles in the success of the company and care about customers’ needs, which drives our focus on adding value to everything we do. We recognize that not all customers are the same and each has specific requirements. Our employee-owners understand these diverse needs and have the commitment, resourcefulness and flexibility to outperform all others.

Values

As a Border States employee-owner, you’re responsible for living our mission, service philosophy and service standards.

Our Purpose

We believe unstoppable businesses shouldn't go it alone. We are owners - of relationships, of outcomes, of every moment these unstoppable businesses need to deliver.

Service Philosophy

We earn customer loyalty and confidence by caring about their needs and adding value to everything we do.

Service Standards

Border States employee-owners are competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged .

Your career

Join an experienced team at one of the largest electrical distributors in the United States. What are you waiting for?

Border States has a competitive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

Health, Dental and Vision Benefits

Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity

FSA & HSA

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

Disability Benefits

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Paid Holidays

Paid Volunteer Time

Personal Leave time and more!

Border States provides bonuses to their employee-owners upon the achievement of branch and company goals.

Equal Opportunity For All

It’s not just the law. It’s something we’ve believed in since our founding. We value the diversity of all of our employee-owners and will always be an equal opportunity employer.

Drug Free/Smoke Free workplace

Employment may be contingent on the offered candidate successfully passing one or more of the following pre-employment screenings:

• Criminal background check (required for all positions)
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) check (required for positions involving driving)
• Drug testing

The MVR check and drug testing vary by role and will be communicated to the offered candidate during the onboarding process and as applicable.