Supply Chain Planning Manager

Career Area:

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do - but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here - we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

As a Supply Chain Planning Manager - Engineering Change Control & Manufacturing you will lead a local team responsible for moving engineering changes from release through material and production implementation. You will lead the execution of engineering changes into production, ensuring BOM effectivity and material requirements are accurately coordinated across multiple product groups while supporting impactful changes.

Working closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Materials, you will help ensure engineering changes are accurately planned and implemented while supporting material availability and production requirements. You will also strengthen the processes, tools, and metrics that enable effective Product Change Control while maintaining a Plan for Every Part and appropriate, timely material availability.

What makes this role exciting:

This is an opportunity to lead a highly visible team responsible for ensuring engineering changes are effectively translated into material and production requirements. You will have broad visibility across product groups, lead and develop an experienced team, and directly influence how thousands of engineering changes are implemented into production each year.

This role also offers meaningful opportunity to improve how the organization works, from strengthening change-control processes and performance metrics to solving issues that affect material readiness and manufacturing execution. For a leader who enjoys connecting technical change with operational results, this role offers significant visibility and impact.

What you will do:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of seven professionals responsible for supporting engineering change control and supply chain execution.
• Manage manufacturing change control and product-release activities, ensuring engineering changes are accurately released and implemented into production.
• Oversee Bills of Material (BOM) effectivity and associated material changes across Decatur product groups.
• Lead escalations involving late engineering changes, partnering with key stakeholders to identify constraints, establish priorities, and drive timely resolution.
• Oversee engineering change and release activities supporting approximately 7,000 engineering changes annually.
• Ensure product and engineering changes are accurately translated into material requirements and manufacturing implementation.
• Monitor operational reports, performance metrics, and key indicators to identify trends, risks, discrepancies, and improvement opportunities.
• Establish and improve processes, tools, metrics, and standard work to strengthen team effectiveness, accuracy, and productivity.
• Partner with Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Materials, and Logistics to coordinate engineering changes and minimize disruption to production.
• Support Plan for Every Part (PFEP) processes and appropriate material and inventory availability to meet manufacturing requirements.
• Coordinate planning dependencies and material requirements to support the effective implementation of engineering changes.
• Use structured problem solving and data analysis to identify root causes and resolve issues affecting supply chain and manufacturing execution.
• Promote Lean principles and continuous improvement across team processes.
• Align team priorities and resources with business and operational requirements.

What skills you will have:

• Supply Chain Management - MFG: Working knowledge of supply chain functions, principles, techniques, systems, and processes used to control logistical activities.
• Accuracy and Attention to Detail: Working knowledge of methods for completing detailed work accurately and identifying the impact of errors, omissions, and oversights. Ability to use appropriate checks and controls to validate outputs.
• Effective Communications: Working knowledge of effective communication concepts and techniques, including the ability to clearly transmit, receive, and interpret information and provide constructive feedback.
• Inventory Management - MFG: Working knowledge of inventory-management processes and methods for raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods, including tracking inventory information and resolving discrepancies.
• Data Gathering & Analysis: Basic understanding of data-gathering and analysis techniques and the ability to identify objectives, gather relevant information, and use data to support conclusions.
• Planning and Organizing: Basic understanding of methods for planning and arranging work, priorities, schedules, process steps, and resources in a systematic way. Ability to recognize dependencies and critical-path activities is important when coordinating high-volume engineering changes and production implementation across product groups.
• Supplier Management - MFG: Working knowledge of processes and methods used to manage business relationships and transactions with suppliers, including the use of supply-management systems, resolution or escalation of supplier issues, and coordination of delivery and quality requirements.
• Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP): Basic understanding of inventory distribution processes, material movement, operational distribution measures, and common bottlenecks or delays in moving materials or goods through the supply chain.

Top candidates will also have:

• Previous supervisory or people-leadership background, particularly within technical, supply chain, manufacturing, or engineering-facing teams.
• Knowledge of engineering change control, product release, or Product Change Control processes.
• Familiarity with manufacturing change control and product-release processes and systems, including Caterpillar-specific tools such as MCS and MAMM, or comparable systems used to manage engineering changes, material requirements, and product releases into manufacturing.
• Knowledge of New Product Introduction (NPI) and implementing product changes into manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of Bills of Material (BOMs), BOM effectivity, and engineering change processes, including ECNs, ECOs, and ECRs.
• Understanding of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) and the impact of engineering changes on material, inventory, and production requirements.
• Ability to establish and improve processes, tools, operational metrics, and standard work.
• Engineering knowledge or a strong technical background supporting engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain activities.

Additional information:

• Primary Work Location: This role is based in Decatur, IL and will require working onsite five days a week.
• Relocation: Domestic relocation assistance is available.
• Travel: This position will require occasional travel less than 10%
• Sponsorship: Visa sponsorship, international assignments, and payroll transfers are not available for this role.

Summary Pay Range:

Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-relatedknowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.

Benefits:

Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits*

• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*

• 401(k) savings plans*

• Health Savings Account (HSA)*

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*

• Health Lifestyle Programs*

• Employee Assistance Program*

• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*

• Career Development*

• Incentive bonus*

• Disability benefits

• Life Insurance

• Parental leave

• Adoption benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

* These benefits also apply to part-time employees

Posting Dates:

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.

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