Operations Business Analyst

Description

***This is an onsite position located in Elkhart, IN***

At Conn Selmer, we're passionate about music and dedicated to producing the highest-quality instruments for musicians of all skill levels. As a member of our organization, we seek candidates who possess the following values: Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork, Inclusivity, and Innovation. Please see our Conn Selmer website (www.connselmer.com) for more information about who we are.  

The Operations Business Analyst reports directly to the SVP, Global Manufacturing and Distribution with dotted line reporting to Finance. 

This position supports the Global Manufacturing & Distribution organization by collecting, integrating, analyzing, and interpreting operational and financial data to identify root causes, recommend business improvements, and support fact-based operational decision-making. Develops reports, dashboards, analytical models, and performance metrics for Manufacturing, Quality, Distribution, Transportation & Logistics, Inventory, Supply Chain, and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) to improve operational visibility, customer service, and business performance. Partner with Operations, Finance, Planning, Procurement, Quality, Distribution, and Transportation teams to identify trends, quantify business impact, automate reporting, respond to ad hoc analytical requests, and support continuous improvement initiatives. Ensures cost structures for import products are accurate – including purchase prices, freight and tariff. Responsible for imported product standard cost rolls and ownership of Freight and Tariff cost structures; including proper rate setting for standard cost roll. Develops financial and operational models to evaluate business scenarios and operational decisions.

Responsibilities

• Collect, integrate, validate, and model data from Manufacturing, Distribution, Transportation, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Planning, ERP, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
• Analyze operational performance to identify trends, root causes, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Conduct structured Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and provide data-driven recommendations. 
• Develop action plans that clearly define responsibilities, timelines, expected outcomes, and success measures.
• Translate complex analytical findings into concise dashboards, visualizations, reports, presentations, and business cases that support leadership decision-making, strategic initiatives, and business development opportunities.
• Develop and automate Power BI dashboards and KPIs including forecast accuracy, inventory position versus safety stock, stockouts, inventory health, schedule attainment, manufacturing productivity, quality performance, transportation performance, and customer service metrics.
• Support automation of data collection and KPI reporting for the Executive S&OP process.
• Support ongoing Microsoft Dynamics 365 reporting, process improvements, data validation, and operational analytics.
• Analyze manufacturing productivity, labor efficiency, production variances, and manufacturing P&L performance.
• Support inventory optimization through analysis of inventory turns, excess and obsolete inventory, working capital, and inventory positioning.
• Analyze Distribution Center performance including order fulfillment, warehouse productivity, shipping performance, order cycle time, distribution costs, and customer service metrics.
• Analyze transportation and logistics performance including freight cost, carrier performance, on-time delivery, premium freight, shipment consolidation opportunities, mode optimization, and transportation cost reduction initiatives.
• Support Plant Performance Reviews and Executive S&OP by preparing analyses and presentation materials.
• Maintain data integrity and support master data governance.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives by measuring KPI performance, tracking corrective actions, evaluating business results, and conducting analyses to support management decision-making.
• Reconcile foreign vendor inventory, and inventory in transit (to and from – water location)
• Perform and Analyze Periodic Cycle Count Audits

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business Analytics, Finance, Data Analytics, or related field.
• Three (3) to five (5) years of experience in manufacturing, supply chain, operations, finance, business analytics, industrial engineering, business analytics, transportation, or distribution.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel required.
• Power BI required; Microsoft Dynamics 365 experience preferred.
• Knowledge of LSS, Kaizen, root-cause analysis or continuous-improvement methodologies and operational excellence preferred.
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to collect, analyze, model, and present data in a clear and understandable format.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Manufacturing environment experience preferred.
• Requires periods of sedentary work, daily standing and walking on shop floor.
• Requires repetitive upper body movement – keyboard and monitor use.
• Visual acuity.