Network Optimization Analyst

Dexter is the premier manufacturer and supplier of axles, suspension, brakes, doors, venting products, trailer parts, accessories, and towing components serving the commercial trailer, RV, heavy-duty, marine, agriculture, and manufactured housing markets.

Headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, Dexter has manufacturing and distribution locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Employing state-of-the-art robotics, precision welding equipment, and automated machining processes, Dexter has achieved many years of success through a commitment to the principles of superior quality, continuous improvement, and unparalleled customer service.

Essential

Duties / Responsibilities:

Summary / Statement of Work:

The Network Optimization Analyst develops and maintains logistics network models, SQL-based data sets, Tableau dashboards, cost-to-serve reporting, scenario analyses, and performance tracking tools that support Dexter's logistics network strategy. This role evaluates opportunities to improve the movement of freight across branches, distribution centers, manufacturing sites, TWA, carrier partners, fleet resources, and customer delivery regions.

The analyst incorporates business rules, operational constraints, service requirements, cost assumptions, capacity limits, and network data into models and analyses that support strategic logistics decisions, savings identification, market and zone guardrails, and continuous improvement. The position partners with Logistics leadership, SIOP, Finance, IT/AI, Operations, Manufacturing, TWA, Distribution, Logistics Procurement, and Systems + Execution to translate complex data into recommendations, business cases, dashboards, and action plans that improve service, reduce cost, increase visibility, and support the logistics network roadmap.

Core Ownership Areas

* Logistics network models, scenario analyses, and decision-support tools.

* SQL-based logistics data sets, data extraction, data validation, and refresh processes.

* Tableau dashboards, scorecards, performance tracking, and executive-ready reporting.

* Cost-to-serve reporting and analysis across customers, branches, markets, zones, regions, service models, and transportation flows.

* Savings opportunity identification, quantification, prioritization, and tracking.

* Analysis of transportation flows, branch transfers, linehaul activity, delivery territories, carrier usage, fleet utilization, customer delivery patterns, and network inefficiencies.

* Analytical support for logistics roadmap initiatives, new locations, market changes, service territory design, and capacity planning.

* Business partner alignment, methodology communication, and fact-based recommendations for network decisions.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

* Develop, maintain, and refresh logistics network models used to evaluate transportation flows, delivery zones, market assignments, branch activity, customer delivery patterns, service requirements, capacity constraints, cost-to-serve, and network performance.

* Lead the extraction, consolidation, validation, and refresh of logistics data from SQL Server, transportation systems, ERP sources, financial data, operational inputs, and other business systems to ensure models, dashboards, and analyses are built on reliable data.

* Build Tableau dashboards, scorecards, and recurring performance reporting that provide visibility to logistics cost, service, savings progress, route performance, network utilization, customer delivery activity, carrier usage, fleet utilization, and execution gaps.

* Incorporate business policies, operational constraints, customer requirements, geography, branch capabilities, fleet capacity, carrier capacity, production inputs, inventory considerations, and service expectations into network models and scenario analyses.

* Identify and quantify logistics savings opportunities related to transportation cost, branch transfers, linehaul activity, carrier usage, delivery zones, route structure, fleet utilization, warehousing touchpoints, customer delivery patterns, and network inefficiencies.

* Develop cost-to-serve reporting and analysis to evaluate customer, market, branch, region, delivery territory, carrier, and service model cost impact.

* Build scenario analyses to support decisions related to new locations, branch alignment, market changes, delivery territory design, capacity requirements, network flow changes, service models, and logistics roadmap initiatives.

* Collect business input, voice-of-customer information, operational requirements, and stakeholder assumptions to ensure modeling outputs reflect realistic business conditions and decision needs.

* Identify and use proxy data sources when clean or complete data is not available, while documenting assumptions, limitations, risks, and confidence levels.

* Analyze large data sets and translate findings into business recommendations, initiative summaries, performance insights, and action plans for Logistics leadership and cross-functional partners.

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