Purchasing Business Analyst
IKEA · Shanghai
Company descriptionThe Purchasing Business Analyst is a data-driven business partner who helps business teams make better, faster decisions by turning complex data into clear priorities and practical decision options. You connect insights to the broader business context, highlight trade-offs, and ensure analysis leads to adopted decisions and improved ways of working.
You work with multiple business teams and across categories to create consistency in definitions and data quality, enable comparability, and strengthen knowledge sharing. Through strong relationships and constructive challenges, you lead across boundaries without formal authority and take ownership beyond your formal scope when needed.
Success in this role means: turning data into clear priorities, aligning stakeholders around decisions, and improving the way we work through scalable, implemented changes.
Job description
Here are some of the activities you will lead:
Follow up KPI/APL performance, highlight deviations and patterns, and translate insights into clear actions and decision points.
Secure a consistent data foundation across teams and categories (definitions, data quality, comparability) and make sure we can trust the numbers we use to lead the business.
Build decision-ready insights by connecting internal and external data (history, trends, benchmarks) and framing options with benefits, risks and trade-offs.
Guide teams through complex business questions using analysis and facilitation – balancing analytical depth with pragmatism (knowing when insight is “good enough to decide”).
Drive stakeholder alignment and follow through until decisions are adopted and embedded into ways of working (process updates, routines, and ownership).
Support when relevant, key business processes e.g., APL, SDP, PDP, BCPs, RFQs
Navigate ambiguity and imperfect data with discipline and curiosity – prioritising what matters most and keeping momentum even in high-pressure situations.
Qualification
You are curious and analytical, and you use data as a leadership tool. You can turn bigger amounts of information into a clear story, set priorities, and make recommendations that help others act. You build strong relationships, communicate simply and confidently, and you are comfortable influencing decisions across many stakeholders.
Strong analytical capability: structure problems, analyse data, draw conclusions and communicate insights in a clear and inspiring way.
Business understanding from one of the core roles (purchasing, logistics or engineering) and a good understanding of processes and KPI landscape.
Ability to work horizontally across teams and categories to create consistency (definitions, data quality) and enable comparability.
Influence without authority: build coalitions, coach and challenge constructively, and move stakeholders from discussion to decision.
Confident prioritization and trade-off thinking, including in high-pressure situations; pragmatic judgement on when insight is “good enough to decide”.
Experience with relevant tools/applications (e.g., Excel ISOT, QS, Power BI, AI) and the discipline to ensure data accuracy and transparency.
Desire to improve ways of working: identify opportunities, drive practical improvements and ensure changes are implemented and sustained.
Fluency in both English and Chinese.
Fast learner and dare to try new things and make things happen
Demonstrates strong adaptability and is comfortable working in an environment with a high degree of ambiguity and constant change
At least 5 years expeirence in purchasing industry
In this role you will work with business processes from purchasing, logistics and engineering. We believe that you are extra strong in one of these three. Once you are in the role, you will get support to close any competence gaps, and you will also share your strengths with other PBA colleagues to build capability across the team.
You are curious and analytical, and you use data as a leadership tool. You can turn bigger amounts of information into a clear story, set priorities, and make recommendations that help others act. You build strong relationships, communicate simply and confidently, and you are comfortable influencing decisions across many stakeholders.
Strong analytical capability: structure problems, analyse data, draw conclusions and communicate insights in a clear and inspiring way.
Business understanding from one of the core roles (purchasing, logistics or engineering) and a good understanding of processes and KPI landscape.
Ability to work horizontally across teams and categories to create consistency (definitions, data quality) and enable comparability.
Influence without authority: build coalitions, coach and challenge constructively, and move stakeholders from discussion to decision.
Confident prioritization and trade-off thinking, including in high-pressure situations; pragmatic judgement on when insight is “good enough to decide”.
Experience with relevant tools/applications (e.g., Excel ISOT, QS, Power BI, AI) and the discipline to ensure data accuracy and transparency.
Desire to improve ways of working: identify opportunities, drive practical improvements and ensure changes are implemented and sustained.
Fluency in both English and Chinese.
Fast learner and dare to try new things and make things happen
Demonstrates strong adaptability and is comfortable working in an environment with a high degree of ambiguity and constant change
At least 5 years expeirence in purchasing industry
In this role you will work with business processes from purchasing, logistics and engineering. We believe that you are extra strong in one of these three. Once you are in the role, you will get support to close any competence gaps, and you will also share your strengths with other PBA colleagues to build capability across the team.