SAP Support and Strategy Analyst

Ford is modernizing in several areas of business by implementing new SAP technologies and solutions (S/4 HANA, RISE etc.), which will improve productivity, reduce the size and complexity of Ford's technical footprint, emphasize differentiating capabilities, and transform and standardize its business processes. This position in the SAP Enterprise Platform Organization at Ford Motor Company will entail collaborating with FCSD Business, IT PDOs & Teams and Service Providers to enable effective and efficient Level 1+ production support services.

This position in the SAP Enterprise Platform Organization at Ford Motor Company will entail collaborating with FCSD Business, IT PDOs & Teams and Service Providers to enable effective and efficient Level 1+ production support services. This role is crucial in ensuring the seamless operation of critical SAP systems that underpin Ford's global customer service and parts distribution, directly impacting customer satisfaction and efficiency of FCSD Operations. You will play a vital part in maintaining the stability and performance of the enterprise SAP environment, which is fundamental to Ford's commitment to delivering exceptional service and support to its customers worldwide. In addition, you will have an opportunity to experiment with AI tools to improve SAP IT support in Ford. Success in this role will ensure that Ford's FCSD operations, from order to delivery, are supported by robust and reliable SAP platforms, minimizing downtime and maximizing business continuity for our global warehousing operations that serve our dealerships and customers.

• SAP Production Support & Incident Management: Lead and facilitate the resolution of production incidents, requests, problems, and issues across the SAP Suite of tools for FCSD Warehousing and Supply Chain Management. This includes a strong focus on effective problem-solving and prompt incident management to ensure system availability and operational continuity. Be fully aware of daily open incidents, problems, issues and their latest status and age etc. Enable support team to be effective by asking the “right questions” about operational incidents in stand-up or other meetings.
• Process Optimization & Strategic Planning: Drive review, improvement, and implementation of processes and procedures for Incident, Request, Problem, and Event Management, Operational Metrics, and Knowledge Management, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards. Proactively plan FCSD SAP support strategy based on Ford’s SAP implementation roadmap, integrating industry best practices and new support strategies. Recommend updates to monitoring and reporting processes and tools.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Collaboration: Build rapport with business stakeholders and service providers. Guide and collaborate with the full-service supplier for SAP support, prioritizing issues and contributing to periodic business reviews. Facilitate stakeholder meetings, ensuring clear documentation of minutes, next steps, and follow-through on action items. Collaborate effectively with vendors, Ford IT teams, PDOs and Business teams to achieve SAP operational support objectives. Participate actively in various operational and planning meetings (e.g., daily stand-ups, maintenance planning, Product Teams, Basis & Security, SAP etc.).
• Operational Excellence & Reporting: Oversee the full-service provider's support for critical scheduled activities (e.g., month/quarter/year-end close, upgrades, launches, Disaster Recovery) and validate system availability post-activities. Coordinate with functional product teams to resolve complex incidents, ensuring adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Measure and report key performance metrics for incident management, including Mean Time To Resolution (MTTx) and SLA compliance. Provide regular status updates, highlight performance issues, and adjust issue priorities based on business impact. Actively remove blockers for the production support team, escalating issues as needed to prevent further disruption.
• Knowledge Management & Tooling Implementation: Develop comprehensive support team procedures, guides, checklists, and workarounds for frequent SAP user issues. Develop & lead project plans and implementation of new tools (e.g., Chatbots, Solman to ServiceNow migration) to enhance production support processes.
• Leadership Support & Delegation: Support SAP support leadership by providing reports, data, and contributing to strategic discussions. Act as a delegate for the Ford SAP support manager and support SAP operations as needed. Help secure alignment among stakeholders on various subjects.
• System Integrity & Documentation: Support processes and initiatives to enhance L1 support and ensure data integrity within the SAP environment, collaborating with cybersecurity and compliance teams. Manage SharePoint sites for SAP Operations, including access control, document management, and record keeping.
• Adaptability & Drive: Manage multiple deliverables simultaneously and thrive in a fast-paced global working environment.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science and/or related field
• 2 to 5 years of overall IT development or customer support experience
• Good understanding of SAP tools, including both functional and technical knowledge
• Experience with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and support-related metrics in both insourced and outsourced environments
• Experience working in a large global team environment
• Knowledge or experience in disaster recovery support and system performance improvement
• Experience in collecting customer requirements and translating them to clear plans and action items
• Ability to manage support services in a dynamic environment
• Ability to network with adjacent teams and subject matter experts, globally, in an onsite, offshore, or mixed models
• Strong interest in learning more about SAP support industry trends

Must Have:

• Experience in IT support functions and/or IT tools implementation
• Experience in IT project management and problem-solving techniques
• Ability to effectively interact with several IT technical and business teams
• Negotiation skills and ability to achieve consensus with diverse stakeholders
• Strong and open communication skills both verbal and written
• Self-starter, ability to work independently with minimum supervision
• Some MS SharePoint administrative and operational experience
• Interest in self-learning and improving knowledge of SAP modules and other IT tools
• Interest in researching implementation of AI tools in IT support functions and service delivery management

Nice to Have:

• SAP development and/or operational support experience
• Customer support strategy, sites support or helpdesk management experience
• Experience in Warehouse Management, Supply Chain Management, Finance and Accounting, Business Office functions
• IT Network, data center, and cloud knowledge and/or experiences
• Knowledge/experience in AGILE methodology and familiarity with IT architectural concepts