Cost & Quotation Specialist

Hitachi Energy; Chennai District; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi Energy is seeking a Supplier Cost & Quotation Specialist within SCM to support Sales and project teams with daily quotation activities, cost validation, and early-stage sourcing strategy alignment with suppliers.

This role ensures cost accuracy, data integrity, and alignment between suppliers and internal teams, enabling competitive, realistic offers across pre-sales engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in project procurement, quotation/bid support, cost analysis, supply chain, or commercial functions.
• Strong knowledge of the energy industry, especially high-voltage equipment and components.
• Experience with cost structures and technical-commercial evaluation.
• Hands-on with SAP (Material Master, Costing) or similar ERP for cost validation.

Responsibilities

• Validate supplier costs, material master data, and market benchmarks to ensure competitive pricing.
• Review cost assumptions, identify risks and ensure alignment of quoted, system, and execution costs.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Sales, Category Managers, and Supply Chain on technical requirements and sourcing strategies.
• Drive cost data governance ensuring Material Master accuracy and up-to-date supplier pricing and lead times.
• Lead early sourcing engagement with Category Managers to leverage agreements and identify savings.
• Act as the interface between Sales, Engineering, Category Management, and Supply Chain during quotation processes.
• Provide market intelligence on pricing trends, supplier capabilities, risks and key cost drivers in energy.

Skills

Quotation support

Cost analysis

Data governance

Analytical skills

Cross-functional influence

Excel

Power BI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

SAP

ERP systems

Job description

The opportunity:

We are seeking a Supplier Cost & Quotation Specialist within SCM to support Sales and project teams with daily quotation activities, cost validation, and early-stage sourcing strategy alignment with suppliers.

This role plays a critical part in pre-sales engagement ensuring cost accuracy, data integrity, and supplier strategy alignment during the quotation phase. The position plays a critical role in connecting Sales, Engineering, Category Management, and Supply Chain, enabling competitive, realistic, and executable offers.

How youll make an impact:

• Support sales quotations by validating supplier costs, material master data, and market benchmarks to ensure competitive and accurate pricing.
• Review and challenge cost assumptions, identify risks/gaps, and ensure alignment between quoted, system, and execution costs.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Sales, Category Managers, and Supply Chain to clarify technical requirements and sourcing strategies.
• Manage cost data governance by ensuring Material Master accuracy, completeness, and alignment with current supplier pricing and lead times.
• Drive early sourcing engagement with Category Managers to leverage agreements, mitigate risks, and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Act as the key interface between Sales, Engineering, Category Management, and Supply Chain throughout the quotation process.
• Provide market intelligence on pricing trends, supplier capabilities, risks, and key cost drivers within the energy industry.
• Monitor quotation performance through dashboards, pipeline tracking, win/loss analysis, RFQ cycle times, and supplier responsiveness.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance quotation accuracy, process efficiency, cost transparency, and digitalization.
• Track and improve key KPIs, including cost accuracy, cost savings, quotation quality, on-time submissions, data accuracy, win rates, margin performance, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Responsible to ensure compliance with applicable external and internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines.
• Living Hitachi Energys core values of safety and integrity, which means taking responsibility for your own actions while caring for your colleagues and the business.

Your background:

• Bachelors degree in Engineering (preferred), Supply Chain, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in project procurement, quotation/bid support, cost analysis, supply chain, or commercial functions.
• Strong knowledge of the energy industry, including high-voltage equipment, transformers, and electrical components/systems.
• Expertise in cost structures and technical-commercial evaluation, with the ability to assess quotation feasibility and profitability.
• Hands-on experience with SAP (Material Master, Costing) or similar ERP systems for cost validation and data management.
• Advanced analytical and reporting skills, particularly in Excel, Power BI, and data-driven decision-making.
• Strong commercial acumen, attention to detail, and ability to challenge data, assumptions, and cost discrepancies.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders, act as a trusted advisor to Sales, and bridge technical, commercial, and operational perspectives.