Sr. Planner, Supply Chain
Position Overview
Own and lead end-to-end demand, supply, and inventory planning for a subset of the organization’s products and/or regions with added emphasis on portfolio management and driving execution of new product introductions and regional launches. Generate business requirements by working with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Regulatory, Commercial, and Senior Management. Prepare an optimized plan that balances commercial needs with operational objectives by collaborating closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Finance. Create demand, inventory, and supply plans for new and existing products, functioning as the orchestrator, connector, educator, and negotiator across teams. Ensure that everyone is working in concert while driving launches and ensuring successful commercialization with the best customer experience. An articulate, flexible, self-managed problem solver and an expert in Demand Planning, Supply Planning, Master Scheduling, and Inventory Management with a proven track record in leading new product programs. As a critical and highly visible role in driving results for the company, often need to marshal multiple functions to align on dealing with sometimes competing priorities.
- Facilitate and ensure alignment on product/regional launch strategy among critical stakeholders, own new product data, and drive phase-in/phase-out plans
- Maintain visibility to product introduction schedules and regulatory approval timelines to create and manage detailed plans including time dependency models for launch activities
- Develop a deep understanding of the assigned product and fully comprehend product lifecycle concepts to generate and validate SKU level forecasts within defined S&OP cycle
- Incorporate quantitative analysis, regional/product expertise, qualitative inputs, and other relevant information from various business stakeholders to develop consensus forecasts aligned with financial plans
- Be the driving force in developing inventory plans to best meet customer demands while reducing/balancing working capital
- Establish collaborative systems and drive cross-functional processes to maintain capacity plans and data on critical resources
- Devise an optimized SKU level supply plan within the S&OP horizon, incorporating both Master Production Scheduling and Rough-Cut Capacity Planning into the process
- Model scenarios, evaluate scenarios cross-functionally, and ensure complete alignment on the final plan with stakeholders while driving adherence to the S&OP cycle calendar
- Own and drive the cross-functional execution of weekly plans, often through the Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE) process
- Ensure execution is on track by building contingency plans, tracking critical milestones, recommending changes, driving creative problem solving, and knowing when to escalate
- Negotiate and balance product allocations across regions, coordinate order coherence process as needed, and provide priorities during execution of production plans as required
- Document in detail the launch plan and execution steps, drive post-mortem analysis for each launch to identify areas for improvement, and implement changes effectively through cross-functional collaboration
- Exemplify product launch supply chain management and implement best practices to improve the organization’s launch capabilities and scale business processes
- Identify process and tools improvement opportunities within Supply Chain Planning and develop solutions using principles of operational excellence and Six Sigma
- Lead and/or participate in other cross-functional continuous improvement and systems development projects
- Provide guidance and mentorship for more junior peers as appropriate
- Comply with applicable Laws and Regulations, adhere to Quality Management System processes and requirements as well as demonstrate Ethics and Integrity in all matters and at all levels throughout the organization
- Perform additional duties as assigned
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant work experience
- Effective written and verbal communicator with strong leadership skills and analytical approach towards problem solving in a matrix environment
- Comfortable with presenting to senior executives and management
- Ability to work with ambiguity and an obsession with details
- Proficient with MS Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook
- Experience in a regulated industry, including medical device
- Working knowledge of planning tools such as SAP IBP (Integrated Business Planning)
- Ability to think strategically and execute tactically, a high level of comfort in working with numbers, and a penchant for continuous learning and skill development
- Proven capability in utilizing Power BI, SQL, and optimization libraries in Python