Job Description

JOB CONTEXT

Supply Network planning is a key role in the IBP process, as the Supply Network plan delivery will enable operations to meet the tactical and strategical horizon production requirements timely, efficient, and cost effective. The Supply Network Planner delivers an important piece of information for the IBP cycle, ensuring that Supply Network is properly planned and fulfilling the needs of the internal and external customers.

The Supply Network Planner role has typically a tactical planning horizon of 1 to 15 months, while delivering on a quarterly/semi-annually a strategic plan of 36 months rolling), both in monthly buckets.

As this process and role is new to the organisation, it presents an exciting challenge for the incumbent to educate the organisation on the role of Supply Planning and the benefits it can bring. The incumbent will need to be comfortable dealing with conflict and managing change at different levels of the organisation. This will be supported by the Supply Chain Manager, BU/Opco Operations Director/Manager and Global IBP Team.

The level of the role depends on the scope and complexity, based on number of Manufacturing plants and size & complexity of the product portfolio.
The Supply Network Planner works closely with the Production & Material Planner. Depending on the size of the organization, these 3 planning roles maybe combined into one or two roles, merging the responsibilities of Supply Network planning, Production planning and/or Material Planning

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Supply Network Planning
  • Preparing an accurate Supply Network Plan for specific product group(s) based on 1-15 months' time horizon which aims to meet the associated demand plan in the most effective manner, considering all relevant aspects of supply (capacity, raw material availability, formulation optimisation etc.)
  • Quarterly or semi-annually creating a strategic (36 months) Supply Network Plan to identify potential supply constraints on the strategic horizon
  • Prepare Supply Network Plan scenarios to determine the best option to maintain supply considering total Supply Chain cost and Customer Service
  • Establish strict deadlines with the key contributors to the Supply Network Plan to ensure that information is available in time for the Supply Review
  • Preparing the content for the monthly Supply Review, including where necessary, scenarios which aim to eliminate or at least minimise the gap between Supply and Demand. Where Supply is greater than demand, this should be highlighted for the Executive IBP meeting
  • Monitor progress against the plan through frequent contact with Production & Material Planning and the Supply Points / Plant teams, consulting / informing of any adjustments as necessary, according to priorities, constraints & customer commitments. Maintain close contact with other Supply Network Planners and/or Customer Services advising them of the situation and the actions taken / in progress to deliver OTIF / available inventory
  • Follow-up of the decisions/constraints from the IBP cycle of the organisation and/or supply points
  • First point of contact for the commercial organisation for the tactical and strategic planning horizon

• Inventory & Working Capital Management 
  • Define and implement inventory and replenishment targets and apply inventory segmentation effectively 
  • Manages inventory levels according to the inventory management guidelines, replenish relevant warehouses (in line with targets), follow up on aging and unallocated stock, obsolete & waste and acquire agreement with Demand, Planning Operations and Logistics throughout the network

• Monitoring planning (PDCA-cycle) & Analysis
  • Maintain Supply Network planning master data and systems and software, maintains relevant data and monitors / analyses trends to further enhance the forecast
  • Identify sales opportunities and risks and propose push sales on available capacities and RM
  • Coordinate any activities related to the constraining and allocation process for the organisation and/or supply points and ensure the match of Supply Network & supply
  • Prepares and monitors the planning related KPIs to help identify improvement areas and monitor performance
  • Keeps up to date with the latest planning theory and concepts in order to become as effective as possible
  • Coordinate with Supply and Commercial teams (bridging commercial and Supply Chain) to determine priorities, corrective and preventive actions to prevent OOS and Waste in accordance with the internal procedures
  • Continuously look for opportunities & improvements within daily work context and take ownership in implementing solutions

• Continuous improvement & Projects
  • Proposes improvements to the (production) planning process and putting it into practice
  • Leads and/or participates in various projects with the aim of improving our End-2-End planning reliability and planning processes. Collaborate with key customer planning teams to develop collaborative and integrated planning

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Delivery On Time In Full (OTIF)
• Forecast Accuracy RMR/RMN
• Finished Goods stock-outs
• Capacity utilization of the network
• Product portfolio, # articles and formulations
• IBP Maturity level
• Inventory levels (days / value) / Working capital (Inventory volume targets)
• Raw Material stock-outs
• Waste costs (e.g. Raw Material losses, Obsoletes)
• Plan and schedule conformance & performance
• Planned Stops
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• University degree in the field of supply chain, operations, economics, technical engineering or similar, with at least 3-5 years of work experience in a comparable, relevant position
• Experience with forecasting and sales & operations planning in the animal feed industry or any other industry such as FMCG
• Experience working cross-functionally with other departments in order to achieve best results.
• Excellent knowledge and expertise in ERP tools in both in term of functionality and usage. Microsoft Office (in particular of MS Excel) is a requirement and knowledge of Infor M3 and DMP are desirable
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, know how to convince and persuade, and always maintain a constructive, trusted relation with your stakeholders
• Fair understanding of Manufacturing challenges and manufacturing performance leverage
• Able to demonstrate strong numerical capability with a passion for detailed analysis
• An inquisitive approach, able to identify risks and opportunities for appropriate follow up
• English + additional language eventually

COMPETENCIES

• Interpersonal; Building and Maintaining Relationships, Cross Cultural Awareness

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, know how to convince and persuade people at all levels

• Can adapt communication according to local contexts

• Strong hands-on mentality

• Result driven

• Strong with numbers / analytical mind-set