Job Purpose:
To lead the material planning team in strategically forecasting, sourcing, and managing inventory levels. The role ensures material availability to support production schedules while optimizing inventory turnover and minimizing carrying costs.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Inventory & Material Control
- Develop and execute inventory strategies to meet production demands while meeting company cash flow targets (managing Days of Supply / Days Inventory Outstanding).
- Establish and monitor Safety Stock levels, Reorder Points (ROP), and Economic Order Quantities (EOQ) for all raw materials and packaging components.
- Lead the tracking and reduction of Excess and Obsolete (E&O) inventory.
2. S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) Collaboration
- Translate commercial sales forecasts into actionable long-term and short-term Master Material Plans ($MRP$).
- Review production capacity constraints against material lead times and highlight supply risks to top management early.
3. Supplier Management & Logistics Coordination
- Partner with Procurement to monitor supplier delivery performance (OTIF - On-Time In-Full) and lead times.
- Act as the escalation point for critical material shortages or supplier delivery failures to minimize factory downtime.
4. Team Leadership & Process Optimization
- Manage, mentor, and upskill a team of Material Planners, Inventory Controllers, and Expeditors.
- Drive continuous improvement projects (e.g., implementing Lean, Just-In-Time (JIT), Kanban systems, or VMI - Vendor Managed Inventory).
- Oversee and optimize ERP/MRP system parameters (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) to ensure high data integrity.
Requirements & Qualifications
Education & Experience
- Degree: Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations Management, Engineering, or Business Administration.
- Experience: Minimum 6–8 years of experience in material planning, production scheduling, or supply chain, with at least 2–3 years in a managerial or supervisory role within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.