Supply Planning Manager

Job Title:

SUPPLY PLANNING MANAGER

Summary:

The operational planner owns the process and communication of converting the enterprise demand signal, provided at the SKU level by channel, into an operational supply plan (at the annual operating plan, as well as the monthly level). The operational planner will own the interpretation and translation of the supply output from KetteQ into an operational supply plan (volume based) for the supply chain. This is critical as demand signals change frequently throughout the year and the supply chain needs to adapt to changes in demand. The operational planner will represent supply side planning in the monthly S&OP forums, and publish key reports such as weekly shortage, inventory and BIB (back in business reports) to keep stakeholders appraised of existing and pending supply issues. From a KPI perspective the operational planner is ultimately accountable for case fill rate (service) and inventory levels within the total network.

Job Duties:

The operational planner will develop processes to develop and clearly communicate:
– An annual operational supply plan (based on Jan – Dec SKU level demand plan used to create budget) that is cascaded to all functions within supply chain
o Communicate total and monthly protein requirements (lbs) by species and attributes to procurement for sourcing of live animals and boxed meats (and to plan excess white label volumes with white label sales manager)
o Communicate total and monthly finished goods (at the unit volume level) supply requirements to the internal and external manufacturing network (plant manager and VAP/copack manager) to be used for capacity planning, new product planning and ultimately converted into monthly production plans (will drive annual and monthly labor planning at plant)
o Communicate packaging and other bill of material requirements (total and by month volumes) for all SKU’s by channel, by use location (manufacturing site) to drive ordering of raw and packaging materials
o Own safety stock strategy and integrate into supply plan for “never out” high velocity SKU’s. Lead the SKU ranking (highest to lowest priority SKU’s) process to align in advance where trade offs/priorities will focus
o Escalate supply, capacity, raw material issues and potential solutions seen in the annual and monthly plan to exec team for decisions/trade off discussion (examples: inventory building for new pipeline, capacity constraints during holiday season etc)
o Will communicate and cascade supply side changes at the monthly level as the business evolves throughout the year to ensure supply adapts to changes in demand (forum for this communication is S&OP, planning tool is KetteQ)
o Communicate annual plan by month to supply chain finance for financial modeling and scenario planning, and where required for COGS model updates.
o Operational supply planner owns the translation of demand to supply needs, while supply chain finance owns the translation of this signal into financial impact and scenarios

This position (more tactically) on a day to day level will be responsible for
– Ensuring finished goods production across the network meets demand, and through an explicit safety stock strategy delivers service levels at 98% or higher
– Ensuring slower moving inventory is flagged and production plans are adjusted, while working with the white label team to communicate and liquidate excess inventory
– Create weekly and monthly visibility to SKU’s that are in short supply or out of stock due to supply constraints or forecast inaccuracy, and when those SKU’s will be replenished
– Signing off on internal and external manufacturing plans to ensure they are aligned with demand and safety stock needs
– Working with the supply chain and business teams to substitute SKU’s where supply is systemically constrained or in excess (remix process) and adjusting supply plans to accommodate
– Creating a new product start up supply schedule to ensure service levels are optimized during the early stages of launch when demand is most volatile while all channels will be in focus, ecommerce and branded retail SKU’s will be the primary priorities from a planning, service level and inventory perspective.
o Operational planners are often considered the hub of the supply chain, as their processes and communication of supply requirements drives all functions within supply chain (from procurement to manufacturing to logistics)

Background Requirements:

Qualifications/Experience:
– Minimum of 7-10 years of supply chain planning experience in high growth CPG (food industry strongly preferred)
– BSC/MSc in supply chain or equivalent work experience
– Experience with KetteQ or equivalent supply chain planning MRP tool
– Strong written and verbal communication skills