Manager, Material Planning

Primary Purpose of Role

The Global Supply Chain Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing material planning activities that support operations. This role directs the material planning team, ensuring accurate scheduling, timely material flow, and effective communication of supply risks. The manager ensures that planning processes, SAP parameters, and daily execution meet organizational service and inventory goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Daily Execution Oversight: Lead, coach, and develop a team of material planners supporting operations. Ensure planners execute daily schedule management activities, including reviewing material number changes, new part releases, supersessions, cancellations, and customer order changes. Monitor team performance related to schedule accuracy, backlog management, and exception resolution. Drive team engagement, cross-training, and capability development.
• Material Planning & Scheduling Management: Oversee schedules sent to suppliers and manufacturing plants to ensure alignment with customer demand and required lead times. Ensure proper management of future demand, within-lead-time changes, and backorder recovery. Approve escalations related to shortages, constraints, unit-down events, and Hot Sheet priorities.
• SAP Planning Parameter & Data Integrity Oversight: Maintain accuracy of SAP planning parameters such as safety stock, lot sizing, lead times, and MRP settings. Ensure correct setup of new parts, kits, packaged parts, and BOM information. Monitor data quality and resolve master-data issues affecting planning.
• Supplier & Manufacturing Coordination: Confirm planners submit schedules to suppliers and plants within required lead times to maintain supply continuity. Lead shortage recovery efforts and coordinate with other planners to secure material quantities to support customer demand. Manage escalations involving late delivery, capacity constraints, and abnormal demand.
• Inventory & Risk Management: Optimize inventory across the planner-managed portfolio to support availability while minimizing excess and obsolescence. Reduce premium freight through proactive schedule management and risk mitigation. Provide leadership with timely visibility of supply risks and mitigation plans.
• Global Supply Coordination: Support oversight of international supply flows from manufacturing sites. Address multi-plant supply issues, allocation decisions, and cross-regional planning needs.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Drive collaboration with Logistics, Engineering, Production Control, Customer Support, and Quality teams. Lead or participate in cross-functional initiatives addressing systemic supply or operational issues. Communicate supply risks, impacts, and updates to internal stakeholders and leadership.
• Process Compliance & Continuous Improvement: Ensure team adherence to standard work, work instructions, and compliance requirements. Lead improvements that enhance planning accuracy, execution stability, and responsiveness. Support audit compliance and maintain process discipline.

Key Performance Measures

• Schedule accuracy and on-time release
• MRP exception backlog and resolution speed
• Service parts availability and backorder recovery cycle time
• Unit-down event responsiveness
• Inventory turns and excess/obsolete inventory levels
• Supplier on-time adherence and shortage recovery effectiveness
• Premium freight reduction
• SAP data accuracy and planning master data quality

Competencies and Behaviors

• SAP/ERP planning experience, including MRP analysis and parameter management
• Strong knowledge of scheduling, inventory control, and supply chain processes
• Advanced Excel and analytical/reporting capability
• Effective leadership, coaching, and communication skills
• Analytical problem-solving skills for complex supply challenges
• Ability to work cross-functionally and adapt to changing priorities

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required
• APICS/ASCM CPIM certification preferred

Experience

• 5+ years of material planning or supply chain experience
• Prior supervisory or team-lead experience preferred

Scope Factors

• Supervises material planning activities that support global PDC operations
• Interacts regularly with multiple manufacturing plants and external suppliers
• Requires continuous review of planning outputs, reporting, and metrics
• Ensures alignment with work instructions, departmental procedures, and planning standards

Benefits

• Choice of medical plans with prescription coverage
• Employer HSA contribution
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Short & Long-Term Disability
• Other voluntary benefits including: Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Identity Theft Protection and Pet Insurance
• 401K with generous Company match & contribution
• Accrued Paid Time Off
• 12 Paid Holidays + 1 Floating Holiday
• Robust employee wellness program
• Tuition assistance program

This response is AI-generated, for reference only.