Network Supply Planner

NETWORK SUPPLY PLANNER

This planning role, part of Global Supply Chain & Strategy, reporting into the Network Supply Lead, has responsibility for planning a group of resources (internal or external). In this capacity, the role creates, develops and maintains a cross-brand constrained production & capacity plan for assigned resources / products, while facilitating efficient manufacturing operations for the slushy and tactical horizon, according to monthly planning cycle.

As part of this planning responsibility, they ensured that relevant resource supply constraints and events are modelling in the system.  This role drives the S&OE process by facilitating the relevant meeting and reviews on a weekly basis. The role is a key player in the S&OP process by leading the supply consensus meeting with sites and PETS, in which the role supports by providing necessary simulations to support decision making. Gate keeper of the operational plan and liaison between site (mainly governed by S&OE) and market companies via demand planners (or MCAMs). Finally, the role ensures that constrained executable plans are seamlessly handed over to Production Planners.

TYPICAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Resource Supply Constraint and Event Modelling

• Incoming net requirements' validation (completeness & accuracy) including month on month difference analysis.
• Review of resource capacity and relevant production planning data in line with monthly S&OP cycle (validation of base capacity & exceptions, constraints, shift schedules, review & validation of events (stock builds, projects, …), this in collaboration with the production planner.

Resource Rough-Cut Capacity Planning and Capacity Requirements Planning (constraining the plan at a resource level across brands)

• Creates, develops and maintains a cross-brand constrained production & capacity plan for assigned resources / products, while facilitating efficient manufacturing operations for the slushy and tactical horizon, according to monthly planning cycle taking into account:
  • The preset requirements
  • Internal available capacity & exceptions (preventive maintenance, …)
  • Key material availability (bulk/API/device)
  • Inventory targets & tactical planning parameters
  • Preferred and approved variants of production flows
• Reviews resource utilization, identifies capacity constraints and potential impacts on service levels, evaluates options to mitigate capacity constraints, coordinates & consults with site and other SC partners to increase capacity if needed.
• Maintain Intermediates and Finished Goods inventories within target, reviewing and providing insights on actuals/adherence through Stock Tolerance.
• Assess respective supply impact for assigned resources / products in conjunction with the Global Brand Planner for proposed manufacturing changes.

Drives Resource S&OE, escalation & monitoring

• Drives the S&OE process supported by Proactive Planning tool, Supply Network Planning cockpit and in later phase Advanced Planning & Scheduling control tower.
• Performs initial impact assessment of identified issues, determine appropriate stakeholders, makes necessary decisions & monitors resolution.
• Holds the S&OE meeting & reviews on a weekly base the critical material constraints, prioritized orders, network resource constraints, brand service & inventory risk which impact the network plan in the operational horizon.
• Collects cross-functional supply issues from MCAMs, demand planners, QC Lab, Warehouse & Distribution and production planner
• Escalates issues to the Global Brand Planner based on predefined escalation rules.

Key Contributor to S&OP cycle

• Attend the Network S&OP and Brand S&OP and lead the Supply Consensus meeting with sites and PETs
• Scenario Planning : Responsible for developing & executing scenario’s and simulations to support management decisions.
• Develop, maintain and publish information on resource / product specific supply chain management metrics & KPI’s.
• Responsible for delivery/quality of X-brand production volumes for budget purposes in alignment with Global Brand Planners.

Site Gatekeeper & Intra-Site Planning Interface

• Gate keeper of the operational plan and liaison between site (mainly governed by S&OE) and market companies via demand planners (or MCAMs).
  • Approves changes to CMI/MTO orders in the customer quoted leadtime (CQLT) and approves orders deviating from tolerance/contractual rules.
• Works closely with the next upstream and downstream Network Supply Planners, to validate and secure robust demand signals and plan alignment between nodes.
• Responsible to validate the replenishment plan between sites.
• Contribution to manufacturing excellence improvement actions whiles balancing value stream requirements.

Plan Handover to Production Planners

• Ensures that constrained executable plans are seamlessly handed over to Production Planners - filtering, evaluating and prioritizing options upfront (protecting production planners from network noise via weekly handshake).

PREFERRED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS

• Broad & deep supply chain management experience gained in a manufacturing and above-site supply chain setting.
• Analytical & ability to interpret large amounts of data and find & frame the critical problems (not over-reacting or reacting on the wrong escalations and getting to root cause).
• Partnering and Collaboration - ​ Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and collaboration among stakeholders. Building strong relationships wit site operations management and planning teams while respecting the overall network optimization objectives
• Collaborative problem solver- understanding the overall network supply and demand dynamics, able to define the required options to remediate supply issues and assess feasibility and trade-offs of proven and unproven proposals
• Proactive mindset  -- Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems early in the process by identifying root cause and implementing corrective and preventative actions 
• Strong Communicator & Influencer -  confident in presenting to and communicating with stakeholders and peers at all levels of the organization in an efficient and effective way in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Effective risk manager - scenario planning and trade off management – ensuring stable supply outlook
• Adaptable and resilient
• Bi-lingual: English and Spanish. Communication with English speaking stakeholders

EDUCATION, QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Prior experience in Supply Chain Environment  (Manufacturing, Planning)
• Advanced supply chain (inventory, capacity and network) planning skills
• Digital savvy ( data & system minded)
• Operational Experience with ERP/APS systems
• Experience in managing and developing solutions for supply chain events.
• Capacity management & modelling
• Understanding of supply chain planning parameters, master data and master data integrity & quality.
• Experience in collaboration with the key interfaces within the end to end supply chain, with manufacturing and between supply chain and commercial functions – experience working with third party suppliers would be a bonus.
• Excellent communications and collaboration skills required to manage a multitude of customers and stakeholders, both internal and external to AZ.
• Proficient in using key Lean Tools

Desirable:

• A degree or equivalent in Business, Logistics, Sciences or Engineering is preferred, equivalent experience will be taken into account.
• APICS / CSCP or equivalent certification
• Lean certification
• Robust understanding of and contributing to an S&OP process.
• Commercial experience
• Leadership experience

Key Relationships to reach solutions:

Internal (to AZ or team)

• Network Supply Leaders
• Global Brand Planners
• Relevant site planning function and Network Supply Planners
• Market Company Account Managers
• Demand Planners
• Production Planners
• Site Heads and Process Execution Team Leaders
• GPO Demand & Supply Planning
• Regional Process Champions
• Global Supply Strategy Directors
• Regional Logistics leads
• Regional Supply and Demand Leaders in GSC&S
• Supply Chain Analytics

External (to AZ)

External third party suppliers

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we ignite ambitious thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working give us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our outstanding and bold world.

📌Positions are open to Mexican Citizens and official residents of Mexico.
📍 Location: Guadalajara (hybrid)
📌Strong English communication skills required.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorisation and employment eligibility verification requirements.