Material Planner

The Material Planner is responsible to ensure the accurate and timely procurement, availability, and management of raw ingredients to support uninterrupted production. This involves demand forecasting, reconciling manual and system-generated data, issuing and tracking purchase orders, managing supplier relationships, and optimizing inventory levels. The planner also supports production scheduling, addresses defective materials, coordinates the introduction of new ingredients, and ensures compliance with quality and regulatory standards, all while maintaining efficient communication with cross-functional teams

Summary of major duties:

Demand Forecasting and Reconciliation

• Review and reconcile demand forecasts from various manual sources (e.g., emails, Excel tables, customer-provided data) with system-generated forecasts from SAP S/4HANA MRP systems to ensure accuracy and alignment in material planning.
• Manual data verifications as in cross-check and validate forecasts from manual sources against automated system proposals, identifying discrepancies and resolving inconsistencies to ensure accurate material requirements.
• Utilizing MRP to estimate the amount of raw ingredients needed based on production schedules, historical data and consolidated future forecast.
• Provide monthly purchase plan qty to finance and procurement for budgeting and contract placement with supplier.

Order Placement and Follow-up

• Issue purchase orders and schedule releases for raw ingredients using SAP S/4HANA.

• Monitor production schedules, inventory levels, and lead times to adjust delivery dates using SAP S/4HANA.
• Managing relationships with suppliers to ensure timely deliveries, negotiate purchase quantity below MOQ, handle issues such as delivery arrangement and shortage delivery quantity.

Production Scheduling Support

• Collaborating with supply planners to align material availability with production schedules, avoiding delays due to material shortages on weekly basis.
• Adaptability in data handling by effectively manage and integrate data from different formats and communication channels, ensuring that all relevant information is considered in material planning decisions.

Manage Defective Raw Ingredients

• Handle the return process for defective raw ingredients by communicating with vendor, processing the rejection note from quality team, arranging reject material return with warehouse and logistics team and ensure proper credit is received. All process should comply with customs requirement in Free Trade Zone area.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and analyze waste percentages to recommend improvements, collaborate with operation team to align on recommended changes where appropriate to Plant Accounting.

Phasing in / out Raw Ingredients

• Maintain the SAP S4/HANA material master records for MRP tab for all raw ingredients related to the plant, including minimum order quantities, safety stock, lead times and shelf-life requirements if applicable. 
• Follow up closely on the readiness of bills of material for new raw ingredients with product specialist and plant finance team.
• Communicate with plant operation and quality team on the new raw ingredient delivery to the plant, ensure all pre-production materials are prepared before production starts.

Detailed Scheduling for WIP

• Develop master scheduling - schedule WIP production for each assigned product group detailed, provide detailed production schedules for assigned operations to support subsequent processing lines’ master production schedules, weekly basis.
• Collaboration with other supply planners on the supply timing and manpower arrangement by weekly basis.
• Communication, coordination, and negotiation required for successful execution of these schedules occurs as appropriate with the operation team.

Inventory Management

• Establish goals and monitor progress on appropriate inventory management measures such as inventory turns, total inventory investment, inventory shortages and raw ingredients write off to identify trends like slow-moving or fast depleting items without overstocking.
• Manage the warehouse utilization and optimum level, defining the right stock level based on analysis to the monthly forecast provided considering the material lead time and MOQ.
• Prepare bi-weekly aging reports for raw ingredients and managing the shelf-life extension request with supplier and quality team in parallel with checking on potential depletion plan with supply planner.
• Escalation of raw material write off risk and provision to finance by monthly basis.

Data Reporting, Compliance and Safety

• Weekly update of open purchase order tracking and collaborate with finance on the Account Payable dispute for the open purchase orders.
• Maintain good and effective inventory and delivery tracking reports to warehouse receiving team to ensure daily incoming capacity is managed without impacting production schedule.
• Ensuring that the delivery, procurement, storage and handling of raw materials comply with Hershey Incoming Material Standard and adhere to the Free Trade Zone rules and regulations.

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, or a related field. Proficiency in ERP systems (such as SAP) and additional certifications in supply chain or inventory management (e.g., APICS)

Experience:

Minimum 3 years Plant Purchasing experience.