Role Summary
Own the end-to-end commercialization and launch execution of new products, LTOs, and equipment across APAC markets. This role sits at the intersection of product, supply chain, operations, branding, marketing, and R&D — driving readiness from product brief through to successful in-store delivery. Beyond execution, the NPI (New Product Introduction) Lead serves as the regional voice on product localization: identifying where APAC market requirements demand adaptation and building the case to act on them.
Responsibilities
NPI pipeline management & product localization advocacy
- Own the APAC NPI and LTO pipeline — maintain visibility of all upcoming launches, lead times, dependencies, and market readiness across the region.
- Act as the primary interface between product development and APAC markets, translating market-specific consumer, regulatory, and commercial requirements into actionable product briefs.
- Identify where global product formulations require localization for APAC (ingredient substitution, formulation adaptation, packaging variation) and build evidence-based proposals — e.g. launch readiness constraints, regulatory requirements, or local consumer preference. Provide guidance on compliance considerations in coordination with the compliance team; compliance ownership sits separately.
- Maintain a structured pipeline view with stage, owner, risk, and target launch date by market; flag conflicts and capacity bottlenecks proactively.
Launch project management & critical path ownership
- Define and own the end-to-end critical path for each launch — from product brief sign-off through ingredient/packaging procurement, sample approval, equipment readiness, regulatory clearance, market training, and first delivery.
- Run structured launch reviews at defined stage gates; track milestone progress, surface blockers, and drive resolution across functions.
- Establish and enforce submission deadlines, approval gates, and escalation protocols to prevent late-stage changes from absorbing unplanned cost or compressing supply lead times.
- Maintain a standardized launch playbook and continuously improve it based on post-launch lessons.
Equipment qualification & deployment
- Coordinate qualification and market rollout of new equipment (brewers, printers, blenders, and related hardware), including first-unit testing, spec alignment, and phased market deployment planning.
- Support the regulatory certification process for equipment in each market — KC (Korea), SNI/TISI (Indonesia/Thailand), SIRIM (Malaysia), and equivalents — coordinating with the IMEX team who owns certification; manage dependencies on certificate holder structure and distributor/importer continuity as an input to launch timelines.
- Plan and execute old-to-new equipment transitions, including decommission timelines, spare parts run-down, and communications to ops teams.
- Ensure new products are validated against current equipment specs; flag and resolve mismatches before launch.
Supply chain readiness & LTO lifecycle management
- Translate confirmed launch plans into demand signals for planning and procurement: initial buy sizing, buffer requirements, first-order MOQ coordination with suppliers, and safety stock assumptions.
- Own the LTO lifecycle — including depletion planning, cutover timing for transitions (new SKU/spec/supplier), old-to-new mapping, and stranded inventory mitigation.
- Support the transition of successful LTOs to core range: define conversion criteria, coordinate specification finalization, and ensure supply continuity through the transition.
- Monitor post-launch inventory health by market; raise excess or shortfall risks early and coordinate rebalancing where needed.
Regulatory & market compliance coordination
- Coordinate market-level regulatory requirements for new products: labeling, ingredient declaration, halal certification (MY/ID), food safety submissions, and import documentation.
- Work with market teams and the compliance team to secure clearances ahead of launch; build regulatory timelines into the critical path.
- Maintain a living reference of APAC regulatory requirements by market and flag emerging changes that affect the pipeline or existing portfolio.
Post-launch performance & continuous improvement
- Track launch performance against commercial targets: ADC, product mix, sell-through, and supply execution metrics (OTIF, stockout rate, forecast accuracy for new items).
- Conduct structured post-launch reviews — identifying root causes of gaps and translating findings into process or template improvements.
- Feed performance data back into product decisions and future launch sizing assumptions.
Requirements
- 5–8 years of experience in NPI commercialization, product launch management, or cross-functional supply chain roles within F&B, QSR, or consumer goods — with at least 3 years in a regional or multi-market capacity.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex launch critical paths across product, packaging, regulatory, and supply chain workstreams simultaneously.
- Working familiarity with APAC regulatory and certification frameworks for food products and/or equipment (KC, SNI, TISI, SIRIM, halal equivalents); ability to navigate and coordinate these across stakeholders is an advantage.
- Strong commercial judgment — able to build and present a localization case with data and structured reasoning.
- Solid supply chain fundamentals: demand sizing for new products, MOQ and lead time management, inventory lifecycle planning.
- Structured project manager with high ownership: able to hold timelines, manage competing priorities, and drive cross-functional accountability without direct authority.
- Strong communicator across levels — comfortable engaging regional market teams, functional peers across SC, marketing, branding, and R&D, and senior leadership with equal clarity.
- Proficiency in MS Suite, and project tracking tools; experience with ERP systems (SAP, NetSuite or equivalent) is a plus.
- Willing to travel across APAC markets as required.
