About the Role
The Supply & Demand Planning Manager is responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted supply of raw materials, packaging materials, and components required for pharmaceutical manufacturing. This role oversees material planning, demand forecasting, supply planning, inventory optimization, and product lifecycle planning to support production schedules and customer commitments. Working closely with Manufacturing, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Warehouse, and Commercial teams, the incumbent will develop integrated planning strategies that balance material availability, production capacity, inventory investment, and regulatory compliance within a GMP manufacturing environment.
Responsibilities
Material Planning & Demand Management
- Develop and maintain material requirements plans (MRP) based on production schedules, customer demand forecasts, and inventory policies.
- Convert demand forecasts into material requirements to ensure timely availability of raw materials, packaging materials, and manufacturing components.
- Monitor material consumption trends and adjust planning parameters to support changing business requirements.
Supply Planning
- Coordinate material procurement and production planning to ensure uninterrupted manufacturing operations.
- Collaborate with Procurement and suppliers to secure timely delivery of materials while mitigating supply risks.
- Monitor supplier performance and proactively address potential shortages or delays.
Inventory Management
- Optimize inventory levels by managing safety stock, reorder points, and inventory turnover.
- Balance inventory investment while minimizing stock-outs, excess inventory, expiry risks, and material obsolescence.
- Ensure inventory strategies support production continuity and customer service objectives.
Manufacturing Planning Support
- Work closely with Production Planning and Manufacturing teams to align material availability with production schedules and capacity plans.
- Resolve material constraints that may impact production timelines.
- Support production schedule changes arising from demand fluctuations, material shortages, or operational priorities.
Product Lifecycle Planning
- Plan material requirements for new product introductions, product transfers, formulation changes, and product discontinuations.
- Manage inventory transitions to minimize obsolete materials and ensure business continuity throughout the product lifecycle.
Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)
- Participate in S&OP/Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes by providing material availability, inventory, and supply risk insights.
- Develop planning scenarios and recommend actions to balance customer demand with manufacturing capabilities.
Compliance & Quality
- Ensure all planning activities comply with cGMP, FDA, and internal pharmaceutical quality standards.
- Maintain planning documentation and support regulatory inspections and internal audits where required.
Data Analysis & Continuous Improvement
- Monitor planning KPIs including material availability, inventory performance, supplier reliability, forecast accuracy, and service levels.
- Perform data analysis to identify trends, planning risks, and improvement opportunities.
- Lead initiatives to enhance planning processes through digitalization, automation, ERP optimization, and advanced planning systems.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Business, or a related discipline.
- APICS CPIM, CSCP, or equivalent professional certification is an advantage.
- Minimum 3–7 years of experience in supply planning, material planning, or production planning within pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Strong knowledge of Material Requirements Planning (MRP), ERP systems, inventory management, and production planning.
- Experience working within cGMP-regulated manufacturing environments.
Required Skills
- Strong understanding of pharmaceutical manufacturing supply chains and material planning processes.
- Excellent analytical, planning, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic manufacturing environment.
- Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Effective communication and decision-making capabilities.
- Experience in planning system digitalization, process improvement, and ERP optimization.
- Knowledge of inventory optimization, production scheduling, and supplier management.
- High attention to detail with a strong commitment to quality, compliance, and operational excellence.
