Supply Planning Manager

Job Purpose

• Responsible for leading, managing, and optimising the end-to-end supply planning portfolios across all Cipla One Africa–based manufacturing sites.
• Owns demand fulfilment and customer service performance for third-party suppliers while ensuring alignment with business, service, and cost objectives.
• Leads the Inbound Logistics Team within the supply planning function and is accountable for the effective management and cost control of third-party service providers. Inherently complex and multi-faceted role, requiring a strong balance of analytical, strategic, operational, and transactional capabilities.
• Works closely with multiple internal and external stakeholders, fostering collaborative and cross-functional partnerships across local and global teams to ensure continuity of supply, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

Accountabilities

• Manage, lead and drive the Supply S&OP and Reconciliation S&OP Process
• Lead and manage relevant sales and operations execution meetings with suppliers
• Manage, lead, develop and build strong team relationships for a team of supply planners and logistics coordinators.
• Assess stock prioritization, pull forward and deferral request based on demand movements in conjunction with demand planner
• Analyse and propose stock to norm (STN) requirements for all SKU’s. Ensure stock holding conforms with inventory policy and targets and investigate deviations for corrective actions. Alternatively provide scenarios for decision making on proposed stock holding.
• Identify and review items with excess inventory and propose action plan.
• Manage short-dated stock and drive demand shaping with Marketing, mitigation planning with Commercial team.
• Lead and Manage the COPE for the SA business.
• Minimise write off costs on slow moving stock by proposing change in stock policy or demand shaping actions to reduce write off.
• Preparation of supply planning related reports for monthly supplier engagement meetings. Leading Supply S&OP meetings and compiling and presenting of presentation decks
• Provide reporting and root cause analysis for monthly on excess and shortfall stock as well as key drivers to inventory forward.
• Manage Section 21 supply process
• Liaise with Cipla India for SA Market supply commitment visibility
• Manage 3rd Party QA on post importation testing (PIT) (where applicable)
• Provide reporting to commercial team on PIT Results & QA release timelines
• Manage replenishment requirement views for maintaining STN. Drive and maintain half yearly STN review and signoff for the SA Product Portfolio
• Provide front end feedback to the supply sites on latest demand movements
• Coordinate discussions with demand planners on the opportunities and risks regarding demand and supply.
• Manage, develop and improve inventory strategies on existing, new and phased-out products
• Track stock supply point delivery vs actual, conduct required follow up to ensure service delivery.
• Manage, support & coordinate the vendor coalitions within Supply Chain Planning team in the efforts to ensure supply security of products.

Continuous Improvement

• Manage analytics, reporting and continuous improvements required for supply visibility and commitments, including risk & opportunity identification
• Joint Lead with Demand Planning Manager and CI & Digital Manager with process, automation and system streamlining and improvement plans
• Drive SKU STN analytics and segmentation in day to day planning activities
• Custodian of STN
• Driving Digitalization and automation of analytics and reporting in supply chain.
• Lead and Manage the Logistics Team in for SA Business, including 3rd Party Logistics Service Providers.
• Driving best practice and cost saving for shipping and transport, whilst ensuring shortest route to Cipla Distribution Gateway (CDG)

Education Qualification

• Relevant Post Graduate Diploma/Bachelor's qualification in Supply Chain Management (BCom SCM), Logistics (BLM) or Engineering (B.Eng)

Relevant Work Experience

• 8+ years of supply planning, supply chain analytics
• Must have experience of managing people
• Exposure to supply chain and S&OP is a must
• Experience in Demand Planning including replenishment forecasting is a plus
• Previous exposure on working with statistical forecast is a plus
• Previous experience in data analytics/science is a must
• CPF or CPIM an advantage
• Experience in the FMCG/Pharmaceutical industries is essential
• Strong knowledge of exports/imports is essential
• Good working knowledge with ERP systems (SAP), Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and BI Platforms

Skills and Attributes

• Effective planning, organising and co-ordinating
• Results driven
• Effective problem-solving and decision-making
• Commercial and strategic awareness
• Independent and self-directed individual that can drive execution
• Influencing capabilities
• Effective interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate effectively (written and verbal) and articulate risks with an understanding of overall impact/sensitivity to rest of the business
• Attention to detail
• Project management skills is a plus
• Ability to think strategically and innovatively around total rewards
• Data scientist experience is a plus
• Ability to apply demand & supply planning principles in the existing system landscape and provide opportunities on enhancement
• Being able to coach and transfer knowledge to peers and pipeline talents
• Ability to operationalize and adopt planning best practices in day-to-day planning