About the Role:

Our client is looking for an experienced Planner with strong hands-on knowledge of SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) to support demand planning, supply planning, inventory optimization and the overall Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process.

The ideal candidate will have practical experience working in a pharmaceutical, FMCG, consumer products, or related industry, with a strong understanding of end-to-end planning processes and the ability to work with business stakeholders across Supply Chain, Sales, Manufacturing, Procurement and Finance.

Key Responsibilities:

Demand Planning:

- Develop and maintain statistical and consensus demand forecasts.

- Analyze historical sales, market trends, seasonality, promotions and new-product introductions.

- Collaborate with Sales and Marketing teams to develop an agreed demand plan.

- Manage forecast accuracy, bias and demand-planning KPIs.

- Participate in monthly S&OP / IBP cycles.

Supply Planning:

- Translate demand requirements into feasible supply plans.

- Analyze production capacity, material availability, inventory levels and lead times.

- Identify supply constraints and develop mitigation plans.

- Coordinate with manufacturing, procurement and logistics teams.

- Monitor supply-demand gaps and recommend corrective actions.

SAP IBP:

- Hands-on experience using SAP IBP for Demand, Supply and/or Response & Supply Planning.

- Work with SAP IBP planning areas, key figures, planning levels and planning views.

- Perform forecast analysis and planning activities within SAP IBP.

- Understand statistical forecasting and forecast models.

- Work with alerts, exceptions and supply-demand imbalance analysis.

- Support integration between SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA or other ERP systems.

- Participate in testing, enhancement and continuous improvement of IBP processes.

- Support business users in resolving planning-related issues.

S&OP / Integrated Business Planning:

- Participate in monthly S&OP / IBP meetings.

- Prepare demand, supply, inventory and capacity analysis.

- Highlight risks, opportunities and major deviations from plan.

- Support management with data-driven recommendations.

- Coordinate cross-functional consensus on the operational plan.

Industry Experience:

Experience in one or more of the following industries is preferred:

- Pharmaceutical

- FMCG / Consumer Products

- Food & Beverage

- Chemicals

- Medical Devices

- Consumer Healthcare

Candidates from pharmaceutical or consumer products environments with complex SKU portfolios, demand variability, promotions, shelf-life considerations or regulatory constraints will be particularly suitable.

Required Skills:

- Minimum 5 years of practical experience in Demand Planning, Supply Planning or Integrated Planning.

- Strong hands-on experience with SAP IBP.

- Good understanding of Demand Planning and Supply Planning processes.

- Experience with S&OP / IBP processes.

- Strong knowledge of forecasting concepts and planning KPIs.

- Understanding of inventory planning and optimization.

- Good knowledge of SAP S/4HANA or SAP ERP integration with planning systems.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

- Advanced Excel skills.

- Ability to work with large datasets and identify trends and exceptions.

- Good communication and stakeholder-management skills.

Education:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, Commerce, Business Administration or a related discipline.

- MBA / PGDM in Supply Chain, Operations, Logistics or related specialization is an advantage.

Key Performance Indicators:

The candidate will be expected to contribute to improvement in:

- Forecast Accuracy

- Forecast Bias

- Service Level / OTIF

- Inventory Turns

- Days of Inventory

- Supply Plan Adherence

- Production Plan Adherence

- Demand-Supply Gap

- Obsolescence / Slow-Moving Inventory

- Planning Cycle Efficiency

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate is a hands-on Supply/Demand Planner who understands both business planning processes and SAP IBP. They should be comfortable moving between business discussions and detailed planning analysis, identifying the reasons behind forecast or supply deviations and converting those insights into actionable plans.