KEY PURPOSE

Generate short- and medium-term packaging and raw materials plans to ensure sufficient materials are available to meet packaging and manufacturing demand and generate short to medium term production plans to ensure that customer service levels are met. Concurrently ensuring that cost to serve with respect to working capital, production and raw materials is appropriately contained.

KEY OUTPUTS/ACCOUNTABILITY

The main responsibilities/accountabilities are:

Packaging and Raw Materials Planning:

• Strategic Supplier interactions and optimisation of materials production and management across Ascendis’ first tier suppliers in order to
manage Working capital without compromising customer service levels, production requirements and systems cost (cost associated with
write offs) under the guidance of;
o Inbound Planning Manager;
o Procurement;
• Short-term raw & packaging materials forecast to all key suppliers;
• Long term raw & packaging materials forecast to all suppliers at aggregate level;
• Ensure production planning has the flexibility to change the production plan within the tolerance of safety stock;
• Ensuring that business enablers (process, systems and tools) are aligned to achieving current business objectives;
• Conduct and manage strategic/tactical planning cycles with suppliers;
• Maintain targeted stock levels by material;
• Maintain working capital within the budget;
• Minimise factory planned production sequence and volume changes due to lack of raw and packaging materials;
• Reduce write-off cost by managing material discontinuation;
• Monitor supplier performances against stock management, production and factory service;
• Increase supply flexibility, by increasing supplier’s flexibility by supporting opportunities to reduce supplier lead time;
• Maintain and improve customer service levels to stakeholders;
• Adhere to Innovation/NPD timelines;
• Perform materials management by using effective ERP system (Syspro MRP)
• Maintaining accurate Master Data;
• ERP systems management to maintain effective materials management function;
• Holding suppliers accountable to contracts and SLAs;
• Mitigate risk to the business by ensuring continuous supply through;
o Quality issues;
o Allocation (between different suppliers) change management
o Innovation Management;
o Potential strike action;
o Commodity supply issues (natural disasters, delayed shipments etc);
o Systems changes.
• Management of 3rd party Planning team to ensure;
o A good understanding of planning and broader business functions resides in team;
o Good inter and intra communication;
o Positive attitude and continues improvement;
o Successful supplier collaboration;
o Succession planning (pipe line) is in place.

Production Planning:

• Continuous review of and input to optimisation of 3rd party capacity and stocks in order to drive lowest production cost, distribution cost and
Working capital cost without compromising customer service levels, quality and shelf-life;
• Minimisation of cost due to write-offs (NPD discontinuations and shelf-life/expiry);
• Planning and optimisation of finished goods production capacity (horizon 6 months) as well as short term (17 weeks) to maintain targeted
stock levels for finished product, maintain and improve Working capital targets of finished product.
• Ensuring that business enablers (process, systems and tools) are aligned to achieving current business objectives;
• Manage interface with 3rd party manufacturers;
• Generation of weekly adjusted production plans within the context of resource constraints and expediting requirements;
• Daily/weekly communication to planning and wider business stakeholders of:
o Prod plans, areas of potential unreliability and resolution of possible
stock pressure violation
o Specific activities related to the production of NPD products
• Strategic/tactical accountability to:
o Production at lowest cost
o Stock availability at a lower cost;
• Management of 3rd party Planning team to ensure;
o A good understanding of planning and broader business functions resides in team;
o Good inter and intra communication;
o Positive attitude and continues improvement;
o Successful supplier collaboration;
o Succession planning (pipe line) is in place.

DECISION MAKING POWERS & AUTHORITIES

This person is authorised to:
• Reject raw and packaging materials which are out of spec and/or expired;
• Set stock levels;
• Authorise production and raw materials plans;
• Authorise submission of plans to the business and/or to suppliers externally;
• Call off material from suppliers when required;
• Agree supplier capacity (medium to long term);
• Authorise planning process changes;
• Train and coach team members;
• Reject sales forecast changes that have not been agreed with Planning;
• Challenge 3rd party production on plan changes – changes need to occur within the limits of good reason (shortage of raw material or lack of
capacity or prioritisation of product based on margin);


KEY ATTRIBUTES AND COMPETENCIES

• Good planning skills/logical approach to problem solving;
• Computer literacy;
• Good numerical/analytical skills;
• Good communication skills;
• Good interpersonal skills/team player;
• The ability to work without constant supervision;
• Able to understand extended supply chain requirements from top to bottom;
• Operational excellence and improvement bias;
• Strong mentoring and coaching skills, given operational nature of team;
• Good communicator across all levels within and external to the organisation with personal gravitas and credibility;
• Customer focussed mindset and approach;
• Demonstrable problem-solving skills with an ability to manage complexity and ambiguity;
• Excellent self-management practices;
• Proactive, energetic and committed;
• Flexible, adaptable and pragmatic.
• High tolerance for stress and managing the operational realities of the business


QUALIFICATION /EXPERIENCE

• Relevant tertiary qualification, (preferably Operations/Logistics Management or in one or more of the numerical sciences);
• Minimum 5 Years experience within a supply chain environment
• Experience in planning of production and logistics activities will be an advantage;
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Ability to develop and evaluate supplier performance
• Proven successful negotiation track record
• Computer literacy with proficiency in Microsoft products;
• Syspro experience will be advantageous