Major Job Responsibilities

This position will develop and implement Sappi North America’s operations planning and inventory management strategies in order to ensure product availability, while maximizing profitability and maintaining targeted customer service. The position will work closely with the sales, marketing, and manufacturing groups to develop and orchestrate actions to meet collaborative organizational profitability targets.  They will create KPIs and communicate performance to this end. The selected individual will be required to have the ability to create reporting, analyze large databases, and develop strategies and action plans to create cost synergies and operational excellence through coordinating product manufacturing carousels, sku management, new program demand target development and process streamlining. In addition the selected individual is expected to become familiar with the basic operations of APO and to learn the functions of APO block planning.     

Essential Function Responsibilities

• Monitor inventory status and confirm appropriate replenishment order needs to maintain inventory targets (finished goods, parent skids for cartonizing, and parent rolls for approved special make-to-order programs) by individual regional distribution centers.  Continually reevaluate targets based on customer demand and make adjustments to control inventory levels while contributing to strategic direction of inventory management.

• Create and coordinate carousel and network strategies to ensure optimum profitability.

• Identification and resolution of inventory-related problems from either a demand and/or supply perspective including lead time issues in the manufacturing and distribution flow. 

• Maintains a variety of inventory, service and order status related performance charts and reports. Assists in historic trend and forecast analysis as needed.  Utilize these reports to create action plans for optimization and profitability enhancement and communicate to multi-functional groups.

• Ability to understand, create models, and clearly communicate results using appropriate tools to support supply network and inventory planning tools.

• Support profitability improvement and supply chain optimization efforts through the utilization of Lean Six Sigma methodology.

• Assist in the identification of and redirection of finished goods inventory plan across regional distribution centers and intercompany warehouse locations.

• Assist in identification of slow movers and SKU’s over inventory target and develop recommendations to right size sku offerings and/or rationalize skus based on demand.

• Develop projects to improve the efficiency of block openings, inventory management, aged inventory management and disposition, and replenishment processes for market stock and consignment.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Ability to discuss and work through multiple conflicting demands under tight timelines by many constituents including manufacturing managers, sales, and our customers.

• Some out of town travel may be required

Special Skills including certification requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree: Supply Chain, Logistics, International Business, Industrial Engineering required with related experience and/or advanced degrees preferred

• 2-7 years’ experience with an emphasis on operations

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office tools including Excel and PowerPoint are required with expertise in SAP/APO with specific experience with Business Objects and Supply/ Planning highly desirable.

• Supply Chain certification (or equivalent) desired within 2-3 years

• Must have competence with statistics and basic knowledge of inventory concepts

• Effective written and oral communication skills

• Effective presentation skills

• Must be highly proficient in spreadsheets and functional databases

• Understanding of, and desire to become proficient in, enterprise resource planning software and manufacturing execution system applications (SAP and MICS)