Director, MP&L Strategy and Transformation

The Opportunity

The Director, Material Planning & Logistics Business Transformation will lead excellence around material supply planning, supplier relationships, and in‑plant materials‑inventory management within Ford. The role focuses on improving material flow by balancing demand and supply through advanced digital ecosystem initiatives, including AI capabilities. The director will drive the maturity of business processes such as Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP), demand planning, master scheduling, inventory management, production control, and logistics.

Reporting to the Director, Global Material Planning & Logistics, this role is accountable for the supply and movement of all materials from their source to the point of use on the assembly line, actively planning and executing to achieve productivity and efficiency targets and managing risk to generate cost savings in line with strategic business goals.

• Develop a vision and long‑term strategy for systems, processes, and skills roadmap for future materials management, including Strategic Action Plans and X‑matrix execution.
• Align global teams across business processes such as SIOP, fulfillment, logistics, and inventory to drive enterprise results.
• Provide functional expertise in materials planning & logistics (MP&L) and develop new software and system technology.
• Manage and deliver multi‑market or multi‑project initiatives.
• Lead initiatives by setting clear performance expectations and coaching stakeholders for excellence.
• Collaborate with sales planning, product leadership, engineering, operations, and finance teams to deliver stable plans for Ford manufacturing plants and supplier sites.
• Identify opportunities to develop, improve or simplify processes, guidelines, and policies for effective supplier management, order fulfillment, inventory management, and materials management activities.
• Deploy, govern, and KPI‑measure performance, building a clear vision and end‑to‑end view of the supply chain.
• Work closely with IT to implement a modern MRP system in a phased manner across all sites.
• Identify business risks and implement resolutions and scalable mechanisms across in‑plant materials management and supply chain functions.
• Build and nurture executive relationships with suppliers and partners to ensure contractual commitment, alignment, and accountability.
• Establish a culture focused on continuous process improvement and visibility, implementing Clear-to-Commit (CTC) practices.
• Establish performance monitoring/KPI programs to measure the internal team and supply chain performance.
• Collaborate with Centers of Excellence and GDIA to standardize IT tools and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure the SIOP plan meets customer expectations and supports all manufacturing locations.
• Implement total supply‑chain improvements to increase visibility, reduce inventory, improve on‑time delivery, and achieve industry‑leading inventory turns.
• Elicit cooperation from across the MP&L organization and other key Ford activities.
• Work closely with Supply Chain (STA/SOT) on processes similar to new model launch supplier readiness for ramp‑up.
• Develop analytics to measure, evaluate, and correct key metrics in materials management and supply chain.
• Maintain and improve all aspects of the Materials Management function.

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of materials management experience in a manufacturing environment.

• 15+ years of experience in an industrial manufacturer.
• Demonstrated cross‑discipline leadership in a large matrixed environment.
• Experience managing across globally distributed locations.
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced environment with a hands‑on work ethic.
• Strong knowledge of strategic sourcing, supplier relationship building, material supply planning, and in‑plant inventory management.
• Technical degree in supply chain management, engineering, or computer information systems.
• Experience with ERP and Edge applications in a digital ecosystem, including AI transformation.
• Experience outside…