Supply Chain Planner, Associate

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE JOB:

The Supply Chain Planner, Associate is a key team member responsible for supporting supply chain operations with a focus on customer service, product knowledge, and planning. This role involves limited judgment and decision-making, and it requires effective coordination within the supply chain to ensure smooth processes. In this position, will follow established guidelines and procedures for decision-making within the scope of the role.

If required, will escalate issues or decisions that fall outside the defined parameters to higher-level personnel.

• Planning and Coordination:
  • Assist in demand planning activities by gathering and analyzing data to support inventory decisions.
  • Work closely with the planning team to ensure accurate and timely order fulfillment.
  • Helps to ensure 100% on-time and accurate delivery by establishing and monitoring schedules to proactively identify and address any issues.
    • Issue new and enter changes for sample and mass production manufacturing orders to factories.
    • Coordinate shipments from the factory with cost-effective and efficient shipping modes to meet the target schedule.
    • Track and monitor incoming shipments, immediately addressing delays or any issues that may affect timely deliveries.
    • Expedite/reschedule orders per customer request or factory confirmation.
    • Negotiate critical or special requests with overseas business units, factory production control, and/or customers.
    • Process and arrange product returns to overseas business units or factories with logistics and export teams.
• Perform inventory management and control.
  • Analyze customer forecasts, and create simulations to manage manufacturing, transit, and buffer stock to align with contracted stocking terms with customers and achieve budget targets.
  • Maintain/analyze planning parameters, including production and transit lead times, order quantities, contracted stock levels, etc. to achieve a consistent, healthy product pipeline with minimal expedites/rescheduling.
  • Create manufacturing order forecasts and communicate to overseas business units and/or factories with agreed frequencies.
  • Successfully manage specification change and end-of-life/program products to avoid any shortage to customers or obsolescence.
  • Review customer contracts; provide feedback and suggestions to align with the company’s supply chain objectives and processes.
  • Analyze and control monthly inventory turnover and aged inventory.
  • Assist product teams with setting inventory annual operating budget, and forecasting inventory on a monthly, quarterly, and year-end basis as needed.
• Account Management:
  • Provide excellent customer service and on-time delivery of products.
  • Timely and accurate entries and updates of customer orders into the sales system and confirmation/acknowledgment to customers.
  • Maintain internal order-tracking files as needed.
  • Communicate delivery schedules, stock/pipeline status, and tracking or delivery information to customers. Submit open order report updates as requested by customers.
  • Support customer requests regarding delivery, shipment arrangement, and order changes.
  • Obtain air estimates and authorizations in case delivery expedites are required. Support with negotiations for expedited cost responsibilities as needed.
  • Follow-up with customers for order issues and forecast releases based on product and transit lead times.
  • Immediately identify any potential problems or bottlenecks affecting customer satisfaction, and address them with the product team, overseas business unit, or factory for resolution.
  • Coordinate with the quality team to support customer complaints and returns.
• Coordinate and arrange shipments from warehouses.
  • Monitor incoming and on-hand warehouse stock.
  • Issue packing slips based on customer orders and releases and communicate to warehouse.
  • Analyze customer delivery demands and propose alternate expedited shipment methods in case of delays.
  • Accurate monitoring and timely processing of products in 3PW/VMI/Consignment warehouses. Address any discrepancies with customers for timely resolution.
• Support with customer accounts and sales management.
  • Create and provide sales forecasts or data to the product team and sales team, and enter information into the internal Data Warehouse system.
  • Support new Mass Production product ramp-up process with all relevant functional teams, including sales, engineering, logistics, and product teams.
  • Review and implement customer-specific requirements.
    • Work with the sales team, product team, and accounting team to obtain the required documentation and approvals for new customer account setup per the company’s policies. Request for bill-to-code setups with the accounting team, and create and maintain ship-to codes in the sales system.
    • Work with IT for EDI or any customer portal access or setup.
    • Review and understand customers’ shipment guidelines. Issue Sales Routing/Route Files to the Factory for direct/drop ship customers, or provide clear shipment instructions to the…