Manufacturing Warehouse Material Planner Suffolk

Based full-time at the Lipton Suffolk Factory Warehouse, the Material Planner will be a member of the Manufacturing Warehouse Team and will report directly to the Warehouse Lead.

The Material Planner is responsible for ensuring the timely availability of tea from the third-party warehouse and coordinating the ordering of shippers to support production schedules and customer demand. This role balances customer service, inventory investment, and operational costs through effective material planning, inventory management, and cross-functional collaboration within a manufacturing environment.

The role is also accountable for all tea goods receipts and the replenishment of tea inventory from the third-party warehouse. In addition, the Material Planner will support tea inventory accuracy by managing COGI and PSA cleanup activities, leading tea inventory counts, and reconciling third-party warehouse inventory with the Lipton Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) system. Working closely with the site leadership team, this position shares responsibility for maintaining the overall health and accuracy of tea inventory.

The primary purpose of this position is to manage the flow of tea and packaging materials into the Suffolk facility to support the production of finished goods for the Tea category. The Material Planner will be responsible for expediting and de-expediting material deliveries as required to support production schedules, maintain customer service levels, and optimize inventory. Success in this role requires close collaboration with Procurement and suppliers to improve vendor reliability, responsiveness, and supply continuity.

This position serves as a key focal point for managing the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) process, a critical component of the end-to-end Supply Chain Planning function. Performance will be measured through key metrics, including:

• Materials Inventory Management

• Evaluate material requirements based on system generated MRP and requisition materials accordingly.
• Expedite and de-expedite raw and package materials to support and maintain a flexible production schedule while communicating with Business Units and support departments to achieve customer satisfaction.
• Monitor raw and package inventory to achieve continuous improvement in inventory optimization. Maintain and utilize inventory models.
• Interface with Procurement, Supply Chain Planning, Suppliers, R&D, Logistics.
• Maintain Bills of Material, material master data, factory invoices and internal KPI’s.
• Ensure GR of tea and labeling at 3 party warehouses
• Return tea to 3 party warehouse based on usage
• Assist with inventory of tea and cycle counts
• Ensure PSA in blending is maintained daily of items not being utilized
• Apply LIPTON Management System principles to identify major loss areas and facilitate process improvement.

Position requires a high degree of understanding of material planning and SAP ECC, APO and Sales Force. Being able to balance objectives of different teams that are sometimes at tension with each other and influencing a group of practitioners to change behaviors even though you do not have direct authority over them will be critical to success.

• Bachelor’s degree with focus in an analytical discipline required (e.g. Logistics, applied sciences, computer science, math, statistics, economics, engineering, etc.). Advanced degree a plus.
• A minimum of 3 – 4 years’ experience in supply chain with at least 1 – 2 years in material requirements planning.
• Knowledge of SAP required
• Understanding of data-mining techniques and statistical methods a plus.