Planning Manager - Contract Manufacturing

Job Description: Planning Manager (Contract Manufacturing)

Function: Supply Chain

Reporting to: Sr. Supply Chain Manager

Location: Delhi (Head Office)

​ Position Summary:

​ The Planning Manager will lead the end-to-end supply planning and material requirements planning (MRP) and collaborate with Factory on production scheduling. The primary mandate is to maximize Customer Service Levels (OTIF, On-Time In-Full) for third-party brand owners while maintaining optimized inventory levels. This role requires an agile leader who can seamlessly collaborate and coordinate client demand forecasts, secure raw and packaging materials, align on plant capacity, and manage inventory holding costs in a fast-paced, high-mix environment.

​ Key Responsibilities:

1.        ​ Customer Service & Demand Alignment

·        ​ Serve as the primary supply chain point of contact for external customers/brand owners regarding weekly planning (LTP), production lead times, order tracking, and delivery timelines.

·        ​ Analyse customer forecasts and purchase orders; run capacity checks to validate feasibility before committing to delivery dates.

·        ​ Lead the weekly LTP discussions meetings to communicate schedule changes, potential constraints, or supply risks proactively to customers.

2.        ​ Materials Management & Procurement Coordination

·        ​ Oversee the weekly MRP process to ensure accurate, timely generation of purchase requisitions for all raw materials and packaging components.

·        ​ Partner closely with Procurement to track vendor lead times, manage supplier performance, and expedite critical materials to prevent factory downtime.

·        ​ Implement strategic safety stock and safety time parameters in the MRP system, accounting for highly variable supplier lead times and volatile shipping conditions.

3.        ​Collaboration with Factory & Production Scheduling

·        ​ Translate customer demand into a feasible Master Production Schedule and collaborate with factory for a detailed daily/weekly factory line schedule.

·        Engage daily with Production teams to optimize batch sizes, minimize changeovers, and resolve any manufacturing bottleneck issues.

·        ​ Monitor daily production vs. plan, instantly adjusting scheduling sequences to accommodate urgent, high-priority customer revisions if any.

​      4. Inventory Control & Working Capital Management

·        ​ Manage total site inventory and inventory health(obsolete), focusing on reducing working capital tied up on the warehouse floor.

·        ​ Establish and monitor key inventory metrics, including Days Cover, slow-moving/obsolete inventory (SLOB), and safety stock compliance.

·        ​ Oversee the material phase-in/phase-out processes for product reformulations, artwork changes, or new customer launches to eliminate obsolete packaging or raw material write-offs.

​ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

·        Customer Service : On-Time In-Full (OTIF) Delivery Performance (Target:   98%).

·        ​ Plan Attainment: Factory Schedule Adherence / Production Plan Compliance.

·        ​ Inventory Efficiency: Days of Supply (DoS), Inventory Turnover Ratio, and SLOB reduction.

·        ​ Data Integrity: MRP exception message resolution and Bill of Materials (BOM) planning accuracy.

​ Job Requirements & Qualifications

·        Education: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Logistics, Operations Management, or a highly analytical business discipline.

·        ​ Experience: 5 to 8 years of progressive experience in material planning, production scheduling, or supply chain roles, specifically within a Contract Manufacturing (CMO) or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) environment.

·        ​Soft Skills: Outstanding communication and negotiation skills. The ability to push back constructively on unreasonable external customer demands while maintaining a service-oriented mindset, alongside the leadership traits needed to unite cross functional teams.

·        Technical Skills:

o    Advanced mastery of MRP systems (SAP)

o    Expert level command of Microsoft excels (VLOOKUP’s, Pivot tables, complex logic formulas for data analysis) and use AI as an approach to drive speed.

o    Strong familiarity with statistical safety stock calculations and ABC analysis