Senior Demand Planner

This is where you save and sustain lives

At Baxter, we are deeply connected by our mission. No matter your role at Baxter, your work makes a positive impact on people around the world. You'll feel a sense of purpose throughout the organization, as we know our work improves outcomes for millions of patients.

Baxter's products and therapies are found in almost every hospital worldwide, in clinics and in the home. For over 85 years, we have pioneered significant medical innovations that transform healthcare.

Together, we create a place where we are happy, successful and inspire each other. This is where you can do your best work.

Join us at the intersection of saving and sustaining lives—where your purpose accelerates our mission.

Summary:

• Senior Planner position is responsible for managing Demand and Inventory Planning activities of countries assigned.
• This role is the end-to-end planning business partner to the respective commercial markets and stakeholders and work to achieve KPIs such as forecast accuracy, OTIF, back order, and inventory.
• Senior Planner also manages all forecasting activities to create an accurate demand forecast with the outcome being a forecast which incorporates current and accurate market information, ensuring the company can correctly predict customer demand and provide the supply chain with the appropriate information to plan how to meet that customer demand.
• In addition, the role creates and maintains forecast models continually refining and improving forecasts for their respective categories, incorporating business intelligence, to anticipate customer demand and has responsibility for gathering and analyzing data for new product launches and forecast information gathered from multiple sources.
• Senior Planner manages and optimizes inventory at countries or a cluster level through working with Segment Market planning to mitigate short and medium-term supply and inventory issues and determine strategy for mitigating supply exceptions, as well as leading and driving communication of gaps between commercial team, customer support, Quality, Regulatory Affairs and fulfillment teams. The role encompasses a high level of commercial partnership, supply continuity and risk management accountabilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage Demand and Inventory Planning activities of the countries assigned
• Develop demand forecasts (operational forecasts) at multiple levels of aggregation for multiple time horizons as part of a demand planning function through
  • Analyzing historical sales trends, research demand drivers, prepare strategic forecast data, develop statistical forecast models, and evaluate forecast results and recommend areas for improvement as well as potential risks.
  • Analyzing and monitoring trends in forecast and bias error and work with the commercial team to reduce the error and lead cross-functional research activities to reconcile significant variances and refine the forecast model to reflect updated sales and marketing assumptions.
• Proactively collaborate with commercial on portfolio changes to ensure the forecast reflects new product launches as well as changes to existing products.
• Collaborate and drive a consensus approach by working with Commercial, Finance and Supply Chain partners to obtain and ensure that current and accurate information is used for demand forecasts (Country/Cluster demand review meeting and prep).
• Prepare and present SIOP review with GMs of countries / cluster level
• Use the relevant planning software as the primary forecasting system tool and update forecast with applicable supply constraints. Monitor customer limits and rebalance product allocation, when needed in cooperation with marketing partners.
• Responsible for developing, executing, and managing inventory plan and strategies on existing items, new products, and product phase-outs with accountability to report inventory variances
• Drive inventory optimization opportunity analysis and deployment, including communication of any required parameter changes for cluster/country (e.g. transit lead time, safety stock, freq.in planning tool.Manage back-order risks with Segment Market planning and provide resolution to mitigate back order and get approval on mitigation cost for all Supply issues
• Own the communication strategy to the commercial team for all planning related concerns/ Issues
• Measure, analyze and report key process. metrics and monitor adherence to key performance indicators (KPIs) and drive KPI process improvements on forecast bias, forecast accuracies, back orders, OTIF and inventory reduction
• Recommend and implement enhancements to business processes and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiencies.

Qualifications:

• Strong Data analytics skill to provide data insights, forecast analysis and ability to judge when to deep dive
• Proven leadership with advanced influencing skill, who’s collaborative but also be able to influence the stakeholders/counterparts/internal peers on decision-making
• Extensive knowledge and experience in demand and supply planning processes, techniques and methodologies.
• Detailed working knowledge of effective Supply Chain performance, including Operations management.
• Significant knowledge and well-established relationships across different parts of the organization: commercial, sales, marketing, product development, finance, fulfilment and manufacturing, related to the segment they are planning for, e.g., product lines, business unit, region, etc.
• Deep knowledge in demand planning processes, techniques and methodologies. Strong mathematical/statistical ability required.  Analytical and quantitative skills​. Hands-on experience with modeling, forecasting, analysis and simulation tools.
• Customer focused, service mindset
• Worked in a team-based environment.
• Business domain experience in the supported process and technology (RapidResponse and Tableau) areas (nice to have).

Fundamental:​

• Collaborative but able to challenge and influence external insights/inputs​ and stakeholders.
• Well-organized, clear presenter​

Education and / or Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree required;.
• Minimum 7+ years’ experience in supply chain planning, including specific experience in identifying planning process improvements, training and coaching team members/colleagues.
• APICS certification is preferred.
• Have advanced mathematical and/or statistical abilities. including forecasting and forecasting methods with an understanding of their financial and operational impacts.
• Advanced analytical, organizational, decision making, and presentation skills.
• Well-organized and high level of attention to detail.
• Proficient in RapidResponse or other relevant planning systems.
• Experienced with other software packages including Windows, and Microsoft Office.

Reasonable Accommodations

Baxter is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities globally. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please click on the link here and let us know the nature of your request along with your contact information.

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