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About Sumitomo Biorational Company:
Headquartered in Libertyville, IL, Sumitomo Biorational Company is the Global Center of Excellence for Biorational Innovation, advancing integrated, science-driven solutions in agriculture, public health, forest health, and environmental markets. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Biorational operates through three divisions: AgroSolutions, Environmental Health (MGK), and Public Health & Forest Health, leveraging decades of expertise to drive innovation and sustainability for customers worldwide.

Description of Job: The Supply Chain Planning Manager is responsible for leading the end-to-end supply planning process across outsourced manufacturing (tolling), Active Ingredient (AI) material planning, inventory management, and commodity planning governance. This role ensures the effective balance between customer service, inventory optimization, working capital, manufacturing capacity, and total supply chain costs while supporting business growth and strategic objectives.

The position serves as a key leader within the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process, translating demand signals into executable supply, inventory, and material plans. The Supply Chain Planning Manager collaborates closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, External Manufacturing, Customer Service, Finance, Quality, Regulatory, and Commercial teams to ensure resilient supply, optimized inventory investment, and strong planning discipline across the organization.

This role is accountable for developing planning capabilities, driving continuous improvement initiatives, governing MRP processes and parameters, and leading a team responsible for toll manufacturing planning, inventory planning, and material planning activities.

Key Responsibilities

Tolling Production Planning

• Lead the end-to-end production planning process for external manufacturing partners (tollers), ensuring alignment with demand forecasts, inventory targets, service objectives, and financial plans.
• Develop and maintain short-, medium-, and long-term production schedules for outsourced manufacturing operations.
• Partner with external manufacturers to validate capacity, identify constraints, evaluate scenarios, and mitigate supply risks.
• Ensure availability of active ingredients, raw materials, and packaging materials required for tolling operations.
• Oversee subcontracting processes, including material staging, production execution, inventory reconciliation, and SAP transaction accuracy.
• Drive performance management and continuous improvement initiatives across the tolling network.
• Support new product introductions through integrated planning of materials, production capacity, logistics, and inventory readiness.
• Lead supply planning inputs for S&OP, IBP, and S&OE processes related to toll manufacturing operations.

Active Ingredient (AI) Material Planning

• Lead MRP planning activities for Active Ingredients to ensure uninterrupted supply to internal plants and external manufacturing partners.
• Develop procurement and replenishment plans considering lead times, production requirements, inventory targets, and business priorities.
• Monitor supplier performance, material availability, and supply risks, implementing mitigation plans when necessary.
• Collaborate closely with Procurement to ensure strategic alignment and adequate material coverage.
• Conduct scenario planning and sensitivity analysis to support business continuity and risk management.
• Optimize inventory levels while minimizing obsolescence and excess inventory exposure.

Inventory Management & Working Capital Optimization

• Develop and execute inventory strategies aligned with service level, working capital, and financial objectives.
• Own inventory projections and provide 24-to-36-month visibility for inventory and cash flow planning.
• Establish inventory policies, safety stock strategies, and inventory segmentation methodologies.
• Lead inventory optimization initiatives focused on reducing excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Monitor inventory health metrics including inventory turns, aging, service levels, and working capital performance.
• Lead cross-functional inventory governance forums and SLOB reduction initiatives.
• Provide inventory-related insights and recommendations to Finance and Executive Leadership teams.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to improve inventory visibility, analytics, and decision-making processes.

Commodity Planning & MRP Governance

• Lead material planning processes for key commodities and strategic raw materials.
• Govern MRP processes, planning parameters, master data integrity, and replenishment policies across the supply chain.
• Ensure standardization and compliance with MRP planning processes, policies, and best practices.
• Continuously evaluate and optimize planning parameters including lot sizes, lead times, safety stocks, and reorder policies.
• Partner with Procurement, Manufacturing, and IT to enhance planning system effectiveness and data quality.
• Support ERP and planning system improvements to increase automation, visibility, and planning accuracy.
• Establish and monitor planning KPIs related to material availability, inventory performance, and planning effectiveness.

Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of supply chain planning professionals.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer focus, and continuous improvement.
• Support digital transformation initiatives and planning system enhancements.
• Driving planning process excellence through KPI management, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in Supply Planning, Inventory Management, MRP, and External Manufacturing Planning.
• Present supply chain risks, opportunities, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Operations Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field.
• APICS CPIM certification is preferred.
• MBA or advanced degree is a plus.

Experience

• 8+ years of experience in Supply Chain Planning, Supply Planning, Materials Planning, Inventory Management, or related functions.
• Minimum 3 years of leadership experience managing planning teams.
• Strong experience with:
  • Master Production Scheduling (MPS)
  • Planning Material Requirements (MRP)
  • Inventory Management
  • External Manufacturing / Tolling Operations
  • Integrated Business Planning (IBP) / S&OP
  • Capacity Planning
  • Working Capital Management
• Experience in complex, multi-site manufacturing environments
• Agricultural chemical, crop protection, specialty chemical, life sciences, or consumer products preferred.
• Strong ERP experience (SAP preferred) and advanced planning systems knowledge.
• Experience with Power BI, Excel, and data analytics tools.

What We Offer

We recognize that compensation and benefits play a crucial role in your career decisions. That’s why we’re dedicated to equitable pay practices and transparency in how we reward our employees.

Base Salary: The estimated annual base salary for this position ranges from: 

$125,000 to $155,000. Individual pay is based upon location, skills, experience, and other relevant factors.

Incentives: All full-time employees are eligible for an incentive program or profit-sharing program in addition to their base salary.

Benefits:

Our Commitment to a Sustainable Future

At Sumitomo Biorational Company, we’re proud to power a sustainable future through our work. Sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been at the core of our culture since the beginning. Today, they continue to drive everything we do.