Demand Planner at Abbott Laboratories

What You’ll Work On

• Serve the CRM product portfolio forecast owner, incorporating all elements of business drivers into the plan.

• Leads cross-functional / consensus meetings to ensure key stakeholders provide feedback and updates that could influence finished goods demands.

• Partners closely with Marketing, Finance, and Commercial to drive optimal short and long-term demand plans to achieve financial and operations targets. Create and incorporate cross-functional business assumptions to develop an accurate forecast plan.

• The demand planner will apply analytical techniques and leverage statistical modeling to develop, unbiased demand forecasts, that enable the right product supply in support of the company’s financial and operational objectives.

• Perform statistical data analysis to identify relations, patterns, and features that predict forecasting trends and performance metrics projections.

• Create a monthly forecast plan that translates into manufacturing build plans. Key elements to be considered are backorder mitigation, minimizing the time finished goods sit in inventory, minimizing finished goods/raw material/subassembly scrap, finished goods safety stock, new product introductions, and product phase-outs.

• Design solutions to adjust to demand-based finished goods inventory changes, including field consigned inventory.

• Tracks forecast key performance indicators (KPIs) and continually develops plans to improve results,

• Analyze and review shipment history, inventory trends, and sales performance to proactively identify issues and introduce forecast changes, improving accuracy and contributing to line fill rate success.

• Prepares S&OP template for S&OP management review and is ready to justify actions.

• Develop new product launch plans (including phase-ins and phase-outs) with input and collaboration from selling divisions, production, marketing, R&D, and regulatory; work with the Supply Chain Manager for production plan.

• Review criteria for new product numbers (ZFIN) requests, create new ZFIN setup, sets up and maintain master data, apply safety stocks, and add forecast into SAP.

• Analyze the following consistently to review accuracy, identify trends, capture issues, developing corrective action plans based on findings:

  • Actual shipments versus the net required forecast plan.

  • Finished good actual results versus the forecast.

  • Actual sales versus the forecast.

  • Actual sales versus the financial commitment / budget (LBE).

• Complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, other regulatory requirements, Company policies, operating procedures, processes, and task assignments.

• Perform other related duties and responsibilities, as well as ad hoc requests, as assigned.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE YOU’LL BRING

• Bachelors Degree Engineering, Accounting, Finance or Business Administration OR an equivalent combination of education and work experience

• Minimum 3 years Forecasting and/or supply chain planning and management, financial experience

• Understanding of Demand Planning and Forecasting methodology as well S&O process

• Experience with forecasting application software – SAP/APO preferred.

• Understanding of Supply Chain planning process and relationship with demand planning

• Analytical and problem solving skills; ability to identify and concisely communicate the business implications of forecasts and actual results.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills and adaptability to different culture and communication styles as this role interfaces across countries all over the world

• The individual must be highly motivated and have a desire to innovate. The ability to work independently and proactively identify improvement opportunities is essential

• Candidate should be able to work under pressure, consistently meet deadline and direct activities on several projects at one time.

• Role Requires effective communication skills with all levels of management, inside and outside of finance

• Candidate must possess strong PC/system skills; specifically Excel and PowerPoint with the ability to learn new systems quickly.

Preferred Skills:

Interpersonal and Professional Skills:

• Strategic and tactical communication and problem-solving with a hands-on approach.

• Excellent listening skills to understand problem statements from our internal key stakeholders.

• Strong leadership and consensus management skills.

• Critical thinking skills are required to analyze and interpret large volumes of data to develop fact-based business assumptions to influence consensus through effective communication.

• Interpretive ability to translate assumptions into tangible numbers/volumes and vice versa.

• Excellent problem-solving skills to identify the root cause of a problem and create corrective action plans.

• Highly detail oriented.

• Change management and emotional intelligence skills to work through process and system changes in an organization.

• Ability to give senior leadership compelling and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics.

Computer Skills:

• Microsoft Office intermediate skills in Excel– Pivot tables, VLOOKUP's, intermediate formulas like standard deviation and forecasting.

• Microsoft Office basic skills – PowerPoint.

• Previous experience in an ERP environment – JDE Enterprise One ideal.

• Previous experience in Business Intelligence Tools – Reports and Dashboards.

• Previous experience in an Advanced Planning and/or a Demand Planning System is a plus.

Apply Now

* Participants who complete a short wellness assessment qualify for FREE coverage in our HIP PPO medical plan. Free coverage applies in the next calendar year.

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

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