Sr. Packaged Products Supply Planner

Sr Packaged Products Supply Planner

Buckman – Memphis, TN

Buckman is a privately held, global specialty chemical company with headquarters in Memphis, TN, USA, committed to safeguarding the environment, maintaining safety in the workplace, and promoting sustainable development. Buckman delivers exceptional service and innovative solutions to our customers globally in the pulp and paper, leather, and water treatment sectors to help boost productivity, reduce risk, improve product quality, and provide a measurable return on investment.

Position Summary

Plan and execute the end-to-end supply and inventory plan for approximately 975 tote and drum packed finished goods produced at the Buckman Memphis site to reliably support the North American business. This role translates the demand plan and supply plan into an executable packed products and packaging materials plan, runs SAP MRP to generate time-phased purchase requisitions, and releases/expedites purchase orders to ensure packaging and bulk are available to meet the production schedule. The role proactively identifies forward-looking constraints (packaging supply, bulk availability, capacity, and quality holds), communicates risk and mitigation options through the weekly/monthly planning cadence (S&OP), and drives continuous improvement in OTIF, inventory performance, and master data integrity.

Key Outcomes/Responsibilities

Outcome: Accurate and timely customer fulfillment for tote and drum packed products.

Actions:

• Translate the demand plan into a time-phased packed finished goods supply plan (975 SKUs) that supports required service levels and customer promise dates.
• Monitor shortages and order-risk daily; drive recovery actions (expedites, substitutions, resequencing) with Scheduling, Customer Service, and Sales to protect OTIF.
• Provide clear availability commitments and risk updates during daily/weekly execution reviews; escalate when service risk exceeds agreed thresholds.

Outcome: Executable packed products production plan aligned to Memphis constraints and the S&OP plan.

Actions:

• Convert the approved supply plan into an executable packed products plan by product family/format; ensure alignment to Memphis packaging line capacity, changeover realities, and bulk availability.
• Publish forward-looking packed products constraints with event timelines (capacity, bulk constraints, planned maintenance/shutdowns, quality holds) and propose mitigation options.
• Own exception management (MRP, shortages, late inbound, schedule volatility) and drive decisions through the weekly planning cadence.

Outcome: Right-first-time packaging material availability to support the packed products schedule.

Actions:

• Develop and maintain packaging material plans (totes, drums, components, labels) aligned with production schedules, stocking policies, and budget.
• Run SAP MRP to create purchase requisitions; time-phase and release purchase orders to meet lead-time, MOQ, and safety stock requirements.
• Coordinate with Procurement and suppliers to manage exceptions, confirm supply, and secure allocation during constrained periods; maintain alternatives and substitutions where qualified.

Outcome: Optimized finished goods and packaging inventory performance (working capital, turns, and shelf-life adherence).

Actions:

• Maintain inventory targets (safety stock, reorder points, lot size/rounding) using demand variability, lead time, and service policy; drive parameter reviews and audits.
• Identify slow-moving/obsolete inventory and materials-at-risk (expiration, packaging obsolescence); initiate corrective actions (consume, redeploy, substitute, phase-out) in partnership with Inventory/SLOB owners.
• Balance service and cost by optimizing order quantities, minimizing expedites, and managing packaging cost per unit vs. budget.

Outcome: High integrity planning and master data that enables stable MRP signals and reliable execution.

Actions:

• Maintain planning master data for packed products and packaging materials (lead times, MOQ/rounding, safety stock, source info, calendars) and complete routine audits; correct defects.
• Collaborate with Master Data, Procurement, and Operations to ensure BOM/pack specs, UoM, and production versions support accurate requirements planning.
• Use exception reporting and root-cause analysis to eliminate recurring planning errors (duplicate materials, incorrect lead times, wrong MOQ/rounding).

Outcome: Strong inventory accuracy and compliance across plant and external warehouses.

Actions:

• Support annual physical inventory (tag count) preparation, execution, and reconciliation for packed finished goods and packaging materials; ensure accurate adjustments and documentation.
• Provide backup support for cycle counting programs; investigate variances and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Reconcile and publish external warehouse inventory discrepancies and accuracy rates; coordinate corrective actions with Warehousing/3PL partners.

Outcome: Continuous improvement, analytics, and stakeholder decision support.

Actions:

• Build and maintain dashboards/metrics for package availability, constraint timeliness, PO release performance, OTIF impact, inventory turns, and obsolescence risk.
• Lead or support special projects (system testing, data integrity, planning optimization, packaging sustainability/standardization) that improve cost, service, and resiliency.
• Document standard work for pack planning and exception management; train cross-functional partners on planning expectations and inputs.

Basic Qualifications

• Education Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, logistics, or a related field
• Job Experience: 4 - 6 years
• APICS/ASCM CPIM required or obtained within 12 months
• ERP / APS systems - prior experience with SAP or similar system, Power BI, SQL, and Excel

Competencies

• Manages Complexity - Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
• Communicates Effectively - Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences
• Decision Quality - Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward
• Customer Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions
• Plans and Aligns - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals