Sales & Operations Planning Manager

Manages a team of planning analysts and/or supervisors with a focus on setting tactical objectives and operational plans that directly impact short-term supply chain performance. Leads planning activities across demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization, ensuring alignment with broader business and supply chain strategies. Develops and refines planning processes, tools, and standards to improve service levels, inventory health, and cost-to-serve. Applies best practices and cross-functional insights to address planning challenges that involve collaboration with manufacturing, procurement, finance, and commercial partners. Analyzes complex planning scenarios requiring input from multiple disciplines, and guides the team in evaluating trade-offs across service, cost, and risk. Interacts regularly with senior leadership to provide insight into planning performance, supply risks, and business impacts, and plays a key role in cross-functional initiatives such as S&OP or product lifecycle transitions. Effectively influences stakeholders in high-impact or ambiguous situations, balancing competing priorities while maintaining collaborative relationships across the organization and with external partners.

POSITION PROFILE: (Basic Purpose of Position)

The S&OP Manager, based in Avantor's Pune, India office, leads the offshore supply chain planning support team that enables Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE) routines. The role manages team delivery, analytics, governance, master data support, performance reporting, and decision-support capabilities that help onshore global S&OP and regional stakeholders execute those routines effectively. This position partners with global and regional planning, operations, finance, commercial, procurement, quality, product management, IT, and other cross-functional leaders to translate business priorities into clear team deliverables, improve planning visibility, strengthen process discipline, and support decisions that balance customer service (OTIF/backorder), manufacturing effectiveness, inventory investment, capacity utilization, cost, and shelf-life risk.

MAJOR JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: (List in order of importance)

Global Business Partnering and Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the Pune-based business partner for onshore and regional S&OP/S&OE stakeholders across planning, operations, commercial, procurement, finance, quality, product management, IT, and manufacturing teams.

• Proactively align with cross-functional leadership to understand business needs, constraints, escalations, and changing priorities; translate them into clear action items for the Pune supply chain support team.

• Maintain regular stakeholder engagement to review progress, course-correct priorities, address escalations within reasonable time frames, and ensure Pune team deliverables remain aligned with business requirements.

• Contribute to the success of the Pune planning/operations support model by engaging in leadership initiatives, driving assigned KPIs, and promoting a One Avantor team culture.

S&OP/S&OE Support, Governance, and Business Results

• Lead the offshore team that supports S&OP/S&OE routines through analytics, meeting preparation, assumptions tracking, decision logs, action-item follow-up, performance reporting, and issue escalation support.

• Partner with S&OP and process owners to ensure weekly and monthly routine inputs are accurate, timely, standardized, and actionable.

• Translate S&OP strategy into tactical team deliverables that support short-term execution and medium- to long-term supply planning decisions.

• Enable delivery of leadership review materials with actionable insights, clear variance drivers, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions related to demand/supply imbalance, inventory, fulfillment, capacity, and service performance.

• Support regional/segment/site leaders by developing scalable Pune support models, process champions, standard work, and functional expertise across planning analytics, capacity planning, reporting, and master data governance.

Network Capacity Planning and Planning Analytics

• Oversee network capacity planning support, including tracking supply response imbalances, capacity constraints, production/supply risks, fulfillment issues, and medium- to long-term changes in customer demand.

• Ensure the team provides timely analysis to site planning and operations teams to support capacity plan changes when demand differs from the Integrated Operating Plan (IOP).

• Strengthen the analytics culture within the Pune supply chain team by using data to highlight improvement areas, risks, opportunities, and business decision points.

• Guide development of dashboards, analytical models, and planning tools using Excel, Power BI, Tableau, SAP, and other systems to improve visibility and scenario planning.

• Promote the use of best-fit and what-if analysis, class/characteristic identification, and other planning-system capabilities to support decision-making.

Operational and Functional Excellence

• Drive continuous improvement by harmonizing, simplifying, standardizing, documenting, decommissioning, and automating activities, reports, and planning support processes where appropriate.

• Identify and adopt best practices across regions, businesses, and teams; partner with Center of Excellence teams to strengthen master data management and planning support practices in SAP.

• Manage transition of new planning-support activities into Pune, including process study, due diligence, planning, knowledge transfer, go-live readiness, progress tracking, and stabilization.

• Ensure business continuity through updated process documentation, knowledge transfers, cross-training, backup planning, and clear ownership models.

• Apply Avantor Business System (ABS) practices and demonstrate ICARE values in Pune team deliverables, stakeholder interactions, and continuous improvement efforts.

SLA/KPI Management and Master Data Governance

• Own SLA and KPI targets cascaded to the Pune supply chain support team and ensure team members meet expectations for quality, delivery, automation, standardization, and documentation.

• Monitor planning metrics and ensure accurate reporting of inventory projections, production, supply, fulfillment, service, capacity, and master data performance indicators.

• Lead planning/procurement master data governance support by ensuring accuracy, consistency, controls, regular audits, and timely issue resolution across supply chain systems.

• Partner with IT, planning, operations, and Center of Excellence teams to maintain and improve ERP, MRP, and planning systems.

Talent Management

• Recruit, lead, coach, and develop the Pune supply chain support team in partnership with HR and relevant onshore stakeholders.

• Allocate roles and responsibilities, onboard processes, set goals and objectives, review deliverables, and provide timely performance feedback.

• Conduct skill-gap assessments and build team capability through training, coaching, knowledge sharing, and development plans.

• Support reward and recognition, performance management, career and succession planning, and early-warning actions for potential attrition risks.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS (Education/Training, Experience and Certifications)

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business, Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Data Analytics, or a related field required; MBA or related Master's degree desired.

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in supply chain planning, S&OP/S&OE support, network capacity planning, logistics, manufacturing planning, analytics, or related functions, preferably in an MNC, shared services, captive, or global capability center environment.

• Minimum 5 years of people management experience with a track record of recruiting, developing, coaching, managing performance, building capability, and supporting succession planning.

• Experience partnering with regional or global stakeholders across planning, operations, commercial, finance, procurement, quality, IT, and/or manufacturing functions.

• Strong understanding of S&OP/S&OE processes, demand/supply planning, network capacity planning, supply response management, planning analytics, master data governance, and KPI/SLA management.

• Experience managing transitions, process documentation, standard work, knowledge transfer, cross-training, and business continuity for offshore or shared service teams preferred.

• Proficiency in advanced supply chain planning tools and ERP systems such as SAP; experience with data analysis and visualization tools such as Excel, Power BI, Tableau, Alteryx, or QlikView preferred.

• APICS certification a plus; Lean or Six Sigma training preferred.

• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for safety and quality, manage multiple priorities, follow procedures, and work independently in a dynamic environment.

• Demonstrated leadership, facilitation, stakeholder management, analytical, and problem-solving skills with an open-minded, collaborative, and team-oriented attitude.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (Those necessary to perform the job competently)

Business Partnering and Matrix Leadership

• Comfortable working in a matrix environment with multiple stakeholders across regions, functions, sites, and leadership levels.

• Builds excellent relationships with key internal and external customers based on trust, confidence, accountability, and business understanding.

• Ability to translate stakeholder needs and business priorities into clear team action plans, deliverables, and course corrections.

People Leadership and Talent Development

• Ability to lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing Pune supply chain support team.

• Strong capability in role allocation, onboarding, training, skill-gap analysis, performance feedback, recognition, career development, and succession planning.

• Promotes collaboration, accountability, engagement, and One Avantor team culture.

S&OP/S&OE Support and Governance

• Strong knowledge of S&OP and S&OE routines, governance, performance metrics, assumptions management, decision support, action tracking, and escalation processes.

• Understands end-to-end supply chain impacts across demand, supply, capacity, inventory, manufacturing, fulfillment, cost, customer service, and shelf-life considerations.

• Ability to enable process owners while ensuring team outputs are accurate, timely, and actionable.

Analytical Thinking and Decision Support

• Evaluates scenarios with end-to-end supply chain impact in mind and converts data into actionable insights.

• Ability to refine analytical approaches, planning models, and scenario tools to improve decision-making.

• Strong computer proficiency with Microsoft Office, SAP, Power BI, Tableau, and related analytics tools.

Transformation and Operational Excellence

• Transformation mindset; open to accepting, adopting, and leading changes in ways of working, structure, content, and service delivery.

• Strong affinity with Lean processes and continuous improvement tools.

• Ability to harmonize, simplify, standardize, document, automate, and improve planning support processes.

Communication

• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare and present leadership-ready materials.

• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Independent, self-starting, highly motivated, collaborative, and capable of making timely decisions.

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL EFFORT (Under Typical Positions)

The role is based in Avantor's Pune, India office, with an office or hybrid work environment as applicable. The duties of the job may require occasional travel to other Avantor sites, including manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, supplier locations, and customer sites.

Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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