Supply Chain Distribution Planner & Analyst - Leeds, AL or Aiken, SC or Centralia, MO

Job Overview

The Supply Chain Distribution Planner & Analyst orchestrates all intercompany material flows (finished goods and components), aligns intercompany purchase orders across plants, and balances inflow to the distribution center to protect customer service and inventory health. The planner prioritizes lanes to ensure shipment visibility and drives timely escalation and recovery when risk emerges. The position requires strong communication, disciplined follow-up, and proactive issue escalation. This role serves as the primary liaison between sites, ensuring demand, supply, and priorities are understood and executed effectively.

A Day In The Life

• Intercompany deployment: Maintain and align intercompany purchase orders schedule lines (dates, quantities, splits) across all lanes, including heightened visibility and prioritization for lanes with a low number of POs.
• DC balancing: Translate supply commits into a balanced inbound flow to the DC; publish weekly deployment and communicate “what changed” to site planners and operations.
• Component loops stewardship: Validate and synchronize closed loop component flows to prevent line starvation at supplying and receiving sites.
• Shipment visibility and escalation: Use SAP delivery monitors to track outbound/inbound adherence and in transit accuracy; collaborate with logistics and site planners to expedite or re sequence as needed
• Exception and parameter health: Partner with the Supply Chain Systems team to tune exception logic, stabilize AutoPO/ICPO creation, and conduct monthly reviews of lead times, safety stocks, calendars, and related planning parameters.
• Sales &Operations Planning/IBP alignment & scenarios: Convert executive decisions into feasible network plans, running scenarios that respect capacity, material, and transit constraints.
• Daily/Weekly Cadence (Expectations & Tools):
  
  • Review interplant shipments and exceptions; align ship/receipt dates with site planners; protect service.
    Monthly rhythm: SAP master data maintenance and alignment
• Success Metrics (KPIs):
  
  • Intercompany on time delivery across all lanes (primary plus lanes with a low number of POs).
  • Lead time reliability and in transit accuracy (planned vs. actual at shipment and receipt).
  • DC Days of Supply adherence and reduced backorder exposure.
  • Exception message reduction and improved plan stability.
  • 95% service and fill rates

What will help you thrive in this role?

• Bachelor’s in Supply Chain, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, or Analytics (or equivalent experience).
• Meaningful experience in supply planning, network deployment, or intercompany logistics within an SAP environment, including planning transactions and shipment monitors
• Demonstrated results aligning intercompany PO dates/quantities across multiple plants and a DC, including hands-on ownership of low number of POs lanes.
• Practical engagement with S&OP/IBP cadence and cross-functional decision forums.
• Intercompany processing and stock-transfer best practices in SAP (ICPO/STO).
• Production Planning or Network planning
• 3 to 5 years of Experience
• Stewardship of planning parameters (lead times, safety stocks, calendars) and exception-rule tuning with Systems/MDM.
• Constraint-based decision making: Balances capacity, materials, and transit lead times; communicates trade-offs clearly and early
• Data discipline: Leans on exception lists, availability checks, and shipment monitors to prevent service misses and manage risk proactively.
• Change control: Applies Frozen/Slushy/Fluid rules rigorously to protect near-term execution.
• Cross-functional influence: Facilitates trade-offs among plants, DC, logistics, finance, and Systems; escalates with feasible options and impact transparency.
• Leads with confidence in complex environments, exercising sound judgment while managing conflicting demands and operational constraints.
• Maintains strong situational awareness and emotional resilience (“thick skin”) when delivering difficult messages or driving decisions that impact multiple teams.
• Partners closely with manufacturing sites to set priorities, remove roadblocks, and ensure clarity of strategy, direction, and accountability.
• Drives alignment across diverse stakeholders by synthesizing inputs and resolving competing priorities in a structured, consistent manner.
• SAP planning and execution: ICPO/STPO process familiarity and related master-data dependencies. and in-transit accuracy; SCOR-based performance framing.
• Daily: Shipment and exception control; date alignment with sites; focused protection of lanes with a low number of POs.
• Weekly: Consolidate supply commits; publish deployment; lock Frozen/Slushy changes with clear rationale.
• Monthly: Parameter and chronic-exception reviews with Systems; circulate learnings and rule changes.
• Travel up to 25%