Supply Chain Planner

An opportunity to join an award winning, fast growing, Oxford based DeepTech Scale-up (150 people) operating in the Life Sciences / Analytical Industry.

Supply Chain Planner – Consumables

Working pattern: Primarily site-based, with a minimum of four days per week onsite

An opportunity to join a growing Oxford-based scientific technology company as a Supply Chain

Planner – Consumables .

This is a hands-on planning role supporting the manufacture and supply of technically complex consumable products. You will take ownership of demand and supply planning, inventory management and material availability across products involving complex BOMs, multiple manufacturing stages and external suppliers / manufacturing partners .

The role would suit someone with 3+ years' supply chain planning experience , ideally gained within life sciences, GMP, medical devices, diagnostics or another regulated manufacturing environment .

A key part of the position will be supporting the company's SIOP / S&OP process , translating customer demand and forecasts into practical material, inventory, capacity and supplier plans.

Working closely with Manufacturing, Warehouse, Quality, Sales, R&D and external partners, you will identify supply constraints early and ensure materials, components and finished products are available as the business continues to scale.

Responsibilities

SIOP, Demand & Supply Planning

• Support and contribute to the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP / S&OP) process across the Consumables portfolio.
• Develop and maintain demand and supply plans based on forecasts, customer requirements and production needs.
• Translate demand into material, inventory, supplier and capacity plans .
• Plan products with complex multi-level BOMs involving numerous raw materials, components and manufacturing stages.
• Coordinate supply across multi-stage manufacturing processes involving multiple external suppliers and contract manufacturing partners .
• Identify material shortages, capacity constraints, supplier risks and inventory issues before they impact production or customer supply.
• Develop and implement mitigation and recovery plans when supply constraints arise.
• Maintain ERP / MRP planning parameters including lead times, order policies, reorder points and safety stock.
• Balance product availability with inventory levels, shelf-life requirements and working capital.
• Analyse demand, inventory and supply data to improve planning accuracy and supply performance.

Supply & Purchasing

• Raise and manage purchase orders for approved materials, components and manufacturing services.
• Monitor supplier delivery performance and proactively resolve shortages, delays and supply discrepancies.
• Coordinate materials and production schedules across multiple suppliers and manufacturing stages.
• Work with suppliers and contract manufacturing partners to align production schedules, material requirements and capacity with demand.
• Manage longer lead-time materials and critical components to maintain continuity of supply.
• Monitor batch, lot, shelf-life and expiry requirements alongside Quality and Warehouse teams.
• Escalate significant supplier, commercial, capacity or supply risks where appropriate.
• Support supplier discussions around pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities and commercial terms.

Inventory & Materials Management

• Maintain appropriate inventory levels across raw materials, components, work-in-progress and finished goods.
• Monitor inventory against demand, lead times, production schedules and safety stock requirements.
• Support stock adjustments, cycle counts, stock takes and inventory investigations.
• Investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies and material availability issues.
• Identify opportunities to reduce excess and obsolete inventory while protecting continuity of supply.

NPI & Product Transfer

• Support supply chain activities during New Product Introduction (NPI), scale-up and product transfer .
• Work with R&D, Manufacturing and Quality to establish new BOMs, planning parameters, suppliers and material requirements.
• Support the transition of new products from development into routine manufacturing.
• Help identify supply chain risks associated with new components, suppliers and manufacturing processes.

About You

We are looking for someone with:

• 3+ years' experience in supply chain planning, production planning, materials planning or a similar role.
• Experience working within manufacturing , ideally in life sciences, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, GMP or another regulated environment .
• Experience contributing to or operating within a SIOP / S&OP / IBP planning process .
• Experience planning products with complex or multi-level BOMs .
• Experience coordinating multi-stage manufacturing processes , ideally involving multiple external suppliers or contract manufacturers.
• Strong understanding of MRP / ERP systems, demand planning, supply planning and inventory management .
• Experience managing supplier lead times, shortages, capacity constraints and material availability.
• Strong analytical skills and confidence working with planning, inventory and supply-chain data.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Quality, R&D, Sales and external suppliers.

Desirable

• Experience with GMP-controlled manufacturing environments .
• Experience planning consumables, cartridges, diagnostic products, laboratory products or other high-volume technical products .
• Experience with batch-controlled, lot-controlled or shelf-life-sensitive materials.
• Experience supporting NPI, manufacturing scale-up or product transfer .
• Experience working with external contract manufacturers or geographically distributed supply chains.