Senior Solution Delivery Expert – Forecast To Produce

Position Summary

In this position as Senior Solution Delivery Expert – Forecast To Produce (FTP) you will provide technical leadership for SAP PP, SAP-PPPI and PPDS as a solution delivery consultant for requirement gathering, designing, solutioning, estimating, planning, customizing, guiding developers for custom objects, conducting various testing and deploying the solution as well as troubleshooting issues in application maintenance. This includes contributing to the IT vision and business process transformations by solution delivery for the FTP process areas. You will be responsible for translating business requirements into technical solutions and operational procedures by building required capabilities in the organization in form of IT solutions. You will be part of a Global Team and work with our global stakeholders. The position will partner with SAP Functional and Technical teams, Business Solutions Owners team to deliver and continuously improve the high standards of Forecast to Produce Solution for our global business stakeholders.

Job Objective

Senior Solution Delivery Expert – FTP will design, implement and maintain SAP-PP, SAP-PPPI, PPDS and IBP solutions. You will deliver business value through various projects, application maintenance activities, continuous improvements, and innovations. You will demonstrate technology thought leadership on SAP platform for Planning and Production management processes and technology solution options. As expert of these processes with in-dept SAP knowledge, you will architecture and design solutions for business requirements and challenges. You will estimate and plan delivery for corresponding scope. You will deliver projects and troubleshoot maintenance issues. As continuous learner you will stay on top of latest technological advances in this space. You will drive continuous improvement by bringing knowledge of best practices and technology options. You will accelerate innovations and maximize value extraction from SAP investments for the organization in the Forecast to Produce process area.

Job responsibilities

• Design and architect solutions for FTP area by participating in business requirement gathering, analysis of requirements and recommending solutions using SAP PP, SAP PPPI, PPDS and IBP. Promote, defend and continuously improve the global template solution for FTP. Design scalable solutions to meet continuous business growth. Promote SAP Standard solution while restricting number of custom developments.
• Estimate, Plan and Prioritize solution delivery - Breakdown the work in manageable chunks, ensure continuous flow of value delivery to business by estimating and planning the work in FTP area. Work with process and solution delivery lead to prioritize day to day product backlog using daily scrum meetings while being customer centric and considering overall value, efforts and speed proposition.
• Commit and Deliver business value through SAP solutions by blueprinting, detail designing, development, solution demos, comprehensive reviews, various types of testing, defect resolutions, documentations etc. Deliver solution working with functional teams and project managers for various types, sizes and complexities of projects, enhancements, changes, and incidents. Deliver value through various types of SAP projects e.g. Upgrades, Cloud Migrations, S4 HANA Template Design and Deployments, roll-outs of new capabilities, Enhancements to existing functionalities etc.
• Troubleshoot incidents in SAP PP, SAP PPPI, PPDS and IBP area by analysis, debugging with help of technical expert, doing SAP research, implementing of appropriate solutions in timely manner to avoid adverse business impact.
• Deliver solutions in collaboration with Technical and cross functional teams. Design, specify, document, test and guide SAP technical developers for development of SAP custom objects. Collaborate and work with other functional process areas to deliver integrated technical solution.
• Ensure high quality, up-to-date solution documentation and reliable knowledge base along with ever growing known error database (KEDB). Track and continuously improve Team Knowledge on solution leading to correct issue analysis, prioritization and troubleshooting.
• Manage vendor resources for agreed deliverables. Work with SAP to resolve product issues. Govern service providers and contractors for agreed service scope, service levels and commercials.
• Drive problem management and continuous improvement working with internal teams and partners to ensure best in class processes. Improve template solution. Analysis of trends based on key issues identified through root cause analysis report and feedbacks. Drive higher degree of automation and standardization, build reusable technical assets, strong knowledge management (e.g. knowledge sharing, KEDB, end user manuals etc.), better user experience, system performance and utilization. Ensure continuous focus on reducing monthly incident volumes for FTP Process area.
• Demonstrate technology thought leadership by keeping track of technological advancements. Explore, learn, experiment and prove benefits through proof of concepts. Provide inputs for business case considering new technological solutions and its benefits.

Core Competencies, Knowledge, Experience

• 15+ years of experience in Application Development, Enhancements and Application Maintenance on SAP platform for Forecast to Produce solutions – SAP IBP, PPDS (on S4), SAP PP and SAP PPPI.
• Industry Experience: strong understanding of planning and production processes for discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing and repetitive manufacturing industries and best practices in retail, manufacturing and distribution industry segments.
• Mandatory functional knowledge and experience of SAP PPPI, PP processes and solutions e.g. master data, configuration and customization of Production and Process orders, various planning strategies and MRP, Demand management, MTO, MTS, ATP etc., execution, shop floor inventory management, Material staging with WM-PP interface, scheduling & confirmation, Shop floor printing, batch records printing, Label printing etc. Experience in handing various functional process integrations with QM, MM, WM, EWM, SD and Transport management. Experience in managing various technical integrations on production line e.g. label printer, scanners, Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and SCADA systems etc.   
• Desired function knowledge and experience of SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP), Demand Planning, Supply planning, Sales & Operation Planning processes. Knowledge and experience in implementing S4 embedded PPDS module for planning and optimization. Data Integration using CPI DS with S4HANA.
• Desired knowledge and experience of job and process automation tools like Redwood.
• Functional competencies are expected in relevant SAP areas to be able to manage SAP solution configuration, custom developments, integrations along with relevant industry experience. Ability to plan and manage FTP specific projects/changes, communication, training and documentation, problem solving, and data analysis.
• Hands-on experience in executing large End-to-End Implementations, SAP Upgrades, Cloud Migrations of SAP Applications, S/4HANA Conversions.
• Experienced as SAP functional consultant in gathering business requirements, proposing implementation strategies/approaches, designing functional solution, detailed planning and estimations, systems design, function configuration, collaborating for technical developments, testing, solution demos and trainings, release and cutover planning activities and troubleshooting incidents on live systems.
• Ability to work with SAP technical developers to develop custom solutions, establish technical design from FTP solution perspective. Ability to debug technical issues, propose relevant functional workarounds, resolve performance issues for FTP process area.
• Ability to stay on top of technological changes and adopt them with experimental mindset to address business challenges by proving hypothesis through POCs and help building the financial business case.
• Experience of: Leading smaller teams and implementation of solutions. Ability to support in hiring a world class, diverse functional team to add depth of expertise and bring robust solutions forward. Prioritizing the work and functioning as senior expert to achieve the best technology and business outcomes with speed and predictability.
• Experienced in engaging and partnering with internal customers, teams and suppliers to deliver business systems and processes.
• Experienced on delivering work using Agile, waterfall methodologies. Has good knowledge of how to operate in Agile, Scrum, SAFe setups.
• Ability to articulate and resolve timelines for various implementation and cutover activities, serving as technical point and SME for SAP technologies.
• Ability to learn quickly and apply knowledge effectively. Ability to build credible relationships with peers and clients, and continuous professional learning of SAP products.
• Highly proactive, self-organized, strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with good written/verbal communications in English.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a global team.
• SAP PP, SAP IBP Certifications, ITIL, Six Sigma, PMP, SAFe certifications desired but not mandatory

Work Timing & Location

• Office – Pune, India. Current Flexible office presence policy – 4 days/week
• Typical Working Hours – 12 noon to 9:30 pm IST. Operational on call availability subject to incidents/priorities
• Travel – subject to key projects, usually up to 2 weeks

Must Have Educational / Professional Qualifications

• B.E / B.Tech / M.Tech / MBA / MCA / PGDIT