Senior Manager, Global Material Planning Excellence

Tennant Company•Eden Prairie, MN

2d•$132,400 - $205,100•Remote

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Materials Planning Excellence is a highly visible role that leads the strategy, governance, and continuous improvement of materials planning across the enterprise. The role focuses on building world‑class planning capabilities, driving standardization, enabling digital tools, and improving service, cost, and inventory performance. This leader owns the materials planning excellence roadmap, ensuring that planning processes and systems, consistently support reliable supply, optimized inventory, and efficient operations. They partner with manufacturing, procurement, sales and IT to elevate planning maturity and deliver measurable business impact. This role is accountable for improving efficiency, setting standards, and delivering training to enhance performance across business units while ensuring alignment with safety, cost, quality, and delivery objectives. The position promotes collaborative decision-making, strategic thinking. Success in this role requires exceptional communication and influencing skills, along with deep knowledge of Material Planning and SIOP.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Logistics, Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations, or related field.
10+ years of experience in manufacturing, warehousing, or supply chain environments.
Proven leadership in process improvement, planning transformation, or COE roles.
Strong knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and planning analytics.
Demonstrated ability to influence across functions and global teams.
Experience with Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.
Exceptional leadership and team-building capabilities.
Strong strategic thinking and long-range planning skills.
Proven ability to influence, collaborate, and drive change across functions.
Excellent communication skills (verbal, written, and presentation).
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
High level of process orientation and documentation discipline.
Ability to work effectively in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment.
Strong organizational and prioritization skills with attention to detail.
Ability to build relationships and maintain a strong customer service orientation.
Coaching and mentoring skills across all organizational levels.
Action-oriented with a demonstrated ability to deliver results and build momentum.
Sound judgment and ability to handle confidential information.
Flexibility and adaptability in a dynamic work environment.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent).
APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP).
Experience with advanced planning systems (SAP IBP, Kinaxis, etc.).
Background in global manufacturing environments.
Certification or advanced expertise in Continuous Improvement methodologies such as Lean or Six Sigma.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for a global materials planning ensuring performance, compliance, and service excellence.
Define the enterprise materials planning strategy, including process standards, KPIs, and capability requirements.
Establish governance for planning policies (e.g., safety stock, lead times, MOQ, planning parameters).
Lead maturity assessments and create multi‑year improvement roadmaps.
Design and deploy standard global planning processes (MRP, replenishment, capacity alignment, exception management).
Implement best practices in demand translation, BOM accuracy, and supply signal management.
Partner with IT to optimize IBP within S4.
Lead adoption of advanced planning tools, automation, and analytics.
Champion data quality initiatives and master data governance.
Drive successful deployment of standardized processes and digital tools
Strong cross‑functional alignment and planning maturity growth.
Successful deployment of standardized processes and digital tools.
Benchmark internal and external best practices.
Drive towards global SIOP/IBP process while supporting regional needs.