Sr Network Planning Specialist

Nestle Operational Services Worldwide SA•Solon, OH

3d•$81,239 - $114,093

About The Position

The Senior Specialist, Network Planning drives network execution performance and stability through effective decision-making, rapid issue resolution, and coordination across deployment, capacity, and order execution activities. The role oversees end-to-end network health, identifies risks and systemic issues, and guides or makes decisions when trade-offs exceed defined thresholds to maintain service, cost, and capacity objectives. Working across planning, logistics, and execution teams, the specialist connects strategy to execution, resolves cross-functional conflicts, and drives timely, data-informed actions under uncertainty. Responsibilities include managing daily network health and order execution; governing SKU planning, order quality, and divert requests; making short-term capacity and dispatch decisions; maintaining regional inventory policies; and supporting continuous improvement, transportation strategy adherence, DC launches, network realignments, and planning initiatives. The position also provides daily support to planning specialists, managers, and network leads, translating complex planning outputs into actionable insights for leaders and operational partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
At least 5 years of experience in supply chain-related functions such as network planning, supply/demand planning, distribution planning, transportation, warehousing, or order fulfillment.
Strong understanding of inventory, capacity, and transportation trade-offs across an end-to-end supply network.
Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to translate data into decisions and influence without direct authority.
Ability to make timely decisions in ambiguous situations, resolve issues proactively, provide recommendations rather than escalating without them, and provide appropriate coaching.

Nice To Haves

Ability to work with large datasets and use advanced analytics and AI-enabled tools to improve decision-making.
Experience with planning systems such as OMP or SAP APO and in data-driven environments.
Strong understanding of inventory, capacity, and transportation trade-offs across an end-to-end network.

Responsibilities

Own daily network health and drive actions based on order, payload, service-gap, order-divert, throughput, and appointment-availability insights.
Translate system insights into immediate actions to resolve service risks and minimize escalations.
Make real-time order-execution decisions, including order-divert updates, system dispatch utilization, and service-recovery actions.
Support COF recovery and seasonal customer programs through divert recommendations, hyper-care support, and issue resolution.
Review and prevent order cuts using inventory and freshness considerations; identify service-loss drivers, close gaps, and coach teams toward stronger upstream decisions.
Partner with and coach SKU Specialists to improve order quality using exception-based insights.
Review and govern divert requests from SKU owners to ensure network feasibility and alignment with service objectives.
Manage Min/Max health by reviewing DC-owned actions, challenging setups, and aligning them with customer initiatives and capacity constraints.
Provide ad hoc support for CMIR and customer-driven planning activities.
Own short-term capacity-planning decisions, including dispatch prioritization and service-versus-throughput trade-offs.
Review throughput constraints in planning systems and report risks, gaps, and staffing implications on a recurring basis.
Govern dispatch attainment by analyzing SKU dispatch utilization and driving execution-efficiency improvements.
Maintain and govern regional inventory policies in alignment with network strategy.
Partner cross-functionally to identify and resolve distribution solve gaps.
Identify AI opportunities, planning-tool enhancements, and process improvements that increase network visibility and execution quality.
Support Mode of Transportation strategy adherence by identifying switch opportunities and monitoring compliance.
Support DC go-lives, network realignments, and “Network of the Future” initiatives as a planning partner.
Maintain and update planning-system resources for accurate and timely network decision-making.
Provide daily direct support to Network Planning Specialists, Managers, and Network Leads.
Translate complex planning outputs into clear, actionable insights for leadership and operational partners.
Influence outcomes through business acumen, data-driven analysis, and cross-functional collaboration.