Technical Specialist

Job Summary

Responsible for production planning, detailed scheduling, and model-mix optimization using SAP S/4HANA ePPDS, ensuring the right product mix is produced at the right time while balancing customer demand, capacity, material availability, and production constraints.

Key Responsibilities

• ePPDS / Detailed Scheduling

• Develop and maintain production plans and detailed schedules using SAP ePPDS.
• Configure and optimize sequencing based on production constraints, changeovers, takt time, capacity, and priorities.
• Monitor schedule adherence and resolve planning exceptions.
• Perform finite-capacity planning and identify bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with production, procurement, logistics, and operations teams to ensure schedule feasibility.
• Analyze planning parameters such as lead times, setup matrices, resource capacities, and production versions.
• Support continuous improvement and stabilization of ePPDS planning processes.

• Model Mix Planning

• Develop daily/weekly model-mix plans based on demand, inventory, capacity, and business priorities.
• Balance different vehicle/product variants across production lines.
• Optimize the mix considering constraints such as customer priorities, component availability, line capacity, and changeover requirements.
• Conduct what-if simulations for demand changes, capacity constraints, and supply disruptions.
• Coordinate with Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Demand Planning, Production, and Supply Chain teams.
• Track plan vs. actual production and recommend corrective actions.

Skill Requirements

• Strong understanding of production planning, detailed scheduling, and model-mix planning.
• Strong hands-on experience in SAP iPPE.

• • Good knowledge of SAP PP.
  • Understanding of SAP Variant Configuration (VC) and configurable products.
  • Knowledge of BOMs, routings, production versions, work centers, and production master data.
  • Understanding of SAP PP/DS or SAP S/4HANA ePPDS is highly desirable.
  • Knowledge of integration with SAP APO/PPDS, S/4HANA, MES, and PLM is an advantage.

• Hands-on experience with SAP ePPDS / PPDS.
• Good understanding of SAP PP, MRP, master data, production versions, work centers/resources, and BOM/routing concepts.
• Knowledge of finite-capacity scheduling and sequencing.
• Strong Excel/analytical skills; Power BI or similar tools would be an advantage.
• Ability to work with large datasets and translate business requirements into planning solutions.
• Strong stakeholder-management and problem-solving skills.

• • Implement and support SAP iPPE solutions across product and production planning processes.
  • Configure and maintain:
  • iPPE Product Structure
  • iPPE Process Structure
  • iPPE Line Balancing / Line Design
  • Activities, nodes, relationships, and variants
  • Integrate iPPE with SAP PP, PP-PI, VC, MM, SD, and other relevant modules.
  • Translate manufacturing and business requirements into SAP iPPE solutions.
  • Design product and process structures supporting variant/configurable products.
  • Configure rules and dependencies to manage different product variants and production scenarios.
  • Support creation and maintenance of BOMs, routings, production versions, work centers/resources, and master data where integrated with iPPE.
  • Analyze and resolve issues related to product structures, process structures, dependencies, and planning.
  • Support integration between iPPE and SAP ePPDS/PPDS for detailed scheduling and production planning, where applicable.

Other Requirements

• Preferred Experience

• 5-10 years in production planning, supply-chain planning, manufacturing planning, or automotive/complex manufacturing.
• Experience implementing or improving SAP ePPDS.
• Experience in automotive model-mix / variant planning is highly desirable.
• Exposure to SAP S/4HANA and integration with PP, MM, SD, and APO/IBP is an advantage.