Senior Technical Specialist
India
Job Description
Senior Technical Specialist
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Job Summary
Role Purpose
· 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
Key Responsibilities
· ePPDS / Detailed Scheduling
o Develop and maintain production plans and detailed schedules using SAP ePPDS.
o Configure and optimize sequencing based on production constraints, changeovers, takt time, capacity, and priorities.
o Monitor schedule adherence and resolve planning exceptions.
o Perform finite-capacity planning and identify bottlenecks.
o Collaborate with production, procurement, logistics, and operations teams to ensure schedule feasibility.
o Analyze planning parameters such as lead times, setup matrices, resource capacities, and production versions.
o Support continuous improvement and stabilization of ePPDS planning processes.
· Model Mix Planning
o Develop daily/weekly model-mix plans based on demand, inventory, capacity, and business priorities.
o Balance different vehicle/product variants across production lines.
o Optimize the mix considering constraints such as customer priorities, component availability, line capacity, and changeover requirements.
o Conduct what-if simulations for demand changes, capacity constraints, and supply disruptions.
o Coordinate with Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Demand Planning, Production, and Supply Chain teams.
o Track plan vs. actual production and recommend corrective actions.
Skill Requirements
Required Skills
o Strong understanding of production planning, detailed scheduling, and model-mix planning.
o Strong hands-on experience in SAP iPPE.
o Good knowledge of SAP PP.
o Understanding of SAP Variant Configuration (VC) and configurable products.
o Knowledge of BOMs, routings, production versions, work centers, and production master data.
o Understanding of SAP PP/DS or SAP S/4HANA ePPDS is highly desirable.
o Knowledge of integration with SAP APO/PPDS, S/4HANA, MES, and PLM is an advantage.
o Hands-on experience with SAP ePPDS / PPDS.
o Good understanding of SAP PP, MRP, master data, production versions, work centers/resources, and BOM/routing concepts.
o Knowledge of finite-capacity scheduling and sequencing.
o Strong Excel/analytical skills; Power BI or similar tools would be an advantage.
o Ability to work with large datasets and translate business requirements into planning solutions.
o Strong stakeholder-management and problem-solving skills.
o Implement and support SAP iPPE solutions across product and production planning processes.
o Configure and maintain:
o iPPE Product Structure
o iPPE Process Structure
o iPPE Line Balancing / Line Design
o Activities, nodes, relationships, and variants
o Integrate iPPE with SAP PP, PP-PI, VC, MM, SD, and other relevant modules.
o Translate manufacturing and business requirements into SAP iPPE solutions.
o Design product and process structures supporting variant/configurable products.
o Configure rules and dependencies to manage different product variants and production scenarios.
o Support creation and maintenance of BOMs, routings, production versions, work centers/resources, and master data where integrated with iPPE.
o Analyze and resolve issues related to product structures, process structures, dependencies, and planning.
o Support integration between iPPE and SAP ePPDS/PPDS for detailed scheduling and production planning, where applicable.
o
Other Requirements
· Preferred Experience
o 5–10 years in production planning, supply-chain planning, manufacturing planning, or automotive/complex manufacturing.
o Experience implementing or improving SAP ePPDS.
o Experience in automotive model-mix / variant planning is highly desirable.
o Exposure to SAP S/4HANA and integration with PP, MM, SD, and APO/IBP is an
Information at a Glance