Senior Supply Chain Specialist - Supply Planning & Operations

JOB DESCRIPTION: Abbott is a global healthcare leader, creating breakthrough science to improve people’s health. We’re always looking towards the future, anticipating changes in medical science and technology. Our nutrition business develops science-based nutrition products for people of all ages, from helping babies and children grow, to keeping adult bodies strong and active. Millions of people around the world count on our leading brands, including Similac®, PediaSure®, Pedialyte®, Ensure® and Glucerna®, to help get the nutrients they need to live their healthiest life. Working at Abbott At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You will have access to: • Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of. • A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune. • A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists. The Opportunity As the Senior Supply Chain Specialist, Supply Planning & Operations , you will be responsible for managing supply planning, inventory stewardship, operational execution, and supply chain performance within the Nutrition business. You will serve as the key link between planning and operations, ensuring product availability, inventory optimization, customer fulfillment excellence, and effective collaboration with 3PL providers, transport partners, customer service teams, manufacturing sites, and regional planning teams. This position operates as an experienced individual contributor and will be involved in projects and continuous improvement initiatives related to planning, supply chain processes, and the adoption of new tools and capabilities when needed. What You’ll Do Supply Planning • Own the end-to-end supply planning process for assigned product portfolios, ensuring alignment between demand requirements, supply availability, and inventory targets. • Develop and maintain effective and timely supply plans to support business growth, market demand, and service level objectives. • Monitor supply-demand imbalances and proactively recommend mitigation actions to address shortages, excess inventory, or supply constraints. • Support operational readiness activities for New Product Introductions (NPI), product launches, reformulations, regulatory changes, product discontinuations, SKU rationalization, and portfolio optimization initiatives. • Identify supply risks and develop contingency plans to maintain continuity of supply and minimize business disruption. • Lead the bi-weekly replenishment planning process and be responsible for Local Value Added (LVA) planning and repacking services. Inventory Management & Stewardship • Serve as the custodian of inventory health and stewardship across the Nutrition portfolio. • Monitor inventory levels, stock coverage, inventory aging, slow-moving inventory, shelf-life exposure, and obsolete stock risks. • Lead inventory governance activities including inventory controls, stock takes, cycle counting programs, reconciliation activities, and inventory accuracy initiatives. • Analyze inventory performance and recommend corrective actions to mitigate excess inventory, expiry risks, and potential write-offs. • Partner with Finance and Operations teams to support inventory reporting, inventory valuation reviews, and audit requirements. • Ensure compliance with inventory management policies, procedures, and controls across all warehouse locations. S&OP / IBP Support • Support the monthly Supply Review process within the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) framework. • Provide analysis on inventory positions, supply constraints, risk mitigation plans, and recommendations of supply solutions to address changing demand requirements. • Collaborate with Demand Planning and Commercial teams to ensure alignment between demand forecasts and supply capabilities. • Generate and present relevant KPIs, risks, and action plans to support business decision-making. Supply Chain Operations & Service Management • Act as the key operational focal point between internal stakeholders, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), transport partners, and customer service teams to ensure smooth execution of daily supply chain operations. • Oversee 3PL warehouse operations, customer order fulfillment, and delivery activities while monitoring operational performance to ensure delivery commitments and service level targets are consistently achieved. • Collaborate with Customer Service teams to proactively resolve order fulfillment challenges, delivery exceptions, allocation requirements, and customer complaints. • Lead operational issue resolution and serve as the primary escalation point for disputes or service failures involving customers, 3PL providers, transporters, co-packing operators, and internal stakeholders. Facilitate root cause analysis and implementation of corrective actions to prevent recurring operational issues. • Monitor operational KPIs including service levels, OTIF, order fulfillment performance, delivery performance, inventory accuracy, and warehouse productivity. • Support business continuity and crisis management activities by coordinating response plans during supply disruptions, logistics challenges, and distribution incidents. • Ensure compliance with company policies, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and customer-specific operational requirements. • Track distribution, LVA and logistics spend, and support purchase order creation and service confirmation. Requirements • Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or related discipline. • 5+ years of relevant experience, preferably in Supp…