Material Planning Lead - Supply chain

About the company

Tata Electronics Private Limited is a new Tata Group venture focused on manufacturing precision components. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Tata Electronics, the organization is developing India’s first AI-enabled, advanced semiconductor foundry. The facility is intended to manufacture chips for uses such as power management ICs, display drivers, microcontrollers (MCUs), and high-performance computing logic, serving demand across automotive, computing and data storage, wireless communications, and artificial intelligence. Tata Electronics is part of the Tata Group, which operates in over 100 countries across six continents and is guided by the mission of improving quality of life through long-term stakeholder value creation built on leadership with trust.

Role overview

The Material Planning Lead will be responsible for ensuring material readiness, protecting supply continuity, improving inventory performance, and strengthening planning governance across the supply chain. The role also requires leadership of planning teams, close coordination with cross-functional stakeholders, and use of digital tools to improve visibility, automation, and decision-making.

Material planning and supply assurance

• Keep materials available in line with production schedules and customer requirements.
• Translate forecasts and production plans into replenishment and material requirement plans.
• Take early action on shortages and supply bottlenecks.
• Maintain planning settings, master data quality, and ERP accuracy.

Inventory optimization

• Balance service levels, cost, and working capital by keeping inventory at the right level.
• Lower excess, obsolete, and slow-moving stock.
• Strengthen inventory accuracy and improve stock control policies.

Supply risk management

• Spot supply risks and reduce them through alternate sourcing, safety stock planning, localization, and business continuity measures.
• Lead recovery actions for material shortages and continuity situations.
• Track supplier capacity and performance risks.

Digitalization and process excellence

• Promote automation, standardization, centralization, and greater transparency in planning processes.
• Use SAP, Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and analytics tools to build digital planning solutions.
• Create live dashboards, predictive planning models, and AI-supported insights.
• Improve planning efficiency through system upgrades and process automation.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Work closely with Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, and Finance teams.
• Contribute to NPI, engineering change management, localization, and S&OP activities.
• Ensure clear communication with suppliers and internal stakeholders.

Leadership and organizational development

• Guide, coach, and develop Material Planners and Inventory Specialists.
• Support performance management, capability development, succession planning, and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Serve as the escalation contact for urgent supply issues.

Strategic supply chain governance

• Own governance for material planning and KPI tracking.
• Support budgeting, capacity planning, inventory strategy, and working capital optimization.
• Lead executive-level reviews on inventory position, material readiness, and supply risk.

Qualifications and experience

A bachelor’s degree in engineering is required. APICS CPIM/CSCP or an equivalent certification is preferred. The role calls for 12 to 15 years of experience in material planning, supply chain, or inventory management in a manufacturing environment, including at least 5 years in a managerial leadership position. Experience in automotive, industrial, precision engineering, or similar sectors is preferred. Strong knowledge of SAP/ERP, Blue Yonder or similar planning tools, inventory optimization, planning analytics, automation, and cross-functional leadership is expected.