SUMMARY

• Over 12 years of experience in IT with 10+ years in SAP Advanced Planner & Optimizer (APO) in variety of industries like manufacturing, mechanical, chemical, consumer products and pharmaceuticals.
• Worked on TWO Full Life Cycle Implementation projects which involved translating business goals and requirements into SAP SCM solution by guiding clients through effective blueprint workshops, facilitating decisions on best practice solutions, and leading business and project teams through end to end implementation and support.
• Experienced in Supply Chain Planning Concepts and Processes which include Designing, Developing, Configuring, Testing, Implementing and supporting all aspects of the Demand Planning (DP), Supply Network Planning (SNP), Global Available To Promise (GATP) and Production Planning & Detailed scheduling (PP/DS).
• Experienced in business process and systems requirement analysis, ERP/SCM package evaluation, scoping and estimating SAP projects.
• Good working experience with APO - BW-R/3 integration, LiveCache and CIF (core interface).
• Worked on the large global SAP implementations and rollout programs and have very good experience of managing the various challenges in a global SAP template design, implementation and industrialized rollouts by working with offshore teams.
• Deep understanding of Statistical Forecasting Analysis, and the Operations Research Concepts.
• Expertise in Project and Change Management, Business Process Reengineering, Lean Manufacturing and Optimization concepts.
• Dynamic, detail oriented, results-producing professional with a proven record of accomplishment in configuring and implementing solutions in support of business goals and objectives for Fortune 500 clients.
• Possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills to quickly identify, prioritize, understand issues and arrive at quick practical solutions.
• Well understanding of embracing the business and IT strategic direction.
• Adhere to all safety and health rules and regulations associated with this position and as directed by supervisor.
• Comply and follow all procedures within the company security policy.
• Experienced in leading workshops, team of consultants and subcontractors, coordinating with other teams for successful delivery of integrated solutions.
• Adept in leveraging project management skills to develop detailed task plan towards timely completion of project milestones.
• Experienced in managing client relationships and drive consensus on complex business solutions.
• Clear understanding of cross-functional applications of MM, PP, PP-PI and SAP APO in Industrial scenarios.
• Excellent analytical & communication skills and ability to interact with business users. Having strong management, administration and decision-making ability.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

SAP: PP, PP - PI, APO- DP, SNP, PPDS, GATP

ERP Systems: SCM APO 3.1, 4.0, 5.0, SAP R/3 4.6C, 4.7, ECC 5.0, 6.0.

Operating Systems: Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista/7.0, Mac

MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, LINUX, UNIX

Statistical/Simulation: MiniTab, MATLAB

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Confidential, Canton, OH

APO DP/SNP/CIF Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Currently involved in Post production support to monitor all jobs and activities regarding the issues with data transfer, enhancements according to the end user needs. Also, involved in troubleshooting performance issues during load, extraction and transform high volume data.
• Worked in close relationship with Global planners to understand and support business processes and applied business best practices.
• Worked with and supporting the Planning groups and working to develop and manage enterprise solutions to problems that best reduce operating costs within the Supply Chain.
• Involved in driving improvements and enhancements to planning tools and procedures for all identified Business Requirements.
• Made data available from R/3 for forecast carried out interactively with views customized to all demand planners and results available with BW for reporting.
• Carried out an extraction of Actual historical data form LIS.
• Performed baseline configuration for Demand planning for six markets and Planning Area administration and supportive structures like POS, planning books as required by the design.
• Used various forecasting profiles and activities for generating regional based forecast at different level like Materials/locations and regional/country level forecasts.
• Set up all batch jobs for demand planning using various activities and mass processing jobs.
• Created Info cubes to support the demand planning which used attributes and cube-to-cube copies.
• Transferred data from R/3 into APO for planning and released planned data into SNP for supply planning.
• Trained end users and key users and performed documentation for support.
• Transferred planning master data and mapped profiles for Global Heuristic, Deployment TLB, Optimization and CTM.
• Developed master data to suit new version of APO.
• Configured SNP profiles for capacity planning, SNP planning and Production planning under MTS environment.
• Created Transportation lanes for each shipment relation and product, defining alternative modes of transportation with alternative products throughout the network.
• Configured SNP according to layouts with planner, product category and business units.
• Used planning Approaches by nature of demand, constraints, cost identification and product /location substitutions.
• Adapted Heuristic technique for monthly feasibility planning for supply, production and distribution.
• Applied SNP optimization facilities for identified product categories and provided bench marked solutions.
• Facilitated customer orders by using CTM technique with focusing and prioritizing the customers.
• Carried Heuristic run interactively with time series liveCache for all identified product categories.
• Optimization run for optimal solutions generated by linear programming using general constraints.
• Extracted Data from planning area and sent to Info cube for reporting
• Complete understanding of CIF right from designing to use, for master data, transactional data.
• Involved in cleaning up of master and transactional data in R/3 so that proper PPM’s generated in APO.
• Set up RFC destinations, change transfers etc for CIF.
• Monitored liveCache, sizing optimization.
• Implemented Mass maintenance functionality for APO master data.

Confidential, Columbus, IN

APO DP/ SNP Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Successfully delivered APO transformation, change management & technology initiatives leveraging APO SNP solutions.
• Identified opportunities for process improvements either in existing designs or by adopting new functionalities available in SCM 5.0.
• Involved directly in business case development & performance measurement.
• Developed functional design documents (FDD), technical design documents (TDD) for later reference.
• Analyzed business and technical requirements and developed the solutions to address the requirements.
• Developed supply plans for all Contract Manufacturing sites and integrated contract and internal manufacturing into one overall supply plan.
• Promoted and helped lead Sales and Operation (S&OP) process by developing optimized supply plans which meet overall business objects.
• Carried out Cross-functional work with BW, BI, QM, PP-PI, SD, MM, ABAP, Operations, and other teams as necessary to resolve technical and process issues.
• Worked with the offshore technical team on a regular basis as a liaison for onsite business team.
• Supported the S&OP process using DP and SNP, performed enhancements in data view, DP graphs and improved forecasting by selecting most appropriate models and the best Statistical parameters.
• Improved DP Batch processes by modifying Process chains for specific Processes.
• Resolved DP critical issues regarding product levels and forecasting within the tightly specified time frames to meet the service level agreements.
• Corrected Master Data related issues for - Product, Location, Transportation Lanes, Means of Transports, PPM and PDS for supply planning.
• Configured CTM planning functionality, Set up TLB profile, Master data selection in CTM, Demand Prioritization using custom logic, conducted UAT for Demand prioritization, Set up the search strategy and Supply categorization processes, and analyzed the results of the CTM planning run.
• Designed, Configured and validated the Subcontracting process, analyzed and fixed various master data issues that lead to smooth functioning of the subcontracting process for Over pack models
• Created, activated and maintained Integration models using CIF for transferring Initial Master data like PPMs, product master data, Locations and resources.
• Created FSDs based on Business Requirements for SNP VMI involving macros to calculate No negative inventory carry forward and Constrained Sell through Plan.
• Configured Safety Stock Planning and Validated Pool calculation which is a customized solution for calculating excess inventory based on user maintained master data.
• Configured Parallel processing profiles for time consuming DP Batch processes and derived benefits from its application, Reduced the processing times by 70%.
• Created, Streamlined and optimized the Batch processes like Forecast job Runs, Macro job runs. Improved Batch performance by %.
• Improved planning team’s efficiency drastically by prioritization and planning by exception using alerts.

Confidential, Lebanon, NJ

Sr. Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Successfully completed an APO upgrade project SCM 4.1 to SCM 5.0 for DP, SNP and PP/DS modules.
• Worked very closely with the Basis team for the upgrade and Unicode migration- Sections A, B, C.
• Modified info objects length for the source system and rebuilt the complete CVC combinations and reloaded the data successfully.
• Resolved all issues related Unit testing, Integration testing in DP and SNP (Download/ upload, Info packages, CVC’s, Realignment, Batch jobs, CTM issue, Forecast release, CIF delta report, CIF batch jobs Change all variants, Request OSS notes, Planning books, Macros etc)
• Documented integration test scripts.
• Tested technical objects and helped ABAP team.
• Helped users in integration testing and provided support on planning results analysis and master data impact.
• Configured new functionalities and trained the users.
• Configured new alert requirements.
• Resolved macro aggregation issues.
• Validated that R/3 and APO partner profile agreements are active.
• Validate Remote infocube system assignments.
• Recreate Indexes and Stats on DP Planning Area backup infoCubes.
• Repair source systems in APO and BW.
• Validate validity dates for Time Horizon on the Storage Bucket Profiles, Resources, Planning Areas and Calendars.
• Create Variants for Proportional Factor Jobs, then execute the program and validate that they were created correctly.
• Provided good analysis and impact of master forecast profile/off sets.
• Set up Like, Phase in/Phase out profiles.
• Developed new batch jobs for the data loads, added new process chains.
• Developed FSD, TCP for the new report requirements and worked with BW team.
• Create Variants for Proportional Factor Jobs, then execute the program and validate that they were created correctly.
• Worked on integration SCM 5.0 with ECC 6.0 Upgrade (Forecast transfer to ECC, CIF data transfer, Custom programs, Config etc)
• Worked on Production support new requirements and resolve issues later.

Confidential, Morgantown, WV

APO DP/ SNP/PPDS Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Involved with design, baseline configuration and implementation of DP, SNP and PP/DS along with the Product Lifecycle Management projects integrating Product Segmentation recommendations to drive the entire Supply Chain.
• Studied the AS-IS scenario and carried out the TO-BE and GAP Analysis, business process re-engineering (BPR) and configuration and presented reports for the process improvement.
• Detailed functional design to determine Functionality gaps in Engineering and Production. Understand the requirements of Reports, Interface, Enhancements, Forms and preparation of functional specifications for RICEFW specifications in Engineering and Production.
• Discussed specific and critical requirements with the client team and what can be done and what data to be mapped from their legacy system to SCM 5.0. Actively designed and refined integration Data Specifications.
• Involved in the monitoring of proper transfer of Master Data from legacy system with ECC 6.0 through CIF by maintaining integration models.
• Set up APO BW Source system, info area, info source and info cube.
• Configured Info cube and defined Planning Books and Macros for interactive planning.
• Maintained Statistical forecast profiles and various data views as per business blueprint.
• Created Proportional Factors to disaggregate CVCs from Aggregate to the Detail level.
• Provided Solutions to the gaps identified by business in using Life Cycle Planning and addressed these issues by modeling the solution with Like profiles, Phase In and Phase out profiles in accordance with the Business’s specific requirements.
• Set up an automatic Release of Demand Plan to SNP as a background job.
• Set up of SNP master profile and configured SNP Master Data Locations, Product Masters, Customer, Resources, Transportation Lanes and Production Process Models (PPM).
• Assigned users to Planning books maintained Planner responsible, Planning calendar, material attributes and creating variants for SNP Transaction Data Deletion.
• Created and maintained the supply chain model involving work area dimensions like location, products, resources, SNP planner, PPM, transportation lanes and quota arrangements.
• Planned and scheduled SNP heuristics runs, created Cost and Optimization profiles for SNP Optimizer.
• Configured CTM planning functionality, Set up CTM profile, Master data selection, Demand Prioritization using custom logic.
• Maintained settings for Deployment and its different horizons, deployment strategies. Deployment run and created deployment optimization profile.
• Created the TLB Profile and assigned it to appropriate Transportation Lane.
• Designed manufacturing scenarios in Production Planning for Discrete manufacturing with Make to Stock and Make to Order strategies. Configured Planning without final assembly (MTS) and planning with final assembly (MTO) for finished products.
• Maintained PP/DS Master data such as Resources and PPM.
• Carried out automatic and manual reduction of planned independent requirements.
• Maintained Detailed Scheduling Planning board profile and the planning parameters settings, defined Alert profile, maintained strategy, time, heuristic and optimization profile and propagation range.
• Incorporated setup matrix functionality to facilitate campaign scheduling requirements of production facility.
• Developed user exits and BADI’s, user training documents and conducted Knowledge Transfer.
• Involved in system testing and post implementation support.
• Carried Roll Outs across other geographical locations like Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Confidential, Dublin, OH

SAP DP/SNP/GATP Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Prepared and reviewed project deliverables like benefits realization strategy, to-be functional requirements, enterprise structure, business process master list (BPML), business process design document, to-be functional design, baseline configurations (IMG), process maps, control matrices, testing scenarios, user acceptance tests, business process procedures, to ensure they meet project objectives.
• Utilized and applied the best practices on projects based on the experience and in consultation with experts; appropriately tailored for the client and their culture.
• Re-engineered business processes (BPR) and optimized benefits in material planning for long term, operational and tactical horizons at local, regional and global levels.
• Expertise in processes and configurations in the area of Demand Planning, Supplier Network Planning, Supplier Network Collaboration and their integration with ECC 6.0 through Core Interface (CIF).
• Identified appropriate models for forecasting materials, planning events, managing lifecycle of materials and developing processes for consensus demand.
• Experienced with the planning safety stock, replenishment and deployment of materials through the supply chain using the Heuristics, CTM and Optimizer while managing the shelf life of materials efficiently to minimize wastage.
• Created alerts to identify exceptions and trigger exception based resolution.
• Modified planning book to facilitate the transfer of constrained demand data from SNP.
• Created DP macros to provide alerts regarding constrained demand and final forecast deficiencies.
• Modified existing alert macros to provide dynamic threshold value capabilities.
• Implemented configuration to allow various frozen forecast periods across business areas and product lines.
• Implemented Optimization functionality to provide a capacity (resource and component) constrained plan.
• Created custom programs to release planned orders and requisitions between planning versions.
• Implemented subcontract planning functionality.
• Installed custom programs to allow batch maintenance of transportation lane data.
• Implemented Capable-to-match functionality to provide multi-level finite plan with priority given to sales orders and selective products
• Installed parallel processing functionality in SNP heuristic and other background processing.
• Enhanced SNP PDS BADI to allow cost and duration overrides using ABAP coding.
• Installed functionality in DP Forecast Release User Exist to break forecast totals into weekly buckets.
• Configured and applied Rule based CTM with GATP product substitution functionality to map one of the critical business requirements and reduced stock out situations and improved customer service ratio to 99%.
• Worked very closely with all other teams - BI, DP, GATP, SNC, Basis - Security & Technical development team to provide a best integrated solution.
• Provided support after Go-Live phase for the issues like supply overload and bottlenecks caused due to variable demands.

Confidential, Miami, FL

SAP DP/SNP/PPDS/CIF Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Provided on-going support for SNP and DP and PPDS functionality.
• Resolved SNP planning run problems, master data conversion errors especially with Production Planning Model (PPM) objects, root cause analysis of alert issues, resolving data/liveCache inconsistencies.
• Performed analysis of forecasts when necessary, resolve errors in loading of sales history data, perform realignment activities, resolve problems with planning macros.
• Developed functional and technical specifications to meet Client’s business requirements such as forecasting, optimizing material procurement and distribution, dynamic safety stock, subcontracting, scheduling agreements, and material constraints including execution of production orders in R/3.
• Implemented custom heuristic to achieve split-lot capability for returnable-container business requirement
• Developed and documented monthly DP planning processes.
• Developed CIF user exit code to facilitate custom business requirement
• Utilization of various PP/DS heuristics (lower-level, fixed pegging, safety stock requirements, lot-for-lot) to support complex, returnable-container business planning model.
• Upgraded planning environment to utilize safety stock as a true requirement in liveCache allowing business to maintain inventories of prepared containers reducing lead times for order fulfillment.
• Carried out simultaneous finite planning of both machine and labor resources via PPDS Optimizer.
• Configuration of PPDS alert monitor profiles allowing production planners to manage-by-exception.
• Carried out conversion from PPM to PDS for SNP planning in by developing PDS-CIF-BADI code requirements for customized requirements.
• Developed and documented monthly processes for inactive version SNP planning cycle.
• Implemented live version planning with transmission of SNP planned orders to R/3.
• Created custom functionality to load demand planning data via external files.

Confidential, Akron, OH

SAP DP/SNP/ABAP Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Offered support in the creation and execution of test scenarios during rollout, integration and user acceptance periods.
• Lead in resolving problems encountered regarding data transfer, user exits, supply issues throughout project lifecycle
• Performed customization activities using BADI’s and BAPI’s in DP and SNP environments.
• Configuration of MRP controllers, MRP groups and scheduling parameters in Material Requirements Planning
• Defined functional and technical specifications; coded and implemented ABAP solutions in the APO environment.
• Installed and configured multiple DP/SNP planning areas to meet the various requirements of separate business units.
• Utilized Update Rule start-routines to accommodate UOM conversions and automatic realignment of location, material and customer data prior to Info Cube load.
• Development of DP macros to perform data manipulation tasks and the generation of exception alerts
• Setup of activities, background jobs, process chains and events for all steps of the monthly DP cycle
• Implemented both Heuristic based and Optimizer based solutions for separate business areas.
• Worked on detailed analysis of SNP optimization results to fine-tune costing parameters for desired planning results.
• Implemented Deployment functionality to address fair-share replenishment processing requirements
• Provided lead role in resolution of planning result issues and problems.
• Set up APO-based master data for SNP planning: Planning calendars, transportation lanes and appropriate material attributes.

Confidential, Minneapolis, MN

SAP DP/SNP Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Developed, Reviewed, Corrected the Blueprintwhile incorporating SAP Best practices for DP and SNP.
• Created Functional Specification & TechnicalSpecification documents, Unit and Integrations Test script documents for Demand PlanningBusiness Processes for manufacturing.
• Handled entire DP configuration objects like Planning Areas, Planning Object Structures, Storage and Planning Buckets Profiles, Forecast profiles, Alert Monitor, Lifecycle Planning, Mass processing and rest of the areas
• Lead several critical implementation and Go Live prep activities like building the Test and Consolidation environments during Testing phase and Production System during cutover.
• Developed Statistical Forecasting methodology, configured multiple Forecast Profiles, Diagnosis groups, Forecast Alerts, explained Forecast Strategies / models in APO to Super users.
• Configured most optimal Structural and Time Based Disaggregation logic for various Key figures to support the Business requirements and improve the mix values for various forecast and history Key figures
• Provided Solutions to the gaps identified by business in using Life Cycle Planning and addressed these issues by modeling the solution with Like profiles, Phase In and Phase out profiles to address Business’s specific requirements.
• Configured several important macros based on requirements like: Macros using complex fixing logics, Macros to calculate Blue line charts using trend and slope functions
• Addressed several DP issues related Notes Creation and Management, Live cache Inconsistencies, Live cache anchor problems, Decimals in DP, Aggregates and so on. Interacted with SAP support from Brazil, Germany, India to solve several Very High Priority OSS Messages and consequently implemented several SAP Notes
• Proposed workarounds to stop generating Forecast for Dead brands while preserving the related CVCs and the History for these Market Brands.
• Configured APO SNP planning area, planning books, selection profile for planning book, planning calendar, transfer SNP orders to R/3, setting up master data such as product, storage and transport resource, location, set up supply chain model, model work area, transportation lanes, quota arrangement, optimization profile, TLB profile, run SNP optimizer, heuristic, and TLB etc.
• Proposed an alternate Design Solution for using Allocation factors to retain Location based Forecasts in DP in lieu of Location Split table.
• Proposed and configured Multiple Planning areas to support various Business requirements like Reporting activities for S&OP, Reducing CVCs and Performance improvement in Live cache extraction.
• Designed robust solution to facilitate Complex Realignment requirements in both Demand Planning and BI based on clients Business processes, executed realignment surgically in DP for thousands of product lines and other characteristics, Implemented several performance improvement measures specifically for Realignment jobs
• Created exhaustive and quality Training material for Super User Training and End User training on diverse DP functionalities like Basic Navigation, Master Data Maintenance, Forecasting Analysis, Product Lifecycle Management and Release to SNP. Supported all these training sessions in classroom
• Developed Process chains for various standard DP activities and effectively used Process chains for daily DP loads and several ad hoc loads and thus provided greater control to the IT team over the Batch processes and facilitate the multiple and sudden TILT meetings during the S&OP monthly cycles
• Hand held the Marketing Category & Sales Channels Business users and the mid level managers to walk through the essential steps in S&OP process within APO.
• Supported Post Go live enhancements, deployed several performance improvement measures successfully and streamlined the Batch schedule, Proposed and implemented several SAP recommended Best practices to improve Interactive performance, Batch performance and resulting overall System performance improvements.

Confidential, Waterloo, IA

SAP DP/SNP/PPDS Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Set up the Master Data for DP and SNP.
• Created planning books and planning versions for respective planning areas.
• Maintained Planning calendar, the planner responsible, APO Product parameters individually, Mass maintenance for products and resources.
• Maintained Supply chain model, work area, supply chain cockpit and determined objects of work area.
• Set up supply chain Engineer and the basic settings for SNP like the Optimizer and the Heuristics.
• Created PPMs, transportation lanes and quota arrangements.
• Created CTM for key products.
• Set up the Deployment Heuristic and assigned TLB profile to transportation lanes.
• Created test scenarios needed to support business requirements based on customer defined priorities, cost and optimization profile for SNP optimizer.
• Carried out Integration of SNP and PP/DS and Interactive Planning set up in PP/DS
• Implemented PPDS module and Master data maintenance.
• Configured PP/DS Alert Profile, Work Area, propagation range, strategy profile, maintained Optimization profile.
• Defined detailed Scheduling Planning board profile and detailed scheduling Overall profile.
• Created Period - Oriented planning in the product planning table.
• Conducted production planning runs.
• Set up Integration models for transfer of Master data, transaction data.
• Resolved problems faced in APO during day to day working of users.

Confidential, St. Louis, MO

SAP DP/SNP/PPDS Consultant

Responsibilities:

• Configured APO DP, planning books, periodicities of planning area, planning object structure, planning area, time bucket profile, forecast profile, created macros, promotion specific settings, loading historical data from R/3 via BW, maintaining characteristic combinations, release of demand forecast to SNP, creating and scheduling planning job etc.
• Configured APO SNP planning area, planning books, selection profile for planning book, planning calendar, transfer SNP orders to R/3, setting up master data such as product, storage and transport resource, location, set up supply chain model, model work area, transportation lanes, quota arrangement, optimization profile, TLB profile, run SNP optimizer, heuristic, and TLB etc.
• Implemented VMI, performed VMI determination of stock in transit and configured IDOC type PROACT01, receiving stock and sales data and updating stock in transit in APO liveCache, VMI order creation/change/deletion, VMO purchase order number assignment etc.