Associate Director - Operations Strategy

Eli Lilly and Company; Plainfield (IN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job description

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

The North American Logistics Operations (NALO) organization is based out of Plainfield, IN and is responsible for providing oversight and direction for all warehouse activities at the Plainfield (IN), Fresno (CA), and Enfield (CT) Distribution Centers as well as a growing third party warehouse network while serving a diverse customer base, including US wholesalers, US sales representatives, LillyCares recipients, government and Alliance customers, and Eli Lilly Export. NALO is also responsible for serving as the Center of Excellence (COE) for the United States and global logistics network.

The position is responsible for all external warehousing operations as well as partnering on internal warehousing strategy and continuous improvement. The successful candidate will ensure that third party logistics partners (3PLs) meet or exceed expectations set around high quality, regulatory-compliant operations processes, adherence to security guidelines for people and products; and meeting financial and all established KPIs. Responsibilities include overseeing third party logistics distribution centers management and NALO Lean activities as well as supporting new product launches, metrics reporting, and inventory management. In addition, this role provides extended business and systems knowledge for all order processing and execution of shipments. The position requires an understanding of operations, the ability to assess gaps and implement process, program and productivity improvements, Lean concepts, and cross-functional collaboration.

The position partners with key stakeholders in Global Logistics, Procurement, Tech@Lilly, Transportation, Customer Service, and Quality to ensure 3PL performance and continuous improvement across both internal and external warehousing locations. To meet these commitments, the position requires a general understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and distribution, warehousing, regulatory, procurement, and Lean practices.

Key Objectives/Deliverables

Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE)

• Ensure safe work and ergonomic practices for all team members.
• Ensure all potential injuries are reported immediately.
• Contribute to advancing safety culture at NALO.

Quality / Compliance

• Validate all external warehouse activities are compliant with Quality regulatory commitments.
• Ensure appropriate investigation of 3PL operational deviations and drive implementation of appropriate countermeasures when needed in a timely manner.
• Validate inventory reconciliations at external warehouses.

3rd Party Logistics

• Influences outcomes with senior leadership in manufacturing and quality to better align Mfg/Distribution/Affiliate on supply, inventory, and product transition issues.
• Oversee Lilly’s third party logistics partners for inbound and outbound transportation and inventory management.
• Facilitates any building facility management needs.
• Key contact with Lilly Distribution QA to ensure processes are followed and issue resolution are adhered to.
• Owns the procurement process with onboarding third party logistics companies and integrations within our organization.
• Manages the budget for 3PL locations costs incurred.
• Develops and enhances partnerships with key stakeholders both inside and external to Lilly related to 3PL partnerships.
• Certifies controls and documentation for changes and updates are synchronized across all departments in NALO (Quality/Safety/Engineering etc) relating to third party logistics.
• Coordinates the 3PL site and organization leadership on a daily basis for daily executional needs and escalations.

Security

• Ensure that security rules are followed by personnel.
• Responsible for ensuring data integrity and good documentation practices are followed.

Lead continuous improvement and future vision for distribution performance; Process Ownership

• Ensure sufficient capacity (space, people, and equipment) exists for current and future volumes across NALO network.
• Investigate efficiency opportunities associated with process flow and resource utilization. Champion Lean principles and drive full behavioral adoption, including operator-led 5S standards of excellence.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and partner with key stakeholders to drive improvements and build competitive advantage across the network.
• Ensure customer service goals / commitment levels are met and that the right product gets to the right patient at the right time.
• Drive Lean culture and growth across NALO.
• Serves as a process owner for key inventory related/customer service.

Financial

• Develop annual budget with goal of optimizing operational performance and growing talent pipeline; ensure budget commitments are met.
• Maintain metrics demonstrating performance of external warehousing and lean improvement benefits.

People Development

• Motivate and engage employees, developing talent pipeline in an equitable manner.
• Drive accountability across entire functional area, both internally and externally.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent work experience) in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, or related Technical fields.
• Eight years of leadership experience ideally in Operations, Supply Chain, Lean, Procurement, or within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Experience partnering with 3PLs and developing KPIs with 3PLs.
• Knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).

Additional Skills/ Preferences

• Pharmaceutical distribution experience a plus.
• Project Management skills or certification a plus.
• Knowledge of Lean Maturity Curves, Digitization Maturity Curves beneficial.
• Demonstrated leadership and talent development success.
• Meet all Lilly ethical standards.
• Ability to work well in a matrixed team environment, including ability to influence and collaborate.
• Strong organizational skills, preferably with project management experience.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills at multiple levels of an organization.
• Understanding of Lean principles and ability to drive Lean culture. Experience in process mapping and simplification.

Additional Information

Occasional travel (20%) required.