About Company ::
Bristlecone is a supply chain and business analytics advisor, serving customers across a wide range of industries. Rated by Gartner as among the top ten system integrators in the supply chain space, we are uniquely positioned to solve contemporary business problems, with supply chain and analytics focus as our advantage. We have been a trusted partner and advisor to many leading, globally recognized companies such as Applied Materials, Exxon Mobil, Flextronics, LSI Logic, Mahindra, Motorola, Nestle, Palm, Qatar Petroleum, Ranbaxy, Unilever and Whirlpool and many others
🚀ROLE OVERVIEW
Experience15+ years │ Hands-on practitioner (required)
Industry CPG / Beverage (required)
Client Location Corona, California
Travel Up to 50% during active project phases; multi-region rollout may require periodic international travel
We are seeking a Principal / Lead who has personally designed, configured, and deployed SAP Business Network for Supply Chain (formerly SAP Ariba Supply Chain Collaboration — SCC) in complex, high-volume direct procurement environments — with deep roots in CPG Beverage manufacturing, including co-manufacturing, co-packing, and bottler ecosystems.
This individual must be an authority on Direct Procurement process excellence — from demand signal through Purchase Order creation, supplier acknowledgement, ASN, goods receipt, and invoice settlement — and must have hands-on, current SAP MM / S/4HANA Procurement configuration skills to back every design recommendation they make. They will lead the Supply Chain Collaboration workstream on large-scale, multi-region S/4HANA and SAP Business Network transformations, engaging VPs of Supply Chain, CPOs, and CFOs as trusted advisors.
The right candidate knows not just the system buttons to push, but the operational reality of managing ingredient, packaging, and co-man supplier collaboration in a beverage business where forecast accuracy, component availability, and supplier commit reliability directly determine production line performance and margin.
Direct Procurement Process Benchmarks
Top-quartile performance in CPG Beverage Direct Procurement is defined by:
- Purchase Order Automation Rate: >75% of POs generated without human intervention — via MRP-driven scheduling agreements, contract releases, and supplier collaboration; know how to design S/4 and SAP Business Network to achieve this
- Supplier Schedule Adherence: best-in-class ≥95% on-time delivery from direct material suppliers; understand how forecast collaboration, commit workflows, and exception management on SAP Business Network drive this metric
- Supplier Onboarding Cycle Time: benchmark <15 business days for new direct material suppliers on SAP Business Network; understand the enablement playbook for Standard vs. Enterprise accounts
CPG Beverage Direct Procurement Complexity
- Co-Manufacturing, Co-Packing & Bottling: design of subcontracting PO flows — BOM-based component supply to co-man sites, 541/543 movement reconciliation, subcontracting stock monitoring, supplier collaboration on component consumption, and integration with FI/CO for settlement
- Ingredient Procurement: caffeine, taurine, natural flavors, juice concentrates, sweeteners, vitamins — commodity-linked pricing in S/4, forward buying strategies, and supply risk management across single-source specialty ingredients
- Consignment & VMI Models: consignment info records, periodic settlement, supplier-managed replenishment via SCC — commonly used for high-velocity ingredients and packaging at co-manufacturing sites
SAP MM / S/4HANA Procurement — Core (Required)
Organizational Structure & Master Data
- Purchasing organization, purchasing group, plant assignment, and company code interactions — including multi-company and shared-service procurement models
- Purchasing info record (PIR): info category design (standard, subcontracting, consignment, pipeline), price conditions with commodity-linked condition records, validity period and source list integration
- Source list and quota arrangement: source list maintenance, source determination logic, quota-based supplier split — critical for multi-source ingredients and packaging
- Material master procurement views: MRP types, procurement type, special procurement keys, batch management for food-grade materials, and valuation class configuration
Purchasing Documents
- Purchase requisition: document type configuration, multi-level release strategy (characteristic-based), PR-to-PO conversion rules, and workflow escalation design
- Purchase order: document type design, item category configuration (standard, subcontracting, third-party, consignment, blanket), PO output and EDI message configuration
- Outline agreements: scheduling agreements with delivery schedule generation — the workhorse for high-frequency direct material supply — contract management, and release order creation from contracts
Goods Receipt & Invoice Verification
- GR-based IV configuration, tolerance groups, stochastic blocking rules, automatic account determination (GBB, WRX, PRD account keys)
- Three-way match configuration: PO–GR–Invoice tolerance management, EDI INVOIC processing, and OCR/PO-flip invoice automation integration
- Batch management and quality inspection integration at GR for food-grade ingredients and packaging materials
MRP & Supply Planning Integration
- MRP types (PD, VB, MK), lot-sizing procedures, safety stock and reorder point design for direct materials
- Scheduling agreement delivery schedule generation from MRP — JIT and forecast-based delivery schedules, tolerance profile, firming horizon design
- Integration between IBP / APO planning output and PR/SA-delivery schedule generation — the S&OP-to-procurement handoff
- Exception message management: understand how MRP exception messages translate into buyer and planner worklists for direct materials
SAP Business Network for Supply Chain (SCC) — Core (Required)
Platform Architecture & Supplier Connectivity
- SAP Business Network architecture: ANX (Ariba Network Exchange) vs. EDI vs. cXML connectivity; Standard Account vs. Enterprise Account supplier onboarding strategy and cost model
- Supplier enablement playbook: tiering strategy (A/B/C suppliers), onboarding wave planning, supplier support model, and adoption KPIs
- cXML document types: OrderMessage (PO), OrderConfirmation (order acknowledgement), ShipNoticeRequest (ASN), InvoiceDetailRequest (PO-flip invoice) — message structure, error handling, and retry logic
Order Collaboration
- Purchase Order collaboration: PO publish configuration, supplier acknowledgement workflow, PO change management, partial acknowledgement and split-line handling
- Order confirmation tolerance management: quantity, price, and delivery date tolerances — and the exception routing when supplier confirms outside tolerance
- Blanket PO / scheduling agreement collaboration: delivery schedule release to supplier via SCC, JIT and forecast delivery schedule publication, and the firming horizon design
- Subcontracting collaboration: component supply order (550 movement equivalent) publication to co-man / co-packer suppliers via SCC; component delivery confirmation and consumption reconciliation
SAP Ariba Sourcing & Contracts (Supporting, Direct Procurement Focus)
- Sourcing events for direct materials: RFQ design, commodity index-linked pricing templates, supplier response evaluation, award, and integration into S/4 scheduling agreements
- Contract workspaces for direct materials: contract terms, price schedule design (volume tiers, commodity escalation clauses), approval workflow, and compliance enforcement
- Integration between Ariba Contracts and S/4 outline agreements / scheduling agreements — the handoff that closes the source-to-pay loop for direct procurement
QUALIFICATIONS
- 15+ years of hands-on SAP supply chain / procurement experience; minimum 5 years specifically on SAP Business Network for Supply Chain (SAP Ariba SCC)
- Minimum 3 full-cycle SAP Business Network / SCC implementations in a Direct Procurement context; at least one in CPG Beverage
- Deep, hands-on SAP MM / S/4HANA Procurement configuration: scheduling agreements, subcontracting, consignment, MRP integration, and three-way match — not oversight, not UAT
- Demonstrated CPG / Beverage industry experience: direct material procurement, co-manufacturing / co-packer management, commodity-linked pricing, and packaging specification management
- Experience integrating SAP Business Network with S/4HANA via SAP Integration Suite (CIG), AIT, or direct API/RFC patterns
- Familiarity with adjacent SAP modules: QM (GR inspection), EWM (inbound delivery), IBP or APO (forecast extraction), FI/CO (subcontracting settlement, GR/IR clearing)
- Willingness to travel up to 50% during active project phases
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, or related field; MBA or relevant advanced degree a plus
- SAP Ariba / SAP Business Network certification preferred
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle & Performance (SLP) for direct material supplier qualification, including food-safety and packaging certification workflows
- Hands-on experience with SAP IBP or APO for demand/supply planning — understanding the full planning-to-collaboration loop
- Experience with dynamic discounting / Supply Chain Finance programs on SAP Business Network
- Multi-language skills (Spanish or Portuguese) for LATAM / Brazil rollout engagement
- Prior experience with co-packing / bottling legal and contractual frameworks: tolling agreements, contract manufacturing agreements, and the procurement and supply chain implications.
📩 If this sounds like the right fit for you or someone you know, feel free to reach out or drop your resume in the comments/message box.
