Kinaxis Solutions Architect

Westlake offers you the potential to enrich your work life and career experience in an entrepreneurial environment. We work together to enhance peoples' lives through our products and presence in the communities in which we operate.​

SUMMARY 

Westlake Corporation's Digital Office plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of our business. The Digital Office team is committed to driving digital transformation throughout the enterprise portfolio, with a focus on achieving growth by enhancing customer experience and operational excellence.

The Digital Office is establishing an Enterprise Supply Chain Planning Center of Excellence (COE) as a critical enabler for the digital transformation. The COE is established for three primary reasons: 1) Capability development: to develop specialized capabilities to extract value from concurrent planning across the vertically integrated value chain; to develop best practices and consistently apply best practices across the enterprise. 2) Functional productivity: to deploy stable and standardized systems & process; to leverage scale and standardization opportunities across the organization.3) Talent Development: to train supply chain planning resources in business units to apply predictive & prescriptive analytics; to develop collaboration & communication between business unit supply chain teams.

As the Supply Chain Planning Solution Architect (SA), you will provide Solution Architecture, will work with cross functional teams to deploy and support full horizon end-to-end integrated solutions, with a special focus on Supply Chain Planning. The SA will be responsible for developing and supporting Kinaxis related implementations projects, changes or enhancements.

To excel in this role, you must possess strong analytical skills to provide Solution Architecture and system design expertise, ensuring creative problem-solving while adhering to best practices and a thorough understanding of Kinaxis Data model. An in-depth understanding on how configure Rapid Response system for S&OP, Demand Planning, Supply Planning capabilities, including Inbound/ Outbound data integration options, following industry best practices. Candidate must have experience utilizing advanced skills in resource setup, forecasting, multi-level functionality, capacity planning, detailed scheduling, and system administration to optimize the Kinaxis Platform for effective supply chain management. You will lead in depth customer business requirements discovery sessions and develop comprehensive documentation, driving design, development, and testing of complex supply chain solutions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Solution Architecture and System Design
  • Lead the design and implementation of Kinaxis RapidResponse solutions to align with the company's strategic objectives in S&OP, Demand Planning, and Supply Planning.
  • Develop and configure Kinaxis per best practices.
  • Ensure solutions are scalable, sustainable, and integrated seamlessly with existing systems and workflows.

• Implementation and Development
  • Oversee multiple cycles of end-to-end implementation, including solution design, development, testing, and deployment.
  • Configure RapidResponse resources such as Workbooks, Dashboards, Forms, Hierarchies, Scheduled Tasks, Scripts, and Automation chains.
  • Implement advanced planning features like forecast consumption, disaggregation, and statistical forecasting to optimize supply chain processes.
  • Use Multi-Level functionality to enhance sourcing decisions across complex supply chain networks and BOM levels.
  • Configure Capacity Planning functionality to manage constraints within the supply chain.

• Integration
  • Understand and apply inbound and outbound data integration techniques between Kinaxis and SAP/JDE environments.

• System Administration
  • Manage Kinaxis RapidResponse system administration including User/Account management and deployment of changes across development, quality assurance, and production systems.
  • Ensure system stability and performance by regularly reviewing, testing, and updating the RapidResponse platform as needed.

• Business Requirements Analysis
  • Conduct deep-dive discovery sessions with business stakeholders to gather detailed business requirements.
  • Develop comprehensive documentation that outlines business needs and technical specifications for the Kinaxis RapidResponse solution.

• Problem-Solving and Support
  • Identify, prioritize, and resolve complex software issues, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.
  • Provide ongoing support and enhancements to the Kinaxis RapidResponse system post-implementation.

• Communication and Collaboration
  • Effectively communicate complex solutions and strategies to stakeholders at all levels of the organization, from executives to end-users.
  • Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to ensure that the Kinaxis RapidResponse solution meets business needs and is well-integrated with other enterprise systems.

• Continuous Improvement
  • Stay informed on the latest industry trends and updates regarding Kinaxis RapidResponse and supply chain planning best practices.
  • Continually seek opportunities to improve processes and solutions, driving innovation and operational excellence within the supply chain function.

• Training and Knowledge Sharing
  • Develop and deliver training programs to enhance the digital capabilities of users and to promote best practices in utilizing the Kinaxis RapidResponse platform.
  • Serve as a mentor and technical expert to other team members, fostering talent development within the organization.

• Strategic Advisory
  • Provide strategic advice on leveraging Kinaxis RapidResponse capabilities to enhance supply chain planning and execution.
  • Guide the business side on the capabilities and limitations of the Kinaxis tool, assisting them in understanding their options and influencing decision-making.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Expert level knowledge of Kinaxis Rapid Response, its data model, and configuration for S&OP, Demand Planning, and Supply Planning.
• Multiple cycles of implementation experience in complex supply-chain solution design, development, and testing.
• Proven ability to create effective solutions for complex business issues within the Kinaxis Rapid Response environment, maintaining alignment with industry best practices.
• Thorough understanding of the Kinaxis Rapid Response data model and inbound/outbound data integration options and best practices.
• Experience integrating date between Kinaxis Rapid Response and ERP systems (SAP & JDE)
• Experience in configuring the Rapid Response system for S&OP, Demand Planning and Supply Planning capabilities.
• Expertise in setting up resources (Workbooks, Dashboards, Forms, Hierarchies, Scheduled Tasks, Scripts, Automation chains etc.).
• Expertise in implementing forecast consumption, forecast disaggregation and spreading, statistical forecasting.
• Expertise with Multi Level functionality to enable better sourcing decisions in a complex supply chain network and across multiple Bill of Material levels.
• Experience in configuring Capacity Planning functionality for constraints.
• A good understanding in Detailed Scheduling functionality and implementation experience with Detailed Scheduling tools using any tools include SAP, Kinaxis.
• Experience in system administration topics including User/Account management, deployment of changes across DEV, QA and PROD systems
• Strong analytical skills to participate in deep-dive business requirements discovery sessions and to develop comprehensive requirements specifications documentation.
• Ability to identify, prioritize, and resolve complex software issues.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex solutions and to work effectively with stakeholders across various levels of the organization.
• Collaborative approach to working with cross-functional teams, including IT, supply chain, finance, and other business units.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field is required. An advanced degree (e.g., Master’s in Business Administration or Supply Chain Management) is preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in supply chain planning and execution, with at least 5 years of hands-on experience with the Kinaxis Rapid Response platform.
• Kinaxis Architect certification preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee frequently is required to walk; use hands to touch, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Any lifting in excess of 25 pounds requires assistance from another employee. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate as normally based in an office. Some of the work may be required in the operating units which can require usage of required PPE including safety glasses, hearing protection, etc. May also result in exposure to outside elements and may require usage of stairs and elevators. Travel up to 20% including air travel or auto travel.

Westlake is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristics protected by applicable legislation.

If you are an active Westlake employee (or an employee of any Westlake affiliates), please do not apply here. You will apply via the Jobs Hub application in Workday.