VP, Supply Chain – Illumina, Inc. – San Diego, CA, USA

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Global Operations and based at the company’s HQ in San Diego, CA, this position represents the senior-most supply chain role in the company and will have direct oversight of a team of approximately 265 people (211 FTEs), located in California, Singapore, and the Netherlands. The VP, Global Supply Chain will support and/or manage activity across Illumina’s network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers: reagent/consumable manufacturing is done in San Diego, CA; Madison, WI; and Singapore; instrument manufacturing is done in Singapore and Hayward, CA; its distribution centers are located in San Diego, Hayward, Singapore, and Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The primary mission of the position will be to develop a world class supply chain team, processes and systems to support and scale for growth (i.e. sales of $5B+), and meet company objectives around cost, quality, and service. Illumina seeks to establish the most progressive and effective supply chain organization possible in order to keep up with demand and match its operational capability with the superior performance and leadership position of its products. Driving ever-improving results, supply chain velocity, and cost reduction while delivering a new level of supply chain innovation, speed to market, and the highest level of customer service will be a central mandate of the VP, Global Supply Chain role. Critical KPIs include deflation/expenditure cost savings, inventory turns, service (perfect order/on time delivery, etc.), quality, and E&O levels. Although there is nothing broken today and the company has solid customer service levels, opportunities for improvements across the board are abundant.

Illumina’s supply chain is fairly complex due to the short product lifecycles, unique/proprietary raw materials and processes, high growth levels and product demand, and cold chain and shelf life requirements of its products. As a result and to that end, the company has invested in a partnership with UPS to help manage consumable distribution in NA; SAP and planning software such as Kinaxis; and acquisitions of critical suppliers to streamline the supply chain and mitigate risk (i.e. Epicentre). However, further opportunities exist across the board to improve the value chain and harness the strengths and innovation capabilities of suppliers/business partners. Also, as the company enters deeper into diagnostic services, the regulatory needs around controls, compliance, and documentation will increase significantly and it is important that the VP, Global Supply Chain is proactive on meeting these requirements and avoids issues that may hinder the company’s growth plans.

The Person 
Candidates must be proven and experienced supply chain leaders with a high level of business acumen, pension for innovation, natural leadership skills, transformative mind-set and a hyper-focus on making an impact. This should include experience developing and managing a world class supply chain within a complex, dynamic and high growth business – “building the plane while flying it.” This experience will most likely be gained within the diagnostics or high-tech industries and candidates will likely have approximately 16-28 years of total professional experience. All candidates must possess end-to-end supply chain experience at a large, high-growth global company recognized as best-in-class in operations and supply chain, including specific expertise in integrated supply chain. Broad supply chain expertise including experience managing a comprehensive supply chain organization including global sourcing, materials and planning (S&OP), inventory, and logistics and distribution will be critical.

In addition, all candidates must possess the following skills, experience, or attributes:

• Speed and Aggressiveness – possesses a collaborative, yet relentless approach to process improvement and team management in order to achieve best in class results , especially around cost, cycle time / throughput and customer service;
• Multi-Faceted Supply Chain Tool Kit – wide and deep expertise in managing global supply chain operations with a particular emphasis on planning and cross-functional collaboration;
• Growth Driver – proven track record of partnering with R&D, Product Development, and the commercial team to optimize new product launches and product lifecycle management within a fast-paced, high growth company with a robust pipeline of new products and short product lifecycles;
• Talent Management – a “player-coach” and proven manager/developer of people; capable of recruiting, managing and motivating strong teams (comprised of at least 100 FTEs);
• Progressive Knowledge of Tools and Best Practices – experience deploying order-to-cash tools and inventory management systems to maximize sales, improve forecast accuracy, and reduce inventory and obsolescence, as well as seize systematic change management opportunities that coincide with ERP capabilities;
• Global – proven track record of managing teams and operations across 3-5 continents, including developing countries and regions; strong multi-cultural sensitivity and expertise;
• Natural Leader with Strong Executive Presence – positive and dynamic management style, combined with superior communication skills and high credibility; able to gain followership and attain buy-in from internal stakeholders; capable of successfully navigating a complex organizational matrix.

Click here for more information.