HIH - Software Engineering Advisor

About the job

INTRODUCTION TO EVERNORTH:  Evernorth Health Services India, established in Hyderabad in 2024, is an innovation hub for Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care and benefits division of The Cigna Group. The innovation hub will support innovation-focused areas, such as generative AI, product development, process improvement, analytics, and software engineering across The Cigna Group and its businesses.  Evernorth Health Services India builds on The Cigna Group’s existing presence in India. About Evernorth Health Services: Evernorth Health Services (Evernorth) is the pharmacy, care and benefits solution division of The Cigna Group - a Fortune 16 global health company with 75,000 employees, 186 million customers in more than 30 countries and jurisdictions around the world. Evernorth exists to make the prediction, prevention, and treatment of illness and disease more accessible to millions of people. We do this by creating and connecting premier health services offerings, such as benefits management, pharmacy, care solutions, insights and intelligence. About Cigna: The Cigna Group is a global health company committed to improving the health and vitality of individuals and communities around the world and includes products and services marketed under its Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services subsidiaries. Cigna Healthcare is the health benefits provider of The Cigna Group, serving customers and clients through its U.S. Employer, U.S. Government, and International Health business. Evernorth Health Services is the pharmacy, care and benefits solution division of The Cigna Group.

Job Title:

HIH - Software Engineering Advisor – SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP)

Position Overview: We are seeking an experienced SAP IBP Advisor to lead functional design, configuration, integration, and solution governance across SAP Integrated Business Planning and related SAP S/4HANA supply chain capabilities.

Job Overview:

We are seeking an experienced SAP IBP Advisor to lead functional design, configuration, integration, and solution governance across SAP Integrated Business Planning and related SAP S/4HANA supply chain capabilities. The ideal candidate will bring strong SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA supply chain planning expertise, with practical experience in demand planning, response and supply planning, inventory planning, Control Tower, Order-Based Planning, Real-Time Integration, scenario modeling, exception management, and master data alignment.

Responsibilities:

SAP Configuration & Delivery

- Configure and support SAP IBP capabilities across Demand Planning, Response & Supply, Inventory Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, and Control Tower.

- Design and support Demand to Supply processes including forecasting, demand sensing concepts, supply planning, inventory projections, days-on-hand targets, constrained planning, deployment planning, and purchase order recommendation logic.

- Support planning-area design, key figure configuration, master data attributes, planning views, copy operators, planning algorithms, scenario simulation, and planner workspaces.

- Configure and enhance IBP Control Tower capabilities, including custom alerts, intelligent visibility, exception monitoring, case management, analytics, and workflows that support daily planning operations and management by exception.

- Own functional design, configuration documentation, WRICEF requirements, test leadership, cutover planning, and release governance for IBP and SAP S/4HANA planning solutions.

- Ensure global template adherence, standardized planning controls, and scalable solution design across products, plants, locations, resources, suppliers, and customers. Order-Based Planning Transformation

- Provide functional leadership for the transition from time-series or legacy supply planning processes to SAP IBP Order-Based Planning.

- Assess current planning models, integration methods, master data, transactional data, planning horizons, and process dependencies to develop an Order-Based Planning transition roadmap.

- Configure and support flexible planning areas, business meanings, application mappings, planning run profiles, versions, scenarios, supply heuristics, optimizers, allocations, response planning, and deployment planning.

- Support detailed operational planning using stock, planned orders, production orders, purchase requisitions, purchase orders, stock transport orders, sales orders, deliveries, resources, and sourcing data.

- Lead transition readiness, data validation, reconciliation, regression testing, parallel planning, cutover, and stabilization activities.

- Partner with business and technical stakeholders to manage process changes, capability gaps, adoption risks, training needs, and operating-model impacts associated with the transition to Order-Based Planning. Real-Time Integration

- Design, configure, test, and support Real-Time Integration between SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA for planning-relevant master and transactional data.

- Support Real-Time Integration architecture, communication arrangements, logical systems, communication systems, integration profiles, application mappings, Core Interface models, queues, and background remote function call connectivity.

- Validate initial and delta transfers for products, locations, resources, production data structures, transportation lanes, stock, orders, purchase documents, sales documents, deliveries, and other planning-relevant objects.

- Monitor data queues, integration health, reconciliation results, exceptions, and failed transactions; coordinate root-cause analysis and reprocessing with SAP Basis, integration, data, and application teams.

- Support the transition from batch-oriented or legacy integration methods to Real-Time Integration, including readiness assessments, dependency mapping, testing, cutover, reconciliation, and production support.

- Ensure integrated data is timely, complete, accurate, and aligned with Order-Based Planning and Control Tower requirements. Cross‑Functional Integration

- Collaborate closely with Supply Chain, PTP, OTC, EWM, Finance, Master Data, Integration, Data, Security, and Analytics teams to maintain seamless end-to-end Demand to Supply processes.

- Partner with demand planners, supply planners, inventory planners, business process owners, architects, and technical teams to translate planning requirements into reliable SAP solutions.

- Validate integration of demand forecasts, inventory, purchase orders, open sales orders, backorders, lead times, resources, sourcing priorities, safety stock targets, and planning outputs between SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA.

- Coordinate Control Tower alert definitions, thresholds, escalation paths, analytics, and workflows with business stakeholders to ensure exceptions lead to timely and effective business action. Operational Leadership

- Lead production support, planning-cycle issue resolution, root-cause analysis, and process optimization across IBP and Demand to Supply capabilities.

- Act as a senior subject matter expert for planning governance, solution design decisions, audit readiness, compliance alignment, and operational stability.

- Support data readiness, integration validation, parallel testing, cutover, hypercare, and post-release adoption for IBP and SAP S/4HANA planning enhancements.

- Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to reduce manual effort, improve forecast and supply planning accuracy, strengthen inventory visibility, accelerate exception resolution, and increase planner productivity.

- Establish operational procedures, monitoring standards, support documentation, and knowledge-transfer materials for Control Tower, Order-Based Planning, and Real-Time Integration.

Education: ·        Any bachelor’s degree

Technical Skills

- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

- 10+ years of SAP supply chain planning, SAP IBP, SAP APO, SAP S/4HANA, or related configuration and business analysis experience.

- Experience with at least one full lifecycle SAP S/4HANA, SAP IBP, SAP APO-to-IBP, or major supply chain planning implementation.

- Hands-on experience with SAP IBP Demand Planning, Response & Supply, Inventory Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, and Control Tower.

- Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience configuring IBP Control Tower alerts, exception monitoring, analytics, workflows, and management-by-exception processes.

- Demonstrated experience planning or executing a transition to Order-Based Planning, including flexible planning areas, business meanings, application mappings, operational planning data, planning runs, testing, reconciliation, cutover, and adoption.

- Hands-on experience with Real-Time Integration between SAP IBP and SAP S/4HANA, including integration profiles, master and transactional data, initial and delta transfers, queue monitoring, reconciliation, error handling, and production support.

- Strong understanding of demand planning, constrained supply planning, response planning, deployment planning, inventory planning, Sales and Operations Planning, MRP, procurement planning, master data, and end-to-end Demand to Supply processes.

- Experience with SAP IBP planning areas, key figures, master data, planning views, planning operators, versions, scenarios, heuristics, optimizers, and supply planning algorithms.

- Proven ability to create functional designs, analyze business requirements, support testing, troubleshoot integrations, and drive alignment across business and technology stakeholders.

- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex planning processes, transformation impacts, and technical dependencies to business and technical audiences.

Preferred Skills

- Experience in wholesale distribution, healthcare, pharmaceutical, or life sciences environments.

- Advanced experience with SAP IBP Control Tower, Response & Supply, Order-Based Planning, Inventory Optimization, Sales and Operations Planning, and SAP Analytics Cloud.

- Experience transitioning from Smart Data Integration, Cloud Integration for Data Services, or other batch-oriented integration patterns to Real-Time Integration.

- Familiarity with SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Connectivity service, Cloud Connector, Cloud Integration Automation Service, Core Interface, background remote function call queues, application mappings, and Real-Time Integration profiles.

- Experience with flexible master data, the SAP7F or I_SAPIBP2 planning-area model, supply heuristics, order-based supply optimization, fair-share logic, allocations, deployment planning, and available-to-promise concepts.

- Experience with supply planning algorithms, constrained planning, inventory projections, projected days on hand, safety stock, sourcing priorities, and purchase order recommendations.

- Experience working in Agile delivery environments using JIRA, Confluence, SAP Activate, SAFe, or related delivery methods.

- SAP IBP, SAP S/4HANA, SAP SCM, or supply chain planning certification preferred.

Soft Skills

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities, ability to work independently and lead functional discussions, and a proactive mindset with attention to detail and quality.

Work Hours: Standard work hours are 2:30 PM to 11:30 PM IST, with flexibility required to support US Eastern Time business hours as needed.

Equal Opportunity Statement: Evernorth is an Equal Opportunity Employer actively encouraging and supporting organization-wide involvement of staff in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to educate, inform and advance both internal practices and external work with diverse client populations.

About Evernorth Health Services Evernorth Health Services, a division of The Cigna Group, creates pha