Associate Director - Third Party Logistics Operations

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 Associate Director – Third Party Logistics Operations supports the North American Logistics Operations (NALO) organization, which oversees Distribution operations across the United States. This role is based in Landis, NC and ensures high operational performance, strong partner relationships, and excellence in inventory management, customer service, and distribution execution within pharmaceutical 3PL environment. This role serves as an informal leader, ensuring 3PL performance aligns with expectations from Lilly, customers, and patients. The successful candidate will understand warehouse and manufacturing operations, identify performance gaps, and drive process and productivity improvements across internal teams and external 3PLs. Key Responsibilities 3PL Operations:

• Serve as a primary point of contact for Lilly’s 3PL partners, supporting inbound/outbound transportation and inventory management
• Coordinate daily execution needs and operational escalations with 3PL site leadership
• Support facility management needs and ensure compliance with Lilly Distribution Quality Assurance standards
• Partner with global supply chain teams, domestic/international manufacturing sites, wholesalers, retail accounts, government customers, and alliances
• Lead integration and onboarding efforts for new 3PL providers
• Develop tactical improvement projects that enhance 3PL capabilities and performance
• Ensure controls, documentation, and change management processes remain aligned across NALO functions

Supply Chain & Inventory Management

• Represent NALO with strong understanding of inventory management, supply planning, and distribution processes
• Collaborate with other supply chain managers to support domestic fulfillment and optimize OTIF performance
• Support product launches, serialization efforts, and system integrations
• Maintain high standards of data integrity and documentation

Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement

• Lead initiatives to improve productivity, streamline processes, and reduce operational complexity
• Serve as process owner for inventory‑related processes involving 3PLs
• Develop new processes as business needs evolve

Metrics, Reporting & Communication

• Provide shipment and inventory reporting at all required frequencies
• Support metrics preparation for quarterly business reviews with 3PL partners.
• Ensure documentation and KPIs are clearly defined
• Comply with regulatory requirements including cGMP, Sarbanes‑Oxley, PDMA, and Special Security Substance policies

Safety / HSE

• Perform tasks in accordance with ergonomic and safety guidelines
• Contribute to strengthening NALO’s overall safety culture

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 5+ years of experience in Distribution, Supply Chain, Procurement, or related fields
• 2+ years of experience with SAP and/or WMS systems
• Demonstrated cross‑functional collaboration and stakeholder influence
• Strong Excel, PowerPoint, and PowerBI skills
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Preferred Qualifications

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing/distribution experience APICS CPIM, CLTD, or CSCP certification
• Experience with serialization Experience with digitization initiatives

Additional Information

• Travel to Indianapolis, IN area will be required to facilitate onboarding and training
• Up to 25% travel is expected - role requires time at multiple NALO locations across the country

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