Demand Planner – Middle East & Africa needed at Bacardi
Job title : Demand Planner – Middle East & Africa
Job Location : Gauteng, Johannesburg
Deadline : May 26, 2024
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RESPONSIBILITIES
With our consumer at the heart your key focus will be
Sales & Operation Planning
- Work closely with Marketing, Sales, Customers, Finance and business team to ensure the agreement to define new Best10 process.
- Analyse current business, demand trends and predict future trends for middle and longer-term horizon (24 months)
- Manage the Demand Planning processes to ensure that plans are established, monitored, and reviewed in order to ensure efficient and timely distribution of products to customers
- Support the MEA Planning & Logistics Manager in the S&OP process and preparation of the monthly meeting
- Build visibility between financial target and volume sales plan and support the financial team in the financial cycle
- Ensure cross functional alignment and business ownership at multiple levels
- Maintain S&OP tools and report risks and opportunities
- Collaborate with sales to understand customers’ data and understand their ordering patterns
Forecast Accuracy
- Manage sales forecasts at IPC / customer level
- Analyse all data to ensure that sales forecast are realistic (historical sales, market trends, seasonality, promotions, customer data (inventories, depletions, forecasts)) and challenge Regional Sales Managers about inconsistencies
- Maintain/adjust/create documentation, standard operating procedures and mapping for demand planning processes and systems
- Conduct forecast data submissions in system following the global S&OP and forecasting calendar
- Improve forecasting techniques and method to increase accuracy
New Products Introduction
- Cooperate with the Activity Management Team to ensure effective Innovation process with the aim of reducing supply chain complexity, optimizing route to markets, increasing supply reliability/flexibility and harmonizing the MEA SKU portfolio
- Coordinate promotions activities and projects with Marketing, Sales, Distributors and MEA Demand Manager
- Be the single point of contact for Bacardi VAP being produced/copacked
- Follow launch of promotions, VAPs, Limited Editions and Innovations
- Maintain the products’ portfolio list including lifecycle information and communicate regularly with stakeholders
- Align with supply planning on the right level of replenishment and inventory for new products
- Make sure forecast is reflected 4 months minimum before first shipment date
- Communicate to sales / customer service on first availability date from our warehouse
- Inventory management / Product lifecycle monitoring
- Identify write-offs risks and root causes and set action plan to reduce/avoid and monitor. Seek for solutions.
- Follow up Slow mover/No mover stocks and take relevant actions to deplete those. Seek for solutions.
- Ensure any issues / alerts are raised promptly with sales/customers to avoid those.
- Review and set the right safety stocks policies with supply planning/operation centres’ planning teams
Supply Challenges
- Manage short/medium term supply constraints (ex. quality, technical…) to deliver product (Finished goods, Global Promotions/Limited Editions and POS) on the agreed basis
- Monitor allocation of limited products, communicate on status
- Understand route to markets, MOQs and Leadtime’s with plants and customers
- Communicate to regional sales team and customer service on Middle East Africa products’ out of stocks, root causes and resolution timing in promptly manner
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- The skills and experience needed to create your legacy
- Excellent knowledge of processes within operations (finance, manufacturing, packaging, supply chain, markets and central marketing). Min 3-5 years of work experience in demand planning process. Knowledge of demand planning technology and decision support tools is preferred
- Business savvy and a good understanding of the consumer & customers’ needs.
- Strong Interpersonal, negotiation and collaboration skills with the ability to build relationships across a deep and wide range of internal and external stakeholders
- Demonstrate accountability and capability to work independently with confidence to ask for support when required.
- Ability to find effective ways of working within a matrix organization, and within a fast-changing environment.
- Administration skills and extreme attention to detail.
- Managing stakeholder expectations in relation to delivery & execution.
- Willingness to work collaboratively with teams across different geographies and cultures.
- Excellent creative thinking skills with emphasis on developing innovative solutions to complex problems that may not have one clear answer.
- Strong Excel, PowerPoint, Database, Reporting system skills (Power BI)
- Language Requirements: English is essential
How to Apply for this Offer
Interested and Qualified candidates should Click here to Apply Now