What is the role?
The purpose of the Demand & Supply Optimisation Planner role is to develop best possible forecast for future demand requirements in order to achieve business growth targets, while ensuring that plan makes best use of company supply chain capabilities including local lubricants and grease production and network requirements. The role will provide key insights in supply chain performance to understand and recommend where to reduce cost, improve flow, reduce variability, optimise inventory (working capital) whilst maintaining customer service levels (OTIF).
This role is a pivotal role in the Lubricants organization as a key interface between Planning, Sales and Marketing over the medium to long term horizon. This is a commercially focused and highly tactical planning role with responsibilities in finished product supply performance for customer service and inventory management to positively impact working capital. The purpose of this role is to use available planning systems and tools to develop robust supply plans that ensure the right products are available at the right locations within the supply network.
The role leads and contributes to the DDS&OP cycle, providing analysis for the ‘Step 3’ meeting (Where capacity and demand are balanced), to recommend changes in the supply chain to ensure we are delivering products in the most efficient way – in terms of E2E cost of supply, robustness & sustainability.
The role provides key analytics on performance, reviewing data of our supply chain in the month prior. These analytics include tracking inventory buffer movements (Stock movements – position and protect) and recommending changes in the supply chain to support flow via size and positioning of these buffers.
The role will work on value stream and contribution margin analysis, delivering additional value to the end to end supply chain. There is a key element of master data management to ensure that our decisions are reflected in our systems supporting right first-time setup.
The successful candidate will be part of a highly professional, commercially focused organisation managing significant business change, hence providing excellent development opportunities.
The successful candidate will be joining the Lubricants Supply Chain organization at a crucial and exciting time during the optimization phase of its Journey to Excellence, enabling the Supply Chain to become a source of competitive advantage for profitable growth.
Key Accountabilities:
- Generate the unconstrained demand forecast for finished products at SKU level in close collaboration with Sales & Marketing and via statistical models and trend tools.
- Timely management of portfolio changes in the planning system.
- Active participation in production capacity assessment meetings.
- Drives CI initiatives to automate & improve demand signals ultimately contributing to CSI (Customer Service Index) improvement.
- Develops & Maintains Demand Planning Team Dashboards along with complex ad-hoc reports, while also supporting migration to automate.
- Coordinate Demand Planning activities for GKAs/KAs (Key Account) in South Africa while identifying risks & opportunities for improvement in providing feedback loop into Sales & Marketing and Supply Planning Team.
- Leads local STEMs (Short Term Event Management) processes - responsible for STEM team setup, ensures STEM team has identified the root cause, develop and implement mitigations, coordinate demand allocation on time, defines communication to stakeholders.
- Optimisation of the network: Responsible to ensure regional optimisation of the supply network proposing sourcing decisions that drive lowest end to end costs. Support introduction of new products to market understanding optimal source location. The candidate will work closely with plants & logistics to ensure that throughput across the network is optimal, understanding bottlenecks and presenting cost/benefits analysis of solutions which could be implemented.
- DDS&OP cycle: Support/Lead the DDS&OP cycle to ensure we have a clear monthly overview of the forward supply and demand reconciled at the plant level. Make the right choices to ensure we can meet the plan. Bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders (demand planning, logistics, supply planning etc) and complex information to drive decisions that support the growth journey. As Buffer Manager the candidate is responsible for Finished Goods Inventory policy & management.
- Stakeholder Management: The candidate works with cross functional stakeholders in demand planning, PLM, Finance, Logistics, Marketing, Sales, Product Management and LSC chain to drive improvement in E2E value and works with global teams to unlock further opportunities.
- Continuous Improvement: The Demand & Supply Optimisation Planner fosters a culture of embedding value based thinking and behaviours in the business. EMEA has migrated to DDMRP planning methodology, the Demand & Supply Optimisation Planner is key to supporting value delivery through optimising inventory buffers.
- Analytical skills/Value Realisation: The Demand & Supply Optimisation Planner will be responsible for analysis of sourcing choices in the network working with various Value Delivery software suites focusing on creating a resilient, cost efficient network whilst maintaining optimum inventory levels that support customer service levels.
What we need from you?
The ideal candidate is expected to have the following attributes:
- Must have at least 6 yrs relevant experience.
- A Bachelor’s degree (Engineering, Mechanical, Chemical, Commerce and alike).
- Exceptional analytical capabilities with strong command of Excel.
- Proven record of results delivery in a physical and virtual environment.
- Evidence of strong communication & stakeholder management skills.
- Experience in crisis management.
- Experience with integrated SAP/ERP systems.
- Supply Chain planning experience.
- Knowledge of Planning Tools (ex. APO) is an advantage.
- Knowledge of VBA / Power BI is an advantage.
- Excellent presentation skills along with PowerPoint knowledge.
- Proactive and goal-oriented approach.
- Extensive supply chain experience.
- CDDP/CDDL certification (can be obtained in role).
- Excellent analytical and problem solving skills, including use of analytics support tools.
- Ability to work with diverse group of stakeholders.
- Lubricants business knowledge would be advantageous.
- Knowledge of Supply Chain asset capacity management & cost levers would be advantageous.
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