ABOUT THE ROLE

Demand Planner creates a forecast for future sales volumes and plans demand volumes to optimize service levels for the country/Marketing and Sales Unit.

The Operations function ensures the integration of all key business processes from supplier to customers, providing products, services and information that add value for customers and stakeholders. The function manages procurement, manufacturing, supply chain (warehousing, co-packing, logistics and distribution) and planning processes and ensures optimal alignment between demand and supply at a global scale, considering efficiency, required flexibility, security of supply and considering costs, working capital, quality levels, service levels, company and society values.

GOAL AND KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Create a demand forecast representing the prognosis of future shipments to customers based on historical trends and planned activities and events. The Demand planner applies continuous improvement techniques to improve Forecast accuracy & Forecast bias KPI measurements.
• To create the demand forecast the demand planner works in close collaboration with Sales, Marketing and Finance and Central planning to create a plan to maximize business performance; Plans match MSU strategic plans, delivering high service level and low cost.
• Optimizing service level for the country/MSU by communicating product availability (including New Product Developments)
• Identifying & resolving service risks, with escalation to the Central Planner for decision-making in case of stock shortages or inventory excess
• Provide safety stock setting proposals to Central Planning.
• Deliver input to the monthly Integrated Business Planning (IBP) meetings and align the forecast with agreed actions.
• Monitor slow moving-, obsolete- and aging stocks and propose improvement actions for approval by Principal.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Running the demand planning processes both in monthly and weekly cycle and creating the demand forecast. In cooperation with Sales, Marketing and Finance department in the monthly S&OP meetings and the weekly meeting with Sales and Customer Service update the forecast with decisions made in these meetings. Model scenarios with the impact of uplift, dip and cannibalization patterns on SKU/Customer level in APO Demand Planning.
• Integrate innovations into the demand plan based on the monthly IBP Marketing meeting. Define for new SKUs the local master data. Weekly follow up on actuals versus forecast after launch to update forecast with latest expectations. Manage the phase out of finished goods in cooperation with the Central Planner.
• Review and adjust the total demand forecast to ensure an up-to-date forecast in the weekly process for the release to Central planning. Reflect the agreed volumes in the total demand forecast in the monthly Integrated Business Planning process as a basis for KPI measurements.
• Cross functional alignment. Validate that all functions plan based on the same forecast: Align the demand forecast assumptions different functions in the Marketing and Sales unit, such as Sales, Marketing, Finance. Ensure that the aligned forecast of the MSU is equal to the demand forecast the Central planning team.
• Measure and analyse key performance indicators to improve forecast accuracy and forecast bias figures. Execute root cause analysis and apply preventive actions to improve future performance.
• Execute stock aging and slow moving & obsolete investigations and propose actions to the Central Planner to improve the quality of the stock and finding solutions in cooperation with local MSU.
• Identify service issues and risks by monitoring of out-of-stock issues and risks and liaise with Central Planning to resolve the out-of-stock issue or mitigate the risks and liaise with customer service to allocate stock to customers.