Associate Manager, Demand & Supply Planning

Location: Saudi Arabia, Jeddah

Position Summary

• Leading bottom-up consensus demand plans for categories in scope within Cluster through an efficient alignment across commercial & operational stakeholders, while maintaining E2E operations efficiencies.
• This means ensuring product availability with desired freshness, optimum level of inventory & consistent achievement of service level to enable Cluster to grow efficiently & increase market shares of categories in scope.
• **A DAY IN THE LIFE …*** Lead MBPC in the cluster for categories in scope, to ensure consensus bottom-up demand plan for 18 months horizon in line with Cluster/Category/Channel Dynamics & ambition.
• This is done through leading Pre-alignment meetings & sign off meeting with Cluster head, sales, CDT & marketing teams.
• Ensure that Sellout/IMS data is used in building the bottom-up consensus demand plan by category, district & SKU while ensuring trade coverage is within agreed stock cover policy. This includes analysis on sales out bias by SKU by district to support forecasting decision making
• Responsible for advanced price elasticity simulations in anticipation of currency devaluation, in close collaboration with commercial teams, to model multi-scenario volume implications across product portfolios, identify potential risks or opportunities while enabling commercially resilient, data-driven decision-making.
• Maintain close collaboration with District sales senior managers to conduct in-depth analysis of second-tier wholesalers, with the aim of enhancing forecast accuracy and improving the precision of demand projections across the distribution network, especially before any price increase
• Collaborate with commercial teams to manage ICP & develop baseline demand forecasts for new product launches & Promotions while ensuring realistic baseline & uplift assumptions in coordination with market size, competitor's pricing, APOS ambition, drop size & competitors’ performance
• Responsible for PIPO E2E plans to avoid OOS or overstock on a monthly basis in relation with MBPC outcomes, supply alerts & previous month’s performance results
• Connect with sales support on the month's landing & assess its potential impact on replenishment and full-year sales, ensuring proactive measures are taken to optimize performance and stock cover at trade
• Ensure supply at the right time with the right freshness while maintaining optimum inventory through coordinating with different functions (clearance team, category supply planners, DSP category managers, logistics ...etc.), to provide visibility to commercial team for on time availability.
• Contribute positively to bad goods reduction through MSR meetings in the Cluster with relevant stakeholders, making sure that the action plan is reflected in MBPC as aligned outcome, provisions are taken with the right value by finance team & escalating in case risk can't be avoided
• Continuous monitoring of KPIs evolution, (OG%, tonnage growth, DPA M-1, M-3, bias, COF, Stock cover & Bad goods) with the aim of improving Service level & Accuracy through MBPC process while reducing E2E cost
• Maintaining and communicating DPA learning log to Cluster, Category & Analytical hub that will provide the right level of information on the deviation versus actuality by reason code
• Coordinating with local A&P team to ensure on time execution and availability of promo stocks in line with promo planning SOP
• Supporting order fulfillment management and reason code assignment for OOS, and action plan to drive improvement in customer satisfaction & mitigation whenever needed
• Govern the end-of-the-end process of monthly pallet projections, collaborating intensively with warehouse and logistics stakeholders to ensure warehouse space availability with anticipated demand fluctuations, build ups and supply chain contingencies.
• **ARE YOU A FIT?*** Bachelor of Engineering or Supply Chain
• Not less than 2 years of experience in demand Planning
• F&B Background is a plus
• Experience in Microsoft Office Tools
• Strong stakeholder management skills
• Strong communication skills