Demand Planner at Nestle

• The Demand Planner is responsible to develop, maintain and improve the Demand Plan for a portfolio of products and customers, which also includes the full ownership of generating and maintaining the Statistical Forecast based on insights from Sales, Marketing and external data. Ensure the alignment of this Demand Plan with internal and external partners through the Monthly Business Planning process and Integrated Collaborative Planning processes. Identify and manage exceptions and monitor performance in order to continually improve the quality and reliability of the Demand Plan and the Company’s ability to sense and respond to changing circumstances. Build supply/ production plans respecting the agreed level of available capacity to ensure that finished goods are available with high freshness, at the right stock location to meet customer demand whilst minimizing cost

A day in the life of a Demand Planner:

Maintain Data and Systems:

• Create and maintain the appropriate master data in the planning systems in use, minimizing errors, and avoiding duplication and obsolescence.
• Maintain system hygiene and health to ensure demand signals are not polluted, in close collaboration with Customer Services.

Collate Information and Assumptions:

• Ensure commitment from all functions, build and maintain good communication and collaboration both within Supply Chain and with Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing and Finance, according to the Monthly Business Planning (MBP) best practices.
• Capture, prioritize, analyze and input causals from Marketing and Sales events; customer, consumer & competitor information; other external / internal trends and influences which impact demand.

Manage Portfolio and Lifecycle:

• Effectively use all Demand Planning system functionality to enable an exception-based management approach, inspired by the "Animal Farm" methodology.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Sales by providing input on a regular basis regarding product launches, portfolio optimization, rationale of commercial decisions, tenders and customer behavior.

Develop and Maintain the Forecast:

• Use appropriate statistical models and parameters using Forecast IQ (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Tool), and enrich statistical forecasts to generate accurate base demand forecasts per Customer
• Generate and maintain a demand plan for a given portfolio of products, locations and/or customers, at the levels (product hierarchy and time) at which business decisions are taken.
• Focus on and deliver a stable demand plan, but taking into account appropriately recent events, along with achievement of Demand Plan Accuracy (DPA), controlled variability of accuracy and elimination of systematic bias.
• Ensure that business planning is operated at the correct level of aggregation (product hierarchy and time)

Reach Consensus through Alignment:

• Contribute to cross functional planning activities such as MBP, Scenario Planning and the Dynamic Planning Framework (DPF) according to Best Practice.

Share and Publish the Forecast:

• Through systematic reporting, provision of links or ad-hoc reports and communications, ensure that Demand Plan information is available to internal business partners as required.
• Cascade knowledge of Best Practices and tools to other Demand Planners to build a superuser network

Track and Manage Demand:

• Actively follow-up on actual sales to customers and sell-out (POS where applicable and data is available) data to identify exceptional or unforecasted activities.
• Drive fast, appropriate actions to minimize the impact of deviations from the Demand Plan. Communicate these actions to stakeholders.

Measure and Track Performance:

• Consistently improve Demand Plan Accuracy (DPA accuracy level and variability) and drive systematic forecast bias through detailed analyses of past performance. Track errors using DP Reason Codes and maintain an efficient Learning Log.
• Implement improvements to Demand and Supply Planning processes and tools to deliver tangible benefits (e.g. time savings, increased efficiencies).
• Analyze net dispatch requirements and prepare/maintain a coordinated set of supply and deployment plans of finished goods in order to meet customer demand within min/max stock corridors, whilst minimizing the total delivered costs, taking into account the network complexity and the supply constraints.
• Ensure smooth implementation of promotional activities and new product launches protecting COF and minimizing write off
• Establish and revise regularly the stock policies for Finished Goods for all stock locations, Pro-actively look for solutions in case of deviations.
• Provide visibility on future supply issues or constraint and support decision making by providing simulated alternative supply scenarios that balance available capacity and demand.
• Challenge Manufacturing team and Production planners on regular basis to drive optimum FG inventory required freshness level. Conduct weekly reviews with supply markets to ensure demand is reflected correctly and that load plans are honored and there's follow-up on all critical actions.

What will make you successful?

• Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics or equivalent
• Minimum 3 years of any relevant operational experience either/or in Supply Chain (DSP, CS, SC Development), Sales (KAM, CCSD), Marketing or Finance (Business planning)
• Sufficient understanding and practice in the following areas:
• Nestlé Continuous Excellence (NCE) methodology
• Monthly business planning processes and tools
• Roles and objectives of all cross functional teams (including all functions within SC, Sales and Marketing and Finance)