Customer Replenishment Specialist (planning)

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a world leading global organisation, our Global FMCG Client, the powerhouse behind Persil, Comfort, Surf and Ben & Jerrys, are currently seeking a Customer Replenishment Specialist (personal care). This is a full-time temporary role for 6 months, with possibility of extension, 36.25 hour week, paying up to £39,000 per annum, pro rata.

Unfortunately we cannot consider candidates who have a notice period longer than 1 month to serve.

The Customer Replenishment Specialist is primarily responsible for working with our customers to develop the most accurate forecast possible for promotions and ensuring this is reflected in the forecasting system to maintain excellent on shelf availability, forecast accuracy and service level.

The main focus is on providing the planning teams with insight from the customer via detailed understanding of customer systems and processes at store and depot level to facilitate the execution of events and communicating information to the customer about upcoming activities.

The CRS will be reactive to short term demand fluctuations and provide insight on stock, changes to distribution and buy-in phasing to help to interpret stock flow patterns and facilitate decision making during short stock situations but the primary focus will be on ensuring the forecast is right first time to avoid the need for this.

Responsibilities:

• Working closely with key contacts within the customer
• Drive sales through optimising flow of stock to shelf
• Report, analyse and deliver on KPIs by implementing continuous improvement activities related to availability, inventory, forecasting, execution of events and value creation.
• Build close relationships to create a partnership with an open and transparent dialogue and flow of information.
• Deliver optimum On Shelf Availability through interactions with customer systems and processes.
• Administer CPFR (collaborative planning, forecast and replenishment) cyclical process and support account manager in short term planning meeting with customer buyer and supply chain
• Support internal Category Planners in short term through weekly review and communication of volume variances as well as medium term through formal root cause analysis of major variances and taking preventative actions.
• Alert planning team to critical SKUs that sell very differently to plan and support resolution of disconnect between supply and demand.
• With the Customer Facing Specialist seek to minimise impact on customer casefill shortages.
• Handle major variances to customer ordering pattern, such as depot or store openings and network changes.

Accountabilities:

• Maximising sales through on-shelf availability
• Minimising supply and demand related customer casefill losses by facilitating CPFR
• Improving short term forecast accuracy
• Implementing continuous improvement activities to support supply chain development

Key Skills Requirements

• Experience in a customer facing planning, supply chain-based role is essential for this position
• Experience of planning in a fast-paced environment including forecasting responsibilities.
• Accustomed to dealing with the end customer and having excellent interpersonal skills building relationships with the contacts there.
• High levels of numeracy and logical reasoning.
• Superb attention to detail.
• Service mindset, taking ownership to resolve customer issues