Demand & Collaborative Planner Italy

Demand & Collaborative Planner Italy

We are looking for a Demand & Collaborative Planner for Italy, part of the UK & WE Supply Chain team and responsible for providing the timely creation and communication of robust market demand to enable the delivery of Customer Service, Working Capital target and Operating profit goals. This role will be contact point for Kimberly Clark Supply Chain to drive customer excellence focusing on customer service levels, forecast accuracy and Customer Collaboration, and representing K-C as a professional a reliable supplier.

You will be pivotal to drive optimal decisions between several functions including Customers, Supply Chain Team, Country Managers and Customer Business Managers, Business Analysts, S&OP Teams and Customer Services in the 1 month to 2 year horizon, supporting continuous improvements on Demand / Planning systems.

The role reports to the Logistics and Distribution Manager Southern Europe and it's an individual contributor (no direct reports).

Job Requirement:

- Translate consumer / sales demand, promotions, product introduction & rollover plans into an agreed forecast of market requirements on an on-going 18 month rolling basis, keeping systems and other information flows up to date.
- Drive Customer service related improvement plans, collaborate with customers to improve forecast accuracy, actively participate into Italian S&OP cycle and drive Italian demand review, meeting efficiencies.
- Manage the Customer Relationship and work collaboratively with the retailer to understand and deliver service customer requirements on both day to day and strategic objectives
- Work with Customers, Sales and Marketing to evaluate impact of promotions and base run rate changes on the demand forecast in order to maximise sales, customer service and minimize stock holding
- Work with Customer Logistics to identify Service root causes and improvement actions.
- Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders e.g. Sales & Marketing, Customer Management, Demand Management, European Supply Chain Services and Logistics to ensure aims and objectives are on track and executed to required standards and timelines
- Pro-active development and implementation of customer collaboration best practices e.g. KPI Service Tracking and Collaborative Planning meetings.
- Lead and continuously drive improvements in process and process output of Demand Review as part of Golden S&OP cycle for Italy.
- Ensure the utilization of statistical demand planning system capabilities and drive system usage improvements.
- Develop and maintain a monthly demand schedule by maintaining an 18 month rolling forecast at invoice SKU level
- Ensure an accurate up to date view of market demand by maintaining a robust rolling forecast at the agreed level and time horizons required for planning and commercial decision making.
- Manage the monthly Italian MBO sign off forecast release process
- Drive improvements in forecast accuracy and bias
- Provide forecast insights and recommendations for quarterly financial & budget process, plus 5 year business plans, and category specific projects, innovation and strategies
- Effectively utilise independent analysis of available data streams and information (category sales history, past promotional/event history, customer sales & inventory data, customer collaboration & insights etc) in order to drive forecast improvements.
- Manage forecast locations splits, roll-overs and allocation rules to optimise service and reduce obsolescence and cost exposure
- Drive improvements in the Demand Planning processes, including DIO optimisation
- Support implementation of demand management best practices/strategies across Southern Europe organization.
- Understand and communicate supply chain implications and solutions (when appropriate) of category-specific business plans.
- Work closely with Supply Chain and S&OP colleagues in support of tactical execution which meets business objectives.

**Skills**:

- Bachelors Degree (BA, BSc) or equivalent is desirable;
- Previous experience in forecasting or sales and operations planning (S&OP) environment or with a proven track record in Supply Chain.
- Fluent in English and Italian.
- Highly numerate; first class analytical skills including data manipulation
- Flexible approach - excellent leadership skills together with strong team ethic
- Experience of SAP APO, Prevail 10, MS EXCEL®, BW and R/3 or similar systems desirable
- Experience within supply chain forecasting and EPOS tracking or similar- Ability to react to rapidly changing priorities and quickly make decisions and recommendations
- Self-starting, autonomous and able to challenge the status quo.
- Excellent collaboration skills that would allow you to successfully manage these important customer relationships
- Excellent communication and influencing skills and ability to respond positively under pressure are essential

Please submit your CV in English as it will be co