Demand Planner

About RS Group

Across the industrial design, manufacturing and maintenance worlds, we’re the digital destination for product and service solutions to help our customers with the maintenance, repair and operation of their businesses. We provide global access to an unrivalled range of over 750,000 stocked industrial products. Each day our team of experts deliver solutions to resolve our customer’s challenges across design, procurement, inventory and maintenance. We consistently strive to deliver the best possible service to all of our customers and challenge ourselves to provide a seamless procurement experience.

We are one team. We deliver brilliantly. We do the right thing. We make every day better. These are our values. They unite our c.9,000 global colleagues and differentiate us from our competition. They are a mix of how we work today and how we must step up for the future. Most importantly, it is one set of values shaped by our people, for our people.

Together, we can make great things happen. Aim for amazing and beyond.

The Manager, Supplier Marketing will engage suppliers, build strong relationships and create supplier value to capture value from the supplier in return.

About the Role

Role Purpose

This position reports to the Supply Chain Manager and is directly responsible for ensuring best practice forecast processes, methods, parameters and rules that are used to enable the delivery of on-going forecast accuracy improvements. In addition, this position will also ensure forecast exceptions are reviewed and managed to a defined work plan.

Responsibilities

• Actively enrich the statistical forecast with cross-functional insight
• Ownership and delivery of material level demand forecasting, based on best practice principles that supports and enables achievement of best forecast accuracy performance leading to service, stock and cost management objectives
• Interprets Inventory Strategies to identify forecasting opportunities and potential risks and respond accordingly
• Reviews and interprets forecasting exceptions and determine most appropriate actions to resolve by applying Demand Segmentation approach
• Identifies events or causal factors that impact the forecast and drive divergence from the normal ‘run rate’ (i.e. promotions, supply issues, environmental factors, competitor activity)
• Enrichment of short term strategic forecasts through gathering of internal and external insight
• End to End Management of products
• Review forecast accuracy reports; analyses and understands root cause of inaccuracy and actions required to address
• Works with cross-functional business partners to understand and resolve forecast and demand issues.
• Able to influence internal parties to provide information and implement short term changes to plans to enable the achievement of greater forecast accuracy
• Validation and adjustment of demand history at material level to improve forecast accuracy
• Maintenance and optimisation of statistical modelling software parameters according to product characteristics and lifecycle stage
• Development and implementation of processes to identify lost demand and incorporate into forecasting processes
• Deliver forecast accuracy improvements against defined KPI’s
• Other duties as required by Supply Chain Management which may include various projects or tasks unrelated to demand planning

Candidate Requirements

Essential Skills & Experience

• Must understand forecasting and demand planning principles.
• Understands market dynamics, industries, products, & competitors.
• Solid understanding of end-to-end Supply Chain Planning processes.
• Can correlate forecasting and demand planning activities to Supply Chain cost and service.
• Set’s objectives and goals through effective planning and accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks/projects.
• Managing through systems by implementing best practices.
• Can effectively communicate (verbal, written and listening).
• Must have strong teamwork, organizational, & analytical skills.
• Exhibits strong customer service and is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers.
• Knows how to set priorities and can quickly zero in on what is critical.

Education and/or Experience

Preference given for a four year degree in Business or related field but not required; Three to five years of experience in an analytical supply chain position is required.

Computer Skills

Intermediate to Advanced level computer skills are needed. This includes word processing letters/reports, creating graphics, and preparing formula driven spreadsheets, spreadsheet charting, and basic database querying. Must be fluent in the use of a modern Planning & Forecasting software and system applications.

Mathematical Skills

Requires basic math skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Authority

Can serve as a team leader or work planning coordinator. May train others. Work requires planning and managing priorities and resources of a work unit to accomplish goals defined by broader strategic planning, or requires planning and management small projects on an ongoing basis.

Decision Making Impact

Decisions have a significant, major impact affecting all areas of the business. Directly influences the cost and service effectiveness of Supply Chain Planning in the range of $50M annually. Decision making can make or break the profitability of the business.

Reasoning Ability

Follows general procedures; uses date and information from various sources to draw conclusions to achieve established goals and end results. Conclusions usually apparent from information gathered.

Internal Contacts

Work regularly requires interaction with people outside work unit to exchange information. Contacts may require the consideration of different points of view to reach agreement. Interactions can impact continued working relations.

External Contacts

Work regularly requires external contacts to resolve problems or to provide and receive information. Some interpretation of policies is required. Tact and discretion are appreciably important in performing job duties.

Character of Supervision

Job may require supervision of teams, or team members as assigned by Supply Chain Management.

Environmental Conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  Typical work is in climate controlled environment requiring regular use of computer and electronic equipment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

RS Americas is an equal opportunity employer and maintains policies and practices that are designed to prevent and prohibit unlawful discrimination against any qualified employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, military/veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other unlawful classification to the extent protected by law. This policy of non-discrimination applies to all employment practices, including hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, training and termination. Employees who engage in unlawful discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

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