The Demand Planner will be responsible for co-leading the forecasting process for Royal Canin products in Benelux. Together with the Demand Planning Manager you will contribute to a strong Demand Review cycle delivering an accurate forecast and valuable insights for the organization in the S&OP+ process.

The Demand Planner is the expert on forecasting in the organization at operational level, developing the (statistical) forecast with our new forecasting tool FuturMaster (implemented in January 2022) and optimizing the collaboration with our Supply Planning team ensuring excellent service levels.

What are we looking for?

This role is new in the BNL organization since the implementation of FuturMaster and the increased focus on Demand Planning. Besides providing a volume forecast at SKU level, we also provide a forecast at customer level.

The Demand Planner will be part of the Supply Chain Team of the Benelux on works closely together with the Demand Planning Manager, the Supply Planning team and the Marketing and Sales teams of a specific pillar.

The Supply Chain team consists of a Supply Planning and Logistics Team, a development manager and two local Customer Service teams. The Supply Chain team is divided over our office locations in Veghel and Brussels with a 50% working from home schedule.

The Demand Planner is expected to travel once a month to Brussels (or once a week to Veghel if located In Brussels) to connect with our key stakeholders. This role is currently reporting directly to the Supply Chain Director.

The Demand Planner is responsible for the existing Demand Planning tool FuturMaster which went live early 2022. The Demand Planner firstly works in the tool and secondly will participate in the further development of the tool.

The job holder should have a right balance between the strong analytical capacities and build relationship with others, because it will have to build a strong plan for the next 26 periods based on historical data (statistical models) considering a big number of customers and products, and at the same time, he/she should be capable of fostering the collaboration (collaborative forecast) with multiple stake holders (marketing people and sales people mainly). He/she must be proactive, skilled at attention to detail, and willing to drive change.

This position is ideal for a high potential talent with plenty of opportunities to grow within our Royal Canin Supply Chain team or within the broader Mars organization.

Job qualifications:

• Master Degree in Supply Chain Management or similar.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Dutch and/or French is a pre
• 1+ years of experience in Planning function.
• Strong passion for forecasting and improving business processes.
• Experience in applying statistical forecast models
• Strong capabilities in Excel and BI tooling

Functional competences:

• Strong communication skills and ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills. Ability to analyze complex data set and derive actionable conclusions
• Ability to work independently and take initiative
• KStrong knowledge of Supply Chain Planning and Sales and Operations Planning
• Ability to switch between the details and the bigger picture.
• Action Oriented and high drive for result

Leadership competences:

• Peer relationships
• Business Acumen
• Technical Skills
• Process Management
• Comfort around higher management

What will be your key responsibilities?

• Co-Lead the forecasting process which includes the integration of historical sales trends, researching of demand drivers (competitive responses, trend, substitution effects, etc), development and review of statistical forecast models and incorporating marketing assumptions to develop a rolling 24-month forecast.
• Analytical support of the Sales/Marketing department on insights and assumptions of the forecast
• Prepare Account Review data sets and organize/participate in Account Review meetings
• Prepare periodical Demand Management Review with Sales Directors to ensure clear communication regarding forecast, forecast variances and changes.
• Measure Forecast Accuracy and Forecast Bias and execute root cause analyses behind forecast variances and take corrective actions
• Timely and correct communication of the demand plan to the Supply Planning department, translating demand into the distribution planning requirements. Understand product constraints and impact on demand forecast.
• Collaborate with other Demand Planners in our region to share best practices
• Create and maintain documentation and standard operating procedures for demand planning processes and tools.
• Incorporate promotional activities and new product introductions into the forecast and ensure smooth execution
• Maintain data (master + transactional) in FuturMaster
• Back-up of our Demand Planning Manager during holidays

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 130,000 like-minded and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.