Senior Manager, Demand Planning

Russell Stover•Kansas City, MO

About The Position

At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you’ll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar-free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations. Today, we produce over 55 million pounds of chocolate annually, and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company-owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let’s continue making chocolate lovers happy! A day in the life… As the Sr. Manager of Demand Planning, you will be responsible for the successful development and implementation of demand planning and related monthly forecast consensus reviews. You will forecast future order demand associated with customers and products across a variety of categories by taking into account market forecasts, seasonality, promotional plans, new products, and a variety of other factors that aid in balancing demand and supply. You will also drive initiatives to enhance production scheduling, inventory management and performance visibility. This is a highly collaborative role, working closely with sales and supply chain to ensure operations produce the best possible business results.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or 5 years’ experience in supply/demand planning with inventory management
Minimum of 2 years of experience managing multiple team members
SAP Experience
Knowledge of robust Advanced Planner and Optimizer or other software related to demand planning.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and BI analytics
Analytic, critical thinking, and multi-tasking skills
Excellent communication skills and the ability to speak, read, and write English fluently, with or without an accommodation.

Nice To Haves

CPG or perishable food experience
APICS or other forecasting certification
Experience participating or running Demand Meetings as part of a broader Sales and Operations Planning cycle
High level of collaboration with multiple departments
Experience with SAP IBP Demand Planning Systems
Proficient in statistics, statistical forecasting and forecasting methods with an understanding of their financial and operational impacts

Responsibilities

Leads talent management, professional development, and retention strategy for direct reports.
Coaches team for high performance to deliver KPI achievements including Everyday Forecast Accuracy, Seasonal Forecast Accuracy, reduction of Excess Inventory, and others
Manages and leads reduction of excess inventory initiatives.
Responsible for the root causing, financial tracking and projections, communication cross functionally on selling opportunities, and presenting to Leadership
Manages and owns 2 of the 6 major meetings that make up the Russell Stover Sales and Operations Planning Cycle. These are the Channel-Specific Working Sessions and the Consensus Sign-Off with senior leadership
Manages the demand planning model, coordinates planning activity and forecasts demand through collaborative planning with supply planning and sales
Manage statistical demand forecast and sales input to produce a consensus forecast
Leads initiatives to improve forecast accuracy and DC/3PL accuracy
Subject Matter Expert with IBP DP Planning System.
Collaborates with Sales and Product Management to review sales plans, latest estimates and demand drivers.
Communicates demand plan to Production Planning and Scheduling to ensure capacity is reserved and a feasible production plan is generated.
Work with sales and marketing managers to incorporate customer and product margin constraints into the planning model, while coordinating communication between sales and product management and the supply chain.
Coordinates with Scheduling and Inventory Management to plan strategic inventory builds and safety stock levels.
Develop inventory strategies to reduce nonvalue or excess inventory.
Proactively identifies future potential supply/demand gaps/issues and communicates these to scheduling, product management and supply chain operational partners as required.
Participate in global projects that support “Best Practice” alignment of Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Russell Stover supply chain systems / processes.
Adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to ensure product quality and maintain compliance with food safety standards.
Complete and follow FSQA training and programs to comply with regulatory requirements, ensure consumer safety, and support the plant’s food safety and quality objectives.
Promptly report and take appropriate action on any observed or potential food safety hazards, process deviations, or non-conformities by notifying the designated plant supervisor, in accordance with your role and responsibilities.
Actively contributes to the continuous improvement of the company’s Food Safety Culture through engagement and actions aligned with your role.