Senior Replenishment Planner

Gordon Food Service•Michigan, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Replenishment Planner assists with the supervision of product replenishment, acts as a lead for cross-departmental projects to implement and develop best practices, and represents the team's needs. This role is responsible for engaging multiple levels of business partners to optimize operations through process improvements to drive supply chain initiatives. The planner collaborates with various teams within the U.S. supply chain and works closely with Divisional Leadership teams. They execute fulfillment plans for a specified division(s) utilizing the GFS forecast/replenishment system and other software applications. This role manages inventory and develops strategies to drive continuous improvement with customer in-stock performance, days on hand, and product loss. The Senior Replenishment Planner acts as the primary supplier contact for inventory and supplier-related business needs and manages leadership responsibilities when the Supervisor is not available. The role involves continuous learning and professional development, monitoring KPIs related to service level, product loss, and days on hand. It also closely monitors inbound receiving capacity and reserve storage capacity to ensure proper flow of inventory for GFS Operations. Responsibilities include executing projects such as outside storage, new customer rollouts, item and vendor transitions, training, seasonal activities, and emergencies.

Requirements

Must be proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel functions and Google applications.
Must be extremely organized, analytical and possess highly developed written/oral communication, management, training and interpersonal skills.
Leads large and small initiatives on time to define new processes and resolve business problems, collaborate across multiple organizational groups and levels within the business.
Ability to lead the team and interact with leaders in other departments/roles, develop relationships, etc.
Able to lead meetings and manage the responsibility of following up with collaborating team members.
Excellent written, verbal, organizational and communication skills.
This role will communicate with all levels of the organization including Managers, Directors and General Managers.
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Self directed with ability to deal with distraction, repetition, prioritization, fluctuations in workload, ambiguity, etc.
Strategic thinking and analytical skills, including knowledge of basic math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and percentages).
Ability to multitask, prioritize and execute efficient work processes.
The ability to delegate to help with efficiencies and provide development opportunities for the team.
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
The ability to provide excellent customer service to our internal customers.
Ability to solve problems and develop solutions to a variety of complex problems by comparing, classifying, innovating, analyzing, coordinating, etc.
Identifying root cause analysis by utilizing best practices and innovation.
May refer to established precedents and policies.
Advanced knowledge of supply chain principles and techniques for highly perishable products.
Proactive in identifying and resolving issues with minimal direction while keeping management informed in areas of importance.
Audit access and Supervisor suite access.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor Degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, or other related field is preferred.
Four or more years previous experience in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Product or Category Management preferred.
Proven capability to perform the essential functions of the job, as demonstrated by an equivalent combination of education, training and/or relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of the specified education and experience requirements.

Responsibilities

Responsible for releasing Purchase Orders and replenishing key, high value, risk, visibility items for GFS customers.
Assists with the coordination of the day-to-day activities of the Replenishment Planners to achieve PO accuracy, service level, days on hand, product loss and inventory management expectations.
Assists Supervisor with key meetings and can cover leadership responsibilities when the Supervisor is out of the office.
Responsibilities include KPI detail, reviewing team reports and monitoring inbound capacity and reserve storage capacity to ensure proper flow of inventory for Distribution Center Operations.
Responsible for supporting other team members, helping coach on tools, strategy and process for the replenishment role.
Expected to be a peer leader/mentor for the team and help lead team planning and projects.
Assists with onboarding new employees through training and mentorship.
Leads inventory management activities for product conversions, seasonal/one time buys, at-risk, long and obsolete inventory.
Extracts and analyzes data to provide recommendations for improving Forecasting and Replenishment processes and solutions.
Responsible for managing service level, days on hand and product loss for an assigned vendor portfolio.
Collaborates with suppliers to solve quality and/or service problems; expedites deliveries as necessary.
Maintains an awareness of current market conditions, causal factors (weather, seasonality, etc.), and product availability to properly maintain perishable inventory for our customers while avoiding product loss.
Develops and maintains seasonal plans utilizing fulfillment software functionality.
Identifies root causes for inventory issues/out of stocks and collaborates with appropriate owners for resolution.
Collaborates with Demand Planners to improve forecasts and identify root causes for inventory issues/out of stocks.
Collaborates with suppliers, Capstone and Receiving to ensure proper inventory flow into GFS distribution centers.
Utilizes fulfillment software functionality available to set up and maintain perishable items in order to maximize service level while minimizing spoilage and liquidation.
Implements and maintains business rules and processes for service levels, safety stock, buy multiples, capacity, inbound freight networks, etc.
Performs vendor analysis on a regular basis.
Identifies and executes changes to buying parameters in a highly efficient manner resulting in improved service levels, lower spoilage and liquidation and right sized inventory levels.
Responsible for primary and alternate sourcing solutions for resolving shortage situations, utilizing fulfillment software functionality.
Works closely with the Demand Planning teams, Merchandising teams and Chain Support teams to meet all customer product needs, including item transitions, introductions and discontinuation.
Aligns with and supports enterprise procurement philosophies while meeting divisional business objectives.
Responsible for continuous improvement of professional skills including, but not limited to, JDA, Business Analytics (Microstrategy), Microsoft Office, Google and supply chain concepts.
Performs other duties as assigned.