Regional Chocolate & Cocoa Supply Planning Manager

About the role: 

The Regional Chocolate & Cocoa Supply Planning Manager is responsible for managing all regional chocolate and cocoa supply planning activities in the chocolate and cocoa supply region across the different horizons.  This covers tactical supply planning and the interactions with Global chocolate & Cocoa supply planning, Operational planning and the interactions with the factories, work together with the Cocoa supply planning teams to secure cocoa ingredients, non-cocoa raw material planning and Inventory Strategy.

This position works together with the Regional Supply Chain team and Operations organization to evaluate different demand-supply balancing scenarios to be presented in the S&OP and S&OE process. The supply plan provided by the Regional Supply Planning team is used to confirm sales orders.

The main objective of the Chocolate and Cocoa Supply Planning manager is to provide the best possible supply plan to optimize service to customers, minimize inventory and optimize total delivered cost.

Key responsibilities: 

• Monthly Chocolate Tactical Plan and S&OP preparation. Oversee the creation of a supply plan that meets the sign off forecast while optimizing the use of shift regimes in the factories, total inventories and backup supply costs. Support the creation of scenarios for different risk and opportunities in the demand plan. Align with factories what shift regimes to use. Present the supply scenarios in the S&OP. 
• Operational Chocolate & Cocoa Planning and S&OE preparation. Manage the operational planning organization for liquid and solid and make sure optimal supply plans are built that can be used to confirm sales orders for solids, optimize the supply network for liquid and solids. Hand over the supply plan on a weekly basis to the factories for schedule implementation. Prepare scenarios to manage order escalations in the most effective way and present them in the S&OE
• Work together with the plant management leadership to hold the sites responsible for the plan execution. Provide support and training to the plant supply chain teams to implement the schedules when needed.
• Oversee the raw material and packaging planning for the region. Hand over and align with the cocoa planning teams on the cocoa requirements for chocolate on both the S&OE and S&OP horizons. Manage the team that plans the palletized raw materials, runs MRP and places PO’s with suppliers. Set the safety stocks and replenishment parameters for the raw and packaging materials.
• Define and manage the finished good inventory strategy for the region. Calculate and align with the Regional Supply Chain organization the finished good stock policies, safety stocks, replenishment and distribution parameters to maximize the service to our customers while optimizing total inventories. Define the inventory prebuilds needed to balance demand and supply in the long term. Follow up with the commercial teams on slow movers, with the factories on blocked stocks and rework.
• Oversee the Cocoa Planning process for the region and align with the Global cocoa central planning on tactical horizon the E2E flows for region requirements (intercompany & external suppliers). Align with the Global cocoa central supply planning team on the budget, MTP plan, new projects and investment requirements.
• Develop and manage the business continuity plans for the region in alignment with the Regional Supply Chain team. Own the production transfer process and work with R&D, QA, Operations, Engineering and Sales to setup alternative manufacturing options.
• Manage high profile new customer or new product introductions from a supply planning perspective. Support the implementation of an optimal manufacturing footprint. Align with the Global chocolate supply planning team on the MTP plan and investment requirements.
• Implement best practices and tools developed together with the Global chocolate & Cocoa supply planning and COE organization.
• Make sure the supply planning teams are properly staffed and trained, processes are documented.

About you:

• Bachelor or master degree in business administration, economics or similar.
• 10-15 years of experience in a senior Supply Chain and/or Operations managements function in a manufacturing environment.
• Preferably APICS CPIM certified.
• Strong communication & presentation skills.
• Ability to lead and manage change in a complex environment.
• Proficient in English.
• Strong understanding of the end to end supply chain process. From execution to S&OP.
• Strong understanding of the Forecast to Stock and specifically the integrated supply planning process:  Long term, Medium term and Scheduling Horizons, from raw material to finished good.
• Experience in supply chain (continuous) improvement process.
• Travel requirements: Up to 25 % of the time.