Role Purpose

The Demand and Supply Planner is responsible for managing end-to-end demand and supply planning for locally sourced products, ensuring optimal in-store availability while maintaining balanced inventory levels and targeted days of cover. The role translates sales demand into accurate forecasts and effective replenishment plans, coordinating product flow from local suppliers to stores through direct delivery, cross-dock, or National DC channels. Through strong analytical capability, supplier collaboration, and operational execution, the role supports sales growth, service level performance, and working capital optimization.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain accurate demand forecasts for local products by analysing sales trends, seasonality, promotions, market insights, and store feedback, while continuously reviewing forecast accuracy and updating assumptions based on trading conditions and actual performance.

• Integrate new product launches, range changes, discontinuations, and exit ranges into demand plans, quantify first order requirements for new launches, share six-month forecasts with local suppliers, and ensure final sign-off before order placement.

• Manage replenishment orders and product flow from local suppliers through direct delivery, cross-dock, and distribution centre channels, including B2B stock lines supplied into the National DC, while maintaining accurate ordering parameters, lead times, and replenishment cycles.

• Monitor and optimise inventory performance by driving high in-store product availability, maintaining target days of cover, tracking KPIs such as fill rate and stock availability, and proactively resolving stock-outs, overstock risks, and supply disruptions.

• Ensure the correct supply circuits and product flows are applied and maintain replenishment rules, exception management processes, and parameter optimisation initiatives to improve operational efficiency and cost-to-serve.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with local suppliers, align demand forecasts with supplier capacity and lead times, evaluate supplier delivery performance, and facilitate regular performance review meetings to address key concerns and improve service levels.

• Collaborate closely with Offer, Logistics, Supply Chain, and Store Operations teams to align commercial and supply plans, address purchasing constraints such as PCB, MOV, and lead times, and challenge forecasting proposals using data, trends, and performance insights.

• Analyse planning and supply chain performance trends, implement corrective actions, support continuous improvement initiatives, and contribute to automation and process optimisation projects to enhance planning accuracy and operational effectiveness.

Qualification and Experience

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration or related field.

• At least 5 years of experience in supply chain planning, demand forecasting, or inventory management.

• Proven track record in local supplier management and coordinating product flows via direct delivery, cross-dock, or DC channels.

• Experience in forecast accuracy monitoring and adjusting plans based on trading conditions.

• Prior involvement in inventory KPI management (availability, fill rate, days cover).

• Exposure to commercial planning including product launches, range changes, and lifecycle updates.

• Participation in supply chain improvement projects such as automation, cost-to-serve, or parameter optimization.