Demand Planner

Role purpose

• Drive effective Sales and Operation Planning (SOP) processes to meet the business plan.
• Propose and implement solutions to improve demand forecast accuracy.
• Exploit planning process and methodology concepts to meet future business requirements.

Accountabilities

• Effective management of demand planning processes to meet the agreed business plan.
• Collaborate with the Sales and Marketing teams to understand demand forecasting drivers. (e.g seasonal demand, anticipate customers reactions to the promotions and discounts, etc).
• Provide inputs to the Supply Planning team to develop inventory digestion plan for existing items, new product launches as well as product phase-outs.
• Construct presentations and communicate changes in sales forecasts and budgets during monthly SOP meetings.
• Conduct weekly reviews of sales data against forecasts and document mitigation activities to manage gaps with business plan.
• Review IBP master data periodically and perform timely update of changes, including efficient introduction/removal of products (SKUs) according to country go-to-market (GTM) strategies.
• Work as team member on various global/regional initiatives for planning process and system improvements and optimization.
• Address demand-related issues in a timely manner.

Critical knowledge:

• Familiar with SAP IBP application.
• Strong knowledge of sales and operation processes.
• Fluent in conversational and written English as well as Bahasa Malaysia.
• Computer literate especially in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

Critical skills:

• Persuasive leader with ability to take quick decision.
• Capability to analyse and translate numbers and data into reliable insights.
• Ability to follow and understand big-picture economic trends.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Critical experience:

• Ability to work across functions, cultures and geographies.
• Think outside the box – finds novel solutions and innovative strategies with high success potential.
• Effective stakeholder and expectation management.
• Sense of urgency with ability to prioritise work and quickly manage changes.
• University degree preferable.

Critical experience:

• Ability to work across functions, cultures and geographies.
• Think outside the box – finds novel solutions and innovative strategies with high success potential.
• Effective stakeholder and expectation management.
• Sense of urgency with ability to prioritise work and quickly manage changes.
• University degree preferable.

Competencies for Appointments

Customer Focused

• Customer first in work and interpersonal dealings.
• Respond quickly to meet their needs and resolve problems.

Innovative

• Seek alternative ways to view or define problems.
• View situations from multiple perspectives.

Decisive

• Recognis issues or opportunities and determine whether action is needed.

Communicative

• Ensure clarity for both verbal and written messages.
• Utilize agreed standards and processes.

Trusted

• Ensure that words and actions are consistent with all our stakeholders and keep our commitments.

Team oriented

• Demonstrate personal commitment to the team.
• Listen and fully involve others in team decisions and actions.

Results oriented

• Self disciplined.
• Measures progress and evaluates results.

Critical success factors and key challenges in the first 12 months

• Drive planning initiatives to provide excellent analysis, information & advice to optimize effective business-decision making.
• Excellent communication across functions especially with Marketing and Commercial teams.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to enable transparency and responsiveness and act as the key operational contact for country.
• Comfortable working in open plan office environment.
• Some short domestic and overseas travel.

Innovations

• Employee may, as part of his/her role and maybe through multifunctional teams, participate in the creation and design of innovative solutions. In this context, Employee may contribute to inventions, designs, other work product, including know-how, copyrights, software, innovations, solutions, and other intellectual assets.

At the Syngenta Group, our 49,000 people across more than 100 countries strive every day to transform agriculture through tailor-made solutions for the benefits of farmers, society and our planet - making us the world's most local agricultural technology and innovation partner.