Demand Planner

Demand Planner
Sephora South-East Asia - 9 months contract

**Context**
- ** Sephora**, a division of LVMH - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton global luxury leader, is a global leader in beauty retailing. It successfully operates more than two thousand points of sale across Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Its aim is to animate the most loved beauty community in the world.
- ** Sephora** **SEA’s **retail activity spans over 6 countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India and Australia) with 50+ stores and boasts some global flagships such as Ion in Singapore and Pitt Street in Sydney. Its digital activities span over eight countries (retail countries excluding India, plus Philippines, New Zealand, Hong Kong). Sephora SEA has experienced rapid growth in the region with many more stores and countries to come.
- ** Sephora SEA **is looking to hire an experienced Demand Planner to strengthen its capabilities, implement new processes and establish the Demand Planning team as a top performing team at Sephora

**Missions and Responsibilities**

The Regional Demand Planner is responsible for leading all Demand planning activities (forecasting and ordering) of a specific portfolio of brands, maintaining the optimum balance between service levels (stock availability), cash (stock levels) and replenishment costs to our Distribution Centres.

Key Tasks:

- **
Forecasting and Ordering**:

- Builds Sales forecasts for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, integrating commercial targets (financial planning, store openings), launch plans, events, animations, seasonality, trends and products lifecycle
- Challenges forecasts on Newness provided by Category Team
- Converts sales forecasts into supply needs
- Reviews KPIs and adjusts forecasting models to ensure KPIs are hit.
- Closely works with local supply chain managers and merchandisers to ensure local knowledge is incorporated into the forecasting model.
- Actively reviews product Database to ensure accuracy of the product assortment.
- **Coordination with Merchant team (category managers), Marketing & Finance**:

- Actively participates to S&OP process to align all services on sales forecasts, financial plan, launch & animation plans
- Monitors and optimizes Open-to-buy process to meet our inventory targets
- Actively communicates situation on slow moving products / discontinued products to the category team to determine inventory reduction plans (markdown operations, returns to vendor ) and to ensure mínimal ageing stock.
- **Conducts regular reviews with key brands to share the OSA, supplier fill rate & stock situation, and brainstorm on improvement plans**:

- **Defines action plans to improve processes, methods and tools, and monitor their implementation.**

**Performance measurements**
- Forecast accuracy
- On-shelf availability
- Stock levels (Days on Hand)
- Depreciation
- Warehouse fill rate

**Qualifications**
- Bachelor degree in Business, Operations Management or Supply Chain.
- 3+ years of experience in Supply Chain Management, FMCG preferred
- Fluent in English, both written and verbal.

**Key competencies**
- Strong analytical & problem solving skills:

- Ability to analyse, draw conclusions, and recommend appropriate actions in response to data
- Business oriented, paying attention to details and result driven.
- Advanced Excel capabilities (VBA knowledge would be a plus)
- SAP system experience preferred
- Strong interpersonal & communication skills
- Able to work across functional areas and levels of the organization
- Strong verbal and written communication: ability to simplify, synthesize and convince
- Listens well to others (empathy), client-centric (commercial mindset)
- Attitude & mindset
- Rigorous and organized, meeting deadlines
- Ability to work in fast paced environment and under pressure
- Ownership and initiatives
- Open to new ideas, driving continuous improvement and challenging status quo

**Reporting lines**
- Reports to the Regional Demand Planning Manager

**Others**
- Position based in Singapore
- Minimal travel to SEA countries

**