Demand Planner - Hospital Vaccines (On-Site) at Aspen Pharma Group

Objective:

The role is responsible for creating the 24 months rolling demand plan by conducting demand analytics and collaboration with Commercial stakeholders, generating the agreed demand plan for the respective business unit to a. provide a forward outlook of business unit trajectory and 2. ensure supply service for business revenue/profit generation.

The purpose of the role is to support commercial business growth, identifying risk and opportunities for the respective business unit through the demand planning process.

The role is also responsible for ensuring sufficient supply to service the demand plan and manage inventory levels, write off risks with Commercial and Supply team.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for creating 24 months rolling demand plan for the respective business unit to provide the business with a forward outlook on revenue/profit trajectory as well as ensuring supply plans generation to service the demand plan.

Demand Plan Generation & Maintenance

• Develop the 24 months rolling plan through analytical forecasting, collaboration with business unit heads, brand managers, and sales, generate and maintain a 24-month rolling forecast.
• Develop a clear set of assumptions that underpins the forward demand plan. Keep and track the assumptions in planning log to drive the forward development of the demand plan.
• Prepare and generate Forecasts to determine and provide latest opportunity and risks within the demand plan. Provide evidence and scenarios to support decisions and actions.
• Adopt or enhance latest demand templates including impact on financials to support demand plan discussions.
• Coordinate forecast meetings with Sales & Marketing to highlight risks/opportunities from forecast preparation and update the latest Commercial assumptions, action plans to derive at an agreed accurate demand plan with the Sales & Marketing team.
• Coordinate portfolio optimisation using the segmentation model to remove unproductive products. Account for the removals in the demand plan by establishing the write off costs and run down plans.
• Maintain the demand plan and track supply supportability for new product launches, accurately reflect latest agreed plan based on launch timelines
• Maintain the demand planning systems (SAP, JE) to reflect latest forecast, including the unconstrained plan, committed plan and consensus plan.
• Ensure master data integrity and code updates to generate an accurate demand plan as well as stock requirement plan to supply points.
• Translate JE demand plan into SAP accurately and timeously to ensure forward stock supply.
• Ensure correct demand plan download to the various supply points, including SA OPS, Aspen Global, Outsource and other 3rd parties.
• Support Demand planning leads with preparation of Demand review (newly introduced process), including development of methodology to simply the process and preparation.
• Highlight and articulate key changes to the demand plan and its impact on supply and inventory levels to the Commercial and Supply chain team through Pre-dem and demand reviews processes.
• Demand and Supply Plans for Vaccines
• Determine and draft the existing process flows for Vaccines allocations, including lead time, quantity and planning processes
• Prepare demand and supply reconciliation based on the time frame for allocations
• Actively engage GSK to determine allocation rules and mitigate supply or excess gaps based on reconciliation.
• Support Marketing and Sales and vaccines sales planning by providing a sound demand and supply plan.

Forecasting

• Determine and implement the best fit forecasting methodology that is relevant for the sales behaviour for the business unit, specifically for life saving medications or surgical medications
• Maintain forecasting model on JE, SAP and Excel to ensure accurate forecast input and output.
• Establish the baseline demand for each brand with the correct SKU mix based on historical sales history.
• Create consensus forecast for events deviating from the baseline.
• Determine the forecast variations from baseline with relevant market intelligence information discussed with the Marketing team including updates on pricing, promotion, market penetration activities.
• Prepare relevant forecast and performance data as well as research materials to drive discussions on forward forecast adjustments from the baseline
• Create building blocks for demand and provide insights to past promotional activities through analytics and share recommendations on forecast adjustments or promotion adjustments
• Coordinate cross-functional research activities with Sales and Marketing to reconcile significant variances and refine forecast model to reflect latest sales and assumptions

Forecasting Performance Tracking

• Monitor forecast trends & errors. Analyse forecast accuracy and bias performance through tracking sales actual and unpacking market insights and various demand drivers
• Present the forecast accuracy at the Forecast review meeting, agreed on root cause and corrective actions.
• Monitoring actual sales to drive continuous improvements in consensus forecasting with marketing and sales
• Budget and Financial forecasting process (Budget, FC1, FC2)
• Generate and approve a budget demand plan with Marketing and Finance.
• Attendance of Quarterly Financial Forecasting process with Brand and Finance
• Determine key changes, process violations to frozen period/lead time as well as highlight key differences in SKU mix, sales phasing and assumptions from current plan vs Budget plans.
• Agree with Marketing and Finance on the unconstrained plan and plan for financial commitments.
• Load the agreed plan accurately into JE to translate into supply requirements for the various supply points.
• Analyse supply plan variation based on budget requirement and engage with supply sites to address key changes.
• Engage supply sites on constraints and recovery timing. Keep record tracking and amend system forecast and item master parameters to effect the constraining of the plan
• Engage with Finance to agree allocation of available stock based on constraints and business unit prioritization, as well as final codes to be used.

Supply Planning & Inventory Management

• Understand and track supply constraints and communicate effectively on risks to the demand plan to the Marketing and Sales team. Short term risks on weekly basis and longer term constraints updated on monthly basis.
• Track stock supply point delivery vs actual, conduct required follow up to ensure revenue generation
• Active participation in relevant sales and operations execution meetings with suppliers and bring forward concerns regarding supply as well as latest short term changes in sales plan. Provide front end feedback to the supply sites on latest demand movements, coordinate discussions on the opportunities and risks regarding demand and supply.
• Assess stock prioritization, pull forward and deferral request based on sales performance and latest agreed demand plan.
• Ensure stock holding conforms with inventory policy and investigate deviations for corrective actions. Alternatively propose changes in safety stock holding and provide scenarios for decision making on proposed stock holding.
• Ensure and Maintain sufficient supply for life saving medications or surgical medications
• Identify and review items with excess inventory and propose action plan with Sales and Marketing team to reduce write off risks.
• Manage short dated stock and drive demand shaping with Marketing considering forward demand and supply risks as well as regulatory implication.
• Minimise write off costs on slow moving stock or idle stock by proposing change in stock policy or demand shaping actions to reduce write off.
• Providing commentary monthly on excess and shortfall stock as well as key drivers to inventory forward.
• Explore alternative supply options including section 21 and 36 products. Manage Section 21 supply process
• Active participation in biweekly PDCA cycle with Aspen Global and monthly Closed the loop meeting to link demand movement and latest supply capabilities.
• Provide input to supply points in developing inventory strategies on existing, new and phased-out products

Other Demand Planning Activities

• Manage the process for suspended and discontinued items through engagement with Marketing and Item Master Coordinator. Drive SKU segmentation in day to day planning activities
• Enter and modify data and ensure the correctness of product hierarchy and master data
• Manage product phase in and phase out for projects with changing packaging, regulatory variations, site change etc.
• Manage new product launches and ensuring all master data has been maintained to ensure upload of stock and demand.
• Generating new codes at distributors for new launches
• Ensure Aspen item master is updated in line with GSK/Supplier Product Information List (where applicable)
• Parameters are reviewed and revised when necessary with specific reference to Safety Stock, Replenishment Cycles and Lead times

Continuous Improvements

• Conduct ad hoc analytics required improve forecast accuracy performance
• Support demand planning lead with defining new process, building templates and system streamlining in order to adopt new systems and implement latest business requirement on integrated business planning
• Support Planning Leads with Onboarding of new planners with training templates and SOPs
• Supporting planning related projects, system upgrade/transitions. Including embedding SAP for SA Commercial, UPD and SA Operation with UAT testing and define new operational process flows.
• Support implementation of new Integrated Planning system (Kinaxis) and Power BI Dashboards
• Support IT to resolve any system integration and data interface issues that may impact planning activities

Skills And Attributes

• Skills and Attributes:
• Effective planning, organising and co-ordinating
• Highly numerate with excellent analytical skills
• Strong capabilities in logical reasoning
• Results driven
• Effective problem solving and decision making
• Commercial and strategic awareness
• Independent and self-directed individual that can drive execution
• Influencing capabilities
• Effective interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate effectively (written and verbal) and articulate risks with an understanding of overall impact/sensitivity to rest of the business
• Attention to detail
• Project management skills is a plus
• Ability to think strategically and innovatively around total rewards
• Data scientist experience is a plus
• Ability to apply demand planning principles in the existing system landscape and provide opportunities on enhancement

KNOWLEDGE

• Computer skills on MS Office
• A solid understanding of S&OP, demand and supply planning
• Deep working knowledge of ERP systems
• Deep technical knowledge of demand planning & statistical forecast
• Vast experience on demand management

Education & Experience

• Matric
• Relevant University qualification in Supply Chain Management, Logistics or Engineering
• 5+ years of experience in Demand Planning including replenishment forecasting
• Previous exposure on working with statistical forecast is a plus
• Exposure to supply chain and S&OP is a must
• Previous experience in data science is a plus
• CPF or CPIM an advantage
• Experience in the FMCG/Pharmaceutical industries is essential
• Strong knowledge of exports/imports is essential
• Good working knowledge with ERP systems (SAP) and forecasting Tools