Position Purpose

The individual in this position is responsible for creating and maintaining a forecast at the customer & brand level utilizing sales assumptions, historical analysis, market trends, and through collaboration & consensus across various teams. High responsibility lies on maximizing product availability, supporting Lindt & Sprungli’s growth initiatives, and reaching financial goals while minimizing destructions & discounts. Ability to provide details and clarity while supporting internal operations is required, striving to increase forecasting accuracy and service level is equally essential.  To be effective in this hybrid customer and brand facing role, the individual must be comfortable working cross functionally with sales, operations, production planning, marketing and customer service as well as presenting and communicating across various levels of the organization.

Essential Job Functions/Key Accountabilities

Customer forecasting

• Partner with the sales team to build item level forecasts, providing recommendations & supporting analysis based on turns, cannibalization, etc.
• Maintain awareness & create documented transparency of key customer dates, deadlines, promotional activity, store counts & other relevant information
• For new item introductions & planogram updates, recommend volume & Gross Sales (GTS) for pipeline assumptions, turns & phasing, align with sales manager to drive supply planning
• For Item distribution changes or discontinuations, proactively ensure customer timing & multi-level supply are aligned to reduce destruction risk, managing customer level forecast to reflect shifts in timing & volume. Incorporate customer level inventory liability into the analysis
• Own monthly forecast to actuals variance analysis by customer. Review & communicate root cause & lead charge on supply risk mitigation & necessary forecast adjustments
• Work cross functionally with internal departments to incorporate cuts, POS, market data, IRI & other factors for forecast & future projections

Brand forecasting

• Build and maintain brand level forecast with cross departmental input at across short and long term time horizons. Align plans to market trends to support the corporate strategies. 
• Align internal processes (purchasing, production) to support item introductions in respect to launch dates, purchasing lead times, production & offsite co-packing
• Communicate monthly forecast as the production signal to internal supply chain teams.
• Review historical sales trends, demand drivers & seasonality, updating assumptions for continuous improvement of forecasting processes
• Coordinate cross functional research to reconcile short, mid and long range variances. Refine forecast to reflect updated trend and marketing assumptions
• Drive analysis on item productivity, identify areas of low volume, adhere to obsolescence process and drive continuous re-evaluation of supply vs demand
• Rely on inter-departmental customer facing forecast data as key input into brand facing roll-up

Collaboration, Reporting & Review

• Support & solicit cross departmental forecasting collaboration, provide analysis, reasoning and suggestion as relevant during Customer calls, Category Meetings, Demand Consensus, and the S&OP process.
• Aid in the selection and management of forecast placeholder SKUs where needed to support long range volume forecasts when skus are not available
• Liaise with sales & marketing to stay ahead of new item introductions, key programs and strategic volume drivers, own the volume quantification & long range forecast
• Establish periodic reviews of forecast volumes and accuracy for consolidation/ input to production & purchasing teams.
• Generate ad-hoc reporting as pertinent to current objectives for long term success

Metrics, process and project management

• In conjunction with manager and director, develop and execute best practice processes in planning that consider all variables and item nuances. Align best practices across team ensuring process alignment and consistency.
• Provide monthly metrics reporting on net change from previous month’s forecast and the resulting operational, assumptions, impact & decisions.
• Support and drive item segmentation needs, ensuring systematic accuracy for precise reporting and analytics
• Provide summary KPI reports to drive forecasting accuracy, organizational awareness and continuous improvement

.    Success Criteria

• Action Oriented – Enjoys working hard; is action oriented and full of energy for things seen as challenging; not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning; seizes more opportunities than others.
• Perseverance – Pursues everything with energy, drive and a need to finish; seldom gives up before finishing, especially in the face of resistance or setbacks.
• Intellectual Horsepower – Is bright and intelligent; deals with concepts and complexity comfortably; described as intellectually sharp, capable and agile.
• Problem Solving – Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answers.
• Peer Relationships – Can quickly find common ground and solve problems for the good of all; can represent his / her own interests and yet be fair to other groups; can solve problems with peers with a minimum of noise; is seen as a team player and is cooperative; easily gains trust and support of peers; encourages collaboration; can be candid with peers.
• Decision Quality – Makes good decisions (without considering how much time it takes) based on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgement; most of his / her solutions and suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions.
• Interpersonal Savvy – Relates well to all kinds of people – up, down and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can defuse even high-tension situations comfortably.

Why Lindt?  

As a multi-channel, fast-growing consumer goods company, we recognize that in a competitive market, hiring the right talent makes all the difference. To create happy and loyal Lindt consumers, we need to hire and retain empowered and results-driven Lindt employees. Our teams are comprised of inspired and dedicated professionals who stretch the boundaries of a typical career experience by living our Core Values and making a difference in our business every day. To learn more about our culture and teams, visit www.Jobs.LindtUSA.com.

Our Core Values:

• Passion For The Best - At Lindt we have pride and passion for what we do – we aspire for excellence in everything.
• In It Together - At Lindt we are one team with a shared purpose – we invest in our relationships and value each other.
• Always Evolving - At Lindt we shape our future – we take opportunities to improve, adapt to change and build on our strengths.
• Make An Impact - At Lindt we take responsibility for driving results – we focus on what matters to deliver on our commitments.
• Act Responsibly - At Lindt we act with integrity, treat others with respect, value diversity and care for the environment to create a sustainable tomorrow.

It is impossible to list every requirement for, or responsibility of, any position.  Similarly we cannot identify all the skills a position may require since job responsibilities and the Company’s needs may change over time.  Therefore, the above job description is not comprehensive or exhaustive.  The Company reserves the right to adjust, add to or eliminate any aspect of the above description.  The Company also retains the right to require all employees to undertake additional or different job responsibilities when necessary to meet business needs.

Lindt and Sprüngli is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, national origin, gender, disability or veteran status.

Position Qualifications:

Skills & Knowledge

·         Strong Excel skills

·         Robust communication and demonstrated system skills required.

·         Cognos or BI skills

·         Demonstrated commitment to teamwork and internal client service orientation

·         Sound analytical skills and ability to mine & interpret data, resolve abnormalities and make decisions & drive for action

·       Ability to present information in order to facilitate consensus & motivate others

Experience

Required

·         2-4 years progressive experience in forecasting and demand/supply planning with a knowledge of seasonality, obsolescence and inventory management

·         Demonstrated knowledge of ERP and IT systems as related to demand planning, production planning and forecasting

·         Previous CPG experience with a multi product line a plus

Education

·         Bachelor’s degree required, Supply Chain or Operations a plus

·         APICS, IBF or similar Certification desired

Other Requirements

• Prior experience supporting an external field sales force
• Experience with SAP APO/IBP a plus
• Statistical forecasting knowledge a plus