Store Performance Planner - M&S Food

Job description

Job Description:

Summary

As a Central Forecasting Planner, you play a critical role in supporting our Main Chain Food Estate for all long-term demand planning and changes to total store demand. You will be aligned to a category, working with our category teams to drive performance in store at category and line level through detailed probing of trends to identify opportunity. You will also be aligned to Regions, ensuring store opportunity is maximised and driving commercial opportunity across areas you have identified.

You will be responsible for the following:

·  Forecasting for regional specific, local, religious and national events : Working alongside our stores and retail colleagues to identify opportunities and optimise performance across all events. You will adjust forecasts, track performance and report on the success across all events at store level.
·  Forecasting for Recapture and Deflection both internal and external: You will build up expert knowledge on our store transformation programme for closures and openings as well as our external competition openings and closures. You will support stores which will recapture sales from closures and those which will see deflection from new stores/competitor openings, identifying opportunity to support availability, to mitigate sales lost and drive commercial performance.
·  Disruption to Trade : Protecting the forecasts and mitigating waste through any disruption to trade (road closures etc)
·  Hypercare: Working alongside our Food Store Support Colleagues to analyse store contact trends to build a monthly list of Hypercare stores – those stores which trade adverse to their peer stores and require support to drive commerciality, those stores who have low waste and low availability trends, those stores which are in super-growth etc. These stores require 4 weeks of trend analysis, action taken and reported on. You will build recommendations for further support where required (space etc), and stores will remain on Hypercare if there is continued support required at total store/category level.
·  Renewal stores: Part of our Food Transformation programme is to modernise our store estate. Our Renewal stores require detailed forecast probing to analyse sales pre-launch, whilst going through renewal (if not closing) and post renewal. The key here is to drive commercial performance at total store level, ensuring we optimise opportunity, identify trends, probe future allocations and liaise with our retail colleagues to drive in store performance (processes and standards).
·  Category alignment: You will work alongside our category teams to drive performance at category, supergroup, product group and upc level. Your role here, is to identify opportunity probing data on 4 week/quarter trends to drive performance further. You will identify opportunity such as day of week trends, PM opportunity, high rate of sale performance, low waste opportunity stores etc. You will also work alongside your category colleagues to track performance on key lines and seasonal initiatives.
·  Regional Alignment: You will work closely with our SRD colleagues and Heads of Region to support growth on your Region/s by identifying opportunities to increase sales and reduce waste. You will build up specialist knowledge of your Regions to understand day of week trends, weekend opportunity stores, pm opportunity stores etc.

The role offers opportunity to work alongside our Supply Chain, Space and Range, Commercial and Retail colleagues to drive performance in our stores. You will be integral in driving cross-functional working to enhance current ways of working to support our stores.

Key skills

·  Strong analytical skills – able to interpret data and offer solutions to improve performance in store
·  Thorough and detailed attention to work
·  Competent in Excel
·  Strong verbal and written communication skills
·  Problem solving – ability to resolve complex issues, take risks and react with pace
·  Decision-making – ability to make decisions quickly based on varying levels of information
·  Stakeholder management within Head Office, Logistics and in Retail and making use of relationships
·  Team working and ability to prioritise quickly and effectively

MSFC19

MSFSC19