Customer Logistics Analyst- Toronto, ON

Job description

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there's more to being in business than just making a profit. That's the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it's never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It's about how you can grab everything that's within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It's about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we'll all be a little better off. It's that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN'S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

Mars Canada is a subsidiary of the US family-owned business known as Mars, Incorporated, one of the leading global manufacturers of branded products. Established in the late 1940's, our three segments – Petcare, Mars Wrigley Confectionary and Food help Canadians celebrate life everyday through food experiences. We are an organization that is guided by our Five Principles: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. It is putting these principles into action that allows us to make a difference to people and the planet, through our performance.

Purpose of Role:

The principle role of the Customer Logistics Analyst is to ensure on-shelf in stock excellence of Mars products (through Collaboration, Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment - CPFR), thereby providing our consumers with the ultimate enjoyment of our products.

The Customer Logistics Analyst is the primary point of contact for Wal-Mart Replenishment Managers and is a secondary point of contact for Wal-Mart Buying personnel. The role is critical to developing a high quality relationship with this supply chain driven customer, and plays a vital internal role supporting sales growth and driving operational efficiencies while working collaboratively with Supply and Demand Planning. As an embedded vendor the individual is the face of Mars Canada.

The Customer Logistics Analyst is responsible for supporting critical decisions and providing recommendations impacting both the customer and Mars finished goods inventory. Working 1-2 days a week from the Wal-Mart office the individual must balance maximizing in-stock goals while minimizing inventory levels within both Mars Canada and our customer's supply chain network. Influencing the customer, our account team, and our internal supply teams is critical to the effectiveness of this role.

The Customer Logistics Analyst will be required to assess proposed promotional activities from your account team members. You will be utilizing Mars and WalMart system in order to build your case for product flow recommendations. Your strong analytical skills coupled with the ability to provide an influential business case will be essential for you to successfully gain support from the WalMart replenishment team for implementing your product supply recommendations.

The success of the Customer Logistics Analyst is measured by exceeding 98.5% on both in-stock and product fill rate goals while delivering target return on inventory investment, supporting sales growth, accurately predicting future demand forecasts, and effectively identifying and resolving any supply chain disconnects between our internal planning process and our customer's inventory requirements.

Achieving these goals will deliver customer satisfaction and maximize sales for both Mars Canada and our customer.

Principal Accountabilities

·  Accountable for building and maintaining a collaborative relationship with the Wal-Mart Replenishment team. You should be effective in influencing the Wal-Mart Replenishment team as necessary, gain support for replenishment policies that maximize product availability at store level, all the while minimizing inventory in the customer's supply chain network.

·  Responsible for meeting customer in-stock target (98.5%) at store level with no out-of-stocks at the distribution centers. This is accomplished by proactively analyzing inventory levels using Wal-Mart's proprietary Retail Link system, identification of any forecast behaviors or in-stock issues, followed by implementation of action steps to resolve them.

Forecasting

·  Use judgment to balance risk of “over forecasting”, the impact inventory levels will have on our business cash versus “under forecasting” and missing out on potential sales opportunities.
·  Create and be accountable for all forecasting inputs to National Office including:
·  Item Level Forecasting Template – “bottom's up” development with our account team's annual operating plan.
·  Provide input to Demand Planning - detailed communication to Demand Planning of all promotional and new item activity plans.
·  Period forecast revisions and review of 30/60/90 day forecast projections.
·  Item-level deployment requirements for all promotions and new item introductions.
·  Research and resolution to all checkpoint questions from national office
·  Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the checkpoint process on the account team

Role Expectations

·  Be the point-person for operational execution of all modular changes (new item introductions), working jointly with Wal-Mart replenishment team.
·  Create execution plans and coordinate internally with account teams, demand planning, operations planning, and category leadership to ensure a seamless transition to a new Walmart modular.
·  Communicate progress on key customer scorecard measures to all internal and customer stakeholders. Accountable for recommendations and action plans for improvement.
·  Collaborative Planning process – Provide input and recommendations for the planning process integrating customer specific data for sales trends, new items, modular changes and promotion performance trends.
·  Manage the supply chain inter-dependencies between Sales, Demand Planning, Customer Service, Inventory Management, Operations Planning and the Customer.
·  Responsible for all Retail Link replenishment activities including:
·  CPFR events to support promotional and seasonal activity.
·  Ensure numerous Retail Link item settings are properly maintained to ensure appropriate store level product replenishment.
·  Recommend CPFR policies to customer replenishment team.
·  Utilize Retail Link data to provide analytical support to Account Managers and Wal-Mart Canada Buyers and Replenishment Managers.
·  Effectively leverage Retail Link reporting capabilities
·  Retail Link - Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the account team, providing analytical support.
·  Communicate impact of any Retail Link replenishment policies to all key stakeholders including Demand Planning, Supply, Physical Logistics, Customer Care, and the Account Teams.
·  Develop and implement on-going improvements for collaborative planning, forecast and replenishment process.
·  Working knowledge of pipeline systems and procedures with an emphasis on physical distribution and logistics.

Knowledge and Skills

·  Strong interpersonal skills and leadership ability
·  Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams
·  Strong planning, project management skills.
·  Strong internal/external customer centric focus
·  Good communication skills, written/oral
·  Expert in Retail Link
·  Strong Microsoft Excel skills

Minimum Requirements:

·  Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, Mathematics, and Engineering or related.
·  3+ years' experience in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management and/or Sales having worked directly on Wal-Mart business.
·  Strong working knowledge in Microsoft Excel.
·  Willing to travel 1-2 days to Wal-Mart Headquarters.

Preferred Requirements :

·  1+ years' experience in Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment Analysis.
·  Preferred work experience in the CPG industry.
·  Strong working knowledge with Retail Link.
·  Working knowledge of SAP.

A criminal records check will be required for this position.

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

Mars Canada is committed to equity in employment and diversity. Mars Canada will provide an inclusive and barrier free recruitment process to applicants with accessibility needs in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require a disability-related accommodation during this process, please inform Mars Canada of your requirements. For more information please review Mars Canada's Accessibility Policy and address any questions about that policy to .

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