Supply Planner

**About us**
We keep you mobile by sourcing a vast range of tyres from around the world, and supply our customers from our 11 UK distribution centres, using our own fleet of vehicles and drivers. Amongst UK automotive businesses, we are the ‘go-to’ people who strive for excellence in delivering a first class service with first class products. Our products come from a natural resource and we also offer customers recycling service after use.

Our passionate and dedicated teams of people are at the heart of everything we do. They are the key to our success.

**Role**
This supply planning position is responsible for ensuring that all required inventory levels for a particular group of products are maintained to meet our customers’ demands and are in line with the company forecasts and stock positions.

The supply planner is the single point of contact for sourcing products, the link into the sales and supply chain and all aspects of stock availability of a group of products within a network of 10 warehouses.

The supply planner should also improve supply reliability from both in-company and external suppliers in order to meet the high service level expectations of the customers and to effectively manage the supply process and relationships to ensure minimised operational costs.

This role will support the Planning Manager in improving stock-turns, service levels and operational cost effectiveness whilst minimising stock shortfalls.

This role seeks to drive continuous improvement in forecast accuracy, drive on-shelf availability and manage stock health.

This permanent role is based upon 40hrs/week between Monday and Friday, which after a successful training and induction period will operate on a hybrid basis, to likely include 3 days working from home and 2 days based in our central offices in Letchworth.

**What you will be doing**
- Act as a role model and ambassador for company values and leadership behaviours.
- Effective engagement with team to ensure that the company vision is adopted and they understand their role within the vision and actively encouraged to and motivated to deliver.
- Highlight any risks or opportunities as a result of the commercial plan
- Actively participate in the coordination of cross-functional activities to ensure that supply of products in each location are sufficient for the demand forecast
- Daily liaison with product suppliers to maximise product supply
- Identify and resolve supply exceptions by expediting purchase orders, re-allocating existing inventory and establishing safety stock parameters.
- Understand the inventory parameters and settings which drive the purchase order requirements and support modification of those parameters to improve stock effectiveness
- Understand the forecasting process and support the Planning Manager in improving forecast accuracy
- Communicating and resolving all revisions and supply constraints on open purchase orders to demand planning team so that alternative supply can be sourced or communicated to key customers
- Measure and report variances in the performance of suppliers
- Ensure that all daily expedited orders are effectively managed on the company system

**About you**
- An understanding of inventory management, replenishment and supply planning in a distribution environment.
- This should include experience of:

- item classification / safety stock setting and/or re-order point settings / process improvement and lead-time reduction / purchase order processing / supply exception management / expediting and de-expediting / supplier performance improvement / managing excess and obsolete stock / It is likely that you have worked in a high service level business to business environment, preferably automotive or similar.
- Comprehensive working knowledge / experience of advanced planning and transactional management systems
- Effective prioritisation/time management and negotiation/influencing skills
- Ability to work autonomously and within a small team
- Ability to work under pressure and highly adaptable to changing priorities
- Proficient communication skills; written & oral
- We seek applicants that champion and drive change, pioneer new ideas and approaches, think outside of the box and seek to share information in a proactive and constructive manner whilst retaining the ability to manage the smaller details
- High attention to detail and accuracy is essential
- The job requires someone who is focussed and has as serious and disciplined approach
- Ability to analyse system data and transform to be an effective communication
- Ability to develop mutually beneficial internal and external relationships with key contacts
- 3+ years related experience
- Excellent time management and prioritisation skills

**Benefits**
- Performance related bonus
- 31 days annual leave including bank holidays, increasing with service
- Exclusive discounts at major retailers, restaurants, holidays and much more
- Generous staff discounts for you an