Distribution Planning Manager

Role & responsibilities

The Distribution Planner is responsible for ensuring right product, right quantity, at the right RDC, at the right time. The role focuses on balancing regional demand, inventory norms, RDC capacity, and supply constraints to improve

availability, reduce order loss, optimize inventory health, and support phase-wise product launches through strong

cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities: -

1. Distribution & Inventory Planning

• Plan and manage end-to-end distribution planning for all RDCs to meet defined availability targets.
• Ensure phase-wise product availability aligned with business priorities.
• Define, review, and maintain inventory norms at RDC level to balance availability and working capital.
• Optimize RDC space utilization in terms of billing adherence.

2. Forecast Validation & Demand Alignment

• Validate regional demand forecasts in collaboration with Regional Managers / Regional Sales Managers.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and drive continuous improvement to achieve minimum MAPE across regions

and key SKUs.

• Incorporate market intelligence, sales inputs, historical trends, and demand signals into distribution plans.

3. SKU & Inventory Optimization

• Define and manage SKU classification (ABC / lifecycle-based) for effective stocking and replenishment

decisions.

• Collaborate with Category Heads and RSMs to optimize SKU mix and stock allocation at RDCs.
• Continuously track inventory health, identifying risks related to slow-moving, non-moving, or ageing

inventory.

4. SLOB Management & Order Loss Reduction

• Identify and proactively flag SLOB risks and potential inventory imbalances.
• Drive liquidation and correction plans in coordination with Regional Sales and Category heads.
• Monitor, analyse, and reduce order sales loss caused by stock unavailability, delayed replenishment.

Classification: Internal

5. Adhoc Demand & Supply Coordination

• Manage adhoc and unplanned demand by coordinating closely with the Central Supply Planning team.
• Balance regional priorities with plant capacity and supply constraints to maximize overall business

performance.

6. MIS & Performance Reporting

• Prepare and circulate periodic MIS dashboards for key stakeholders.
• Develop and present a Monthly Distribution Planning Review Deck, covering:
• Forecast accuracy (MAPE)
• Availability & fill rate
• Inventory turns & Days of Stock (DOS)
• SLOB status and ageing
• Order loss analysis
• RDC space utilization

KPIs: -

• RDC availability vs target
• Forecast accuracy (MAPE)
• Inventory turns & DOS adherence
• SLOB reduction
• Order sales loss reduction
• RDC space utilization

Preferred candidate profile

• Should be Graduate
• Should have relevant experiance of 9-13 years in SCM.
• Should have experiance in Demand Planning.
• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with Sales, Category, Central Planning, and Operations
• High analytical capability with strong Excel / SAP /Power BI/ planning tool proficiency