Manager - S&OP

Key Responsibilities:

1. Sales & Demand Planning

• Lead the monthly Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process.
• Work with Sales and Commercial teams to develop accurate sales and demand forecasts.
• Review historical sales, current pipeline, seasonality, promotions, market trends, and customer requirements.
• Identify forecast risks and opportunities and recommend corrective actions.
• Track forecast accuracy and continuously improve forecasting processes.

2. Operations & Supply Planning

• Translate sales forecasts into operational, purchasing, and supply requirements.
• Coordinate with Procurement, Warehouse, Logistics, Installation/Operations, and Sales teams.
• Ensure operational capacity is aligned with expected customer demand.
• Identify potential supply shortages, capacity constraints, and delivery risks in advance.
• Develop contingency plans for supply or operational disruptions.

3. Inventory Management

• Establish appropriate stock levels based on demand, lead times, service requirements, and business targets.
• Monitor inventory availability, stock turns, ageing stock, excess inventory, and shortages.
• Reduce obsolete and slow-moving inventory.
• Balance product availability with working-capital requirements.

4. Cross-Functional S&OP Leadership

• Chair regular S&OP meetings with Sales, Operations, Procurement, Finance, and senior management.
• Establish a single agreed demand and operational plan across the business.
• Resolve differences between sales expectations, available stock, purchasing plans, and operational capacity.
• Clearly communicate priorities, risks, constraints, and required management decisions.

5. Performance Management & Reporting

*Develop and maintain S&OP dashboards and KPIs, including:

• Sales forecast vs. actual sales
• Forecast accuracy
• Inventory value and stock turns
• Stock availability
• Excess and obsolete inventory
• Supplier performance and lead times
• Customer order fulfilment
• Operational capacity and utilisation
• On-time delivery/service performance

Provide regular performance reports and recommendations to senior management.

6. Process Improvement

• Develop and standardise S&OP processes across the organisation.
• Improve data quality and reporting accuracy.
• Identify opportunities for automation and better use of ERP, CRM, forecasting, and reporting systems.
• Lead continuous-improvement initiatives across sales and operations.
• Establish clear ownership and accountability for actions arising from S&OP meetings.

Skills & Experience

• Experience in Sales & Operations Planning, demand planning, supply chain, operations, procurement, or a related management role.
• Strong understanding of forecasting, inventory management, purchasing, and operational planning.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Advanced Excel and/or business intelligence reporting skills.
• Experience working with ERP and CRM systems.
• Strong commercial and financial awareness.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to challenge assumptions and facilitate decisions across different departments.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.