Affiliate Supply Chain Planning, Manager

POSITION SUMMARY

• In order to enable the Estée Lauder Companies to achieve its integrated business objectives, the Manager, Affiliate Planning leads the Japan Affiliate’s integrated planning and Consensus process, aligning demand, supply, inventory and financial outlook and driving fact-based, cross-functional decisions
• Directly manages end-to-end planning for 2–3 assigned brands, in addition to leading and developing the Affiliate Planning team
• Represents Japan in communication and negotiation with Regional Demand Planning and Supply Planning teams, and is accountable for key planning KPIs (WFA, Fill Rate, Air Freight Cost, Excess)

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead Integrated Business Planning & Consensus Process (25%)

• Lead the Japan Affiliate Consensus Meeting and planning process, including agenda setting, issue prioritization, scenario evaluation, decision-making and follow-up
• Integrate demand, supply, inventory, financial outlook and commercial priorities into one aligned Affiliate plan
• Facilitate cross-functional discussions with Commercial, Finance, Marketing, Brand and Supply Chain stakeholders to drive fact-based decisions
• Clarify trade-offs among sales opportunity, product availability, inventory, cost and business risk, and confirm decisions, owners and timelines
• Ensure Consensus decisions are translated into executable demand, supply and inventory actions
• Escalate material issues and unresolved trade-offs to Affiliate or Regional leadership when required
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Manage Assigned Brands (20%)

• Directly manage end-to-end Affiliate planning activities for 2–3 assigned brands, in addition to Manager responsibilities
• Own the demand, supply, inventory and service outlook for assigned brands, and work with Brand, Commercial, Marketing and Finance to translate business priorities into executable plans
• Responsible for demand and supply planning activities with the relevant analysis and take the right action to secure the short-term (M-M+2) availability of saleable, sample & gifting goods, according to market strategy
• Anticipate business risks and react to unplanned events in order to maximize sales revenue
• Align NPL execution, product availability and launch plans (including determining adequate timing for releasing customer orders) at market/sales channel level with stakeholders
• Represent assigned brands in Affiliate and Regional planning discussions as required

Lead Affiliate Planning & Business Performance (15%)

• Oversee Affiliate-level demand, supply, inventory and service performance across brands, and identify cross-brand risks and opportunities
• Set priorities for the Affiliate Planning team and guide planners in responding to supply constraints, demand changes and inventory risks
• Lead scenario planning and recommend actions that balance sales, service, inventory, cost and waste
• Ensure planning activities remain aligned with decisions made through the Consensus process
• Promote early risk identification and escalation, and drive continuous improvement in planning accuracy, process discipline and execution quality

Regional Communication, Influence & Negotiation (15%)

• Act as a key Japan Affiliate Planning contact for Regional Demand Planning and Supply Planning teams
• Represent Japan’s business priorities, demand outlook, launch requirements, supply risks and inventory situation in Regional discussions
• Influence and negotiate with Regional teams on supply allocation, recovery plans, deployment priorities, product availability and planning assumptions based on Japan business impact
• Build fact-based cases using demand, sales, inventory, service and financial data, and challenge Regional plans constructively when material gaps exist
• Secure clear actions, owners and timelines with Regional stakeholders, and escalate critical issues where appropriate

People Management & Capability Development (15%)

• Lead, coach and develop the Affiliate Planning team
• Set clear objectives, priorities and performance expectations, and allocate brands and workload based on business priorities and team capability
• Conduct regular performance and development discussions, and provide ongoing coaching and feedback
• Develop team capabilities in demand and supply planning, inventory management, data analytics and stakeholder management
• Build succession and development plans, and promote cross-training and process standardization to ensure business continuity
• Create an environment of accountability, collaboration, inclusion and continuous learning; support hiring and onboarding when required

Planning KPI & Inventory Performance Management (10%)

• Own and monitor key Affiliate Planning KPIs: WFA, Fill Rate, Air Freight Cost and Excess Inventory
• Review KPI performance at Affiliate, brand and planner level to identify material gaps, trends and emerging risks
• Lead root-cause analysis for KPI gaps, establish corrective actions, owners and timelines, and ensure follow-through
• Manage the appropriate level of inventory and drive actions to reduce excess, expiry and destruction by involving stakeholders, aiming at 0 waste
• Manage the transportation mode rightly in terms of the goods’ procurement, minimizing avoidable air freight
• Work with Affiliate and Regional stakeholders to address structural issues affecting KPI performance

Decision Making

• Determines planning priorities, scenarios and trade-offs across sales opportunity, availability, service, inventory and cost, within assigned responsibility and agreed guidelines
• Determines when business or supply risks require escalation to Affiliate or Regional leadership, and prioritizes Planning team activities based on business impact

Problem Solving

• Resolves complex demand and supply imbalances involving multiple brands, functions and Regional stakeholders, and leads root-cause analysis and preventive actions for recurring KPI issues

Independence of Action and Accountability

• Operates with a high degree of independence within agreed business strategies and Supply Chain objectives
• Accountable for the quality of the Affiliate Planning and Consensus processes, follow-through on decisions, end-to-end planning for assigned brands, team performance and KPI performance

Budget Responsibility

• No direct operating budget ownership. Influences Air Freight Cost and Excess Inventory through planning decisions

Leadership

• Leads the Japan Affiliate Planning team (number of reports: 2), including goal setting, performance management, coaching, talent development and succession
• Leads the Consensus process and acts as a role model for fact-based decision-making and proactive risk management

JOB REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

• +7 years of experience in Integrated Business Planning, Consensus process and cross-functional planning processes
• Strong understanding of demand planning, supply planning and inventory management; strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills, including with Regional teams
• People management, coaching and team capability development skills
• SAP experience; planning system experience (o9 or equivalent) preferred
• Experiences End to End supply chain & Marketing operations to use the same language with stakeholders
• Native in Japanese and business-level in English