Demand Planner
Reckitt
Operations
Johannesburg, South Africa
Posted on Jul 6, 2025
We are Reckitt
Home to the world's best loved and trusted hygiene, health, and nutrition brands. Our purpose defines why we exist: to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We are a global team united by this purpose. Join us in our fight to make access to the highest quality hygiene, wellness, and nourishment a right and not a privilege.
Supply
Our supply chain is the backbone of our business. It's how we get our trusted products to people all over the world, safely and efficiently. And it's our talented and passionate teams that make this happen. If you're looking for a career in supply chain, there's no better place to be than Reckitt. We offer a variety of exciting opportunities in all areas of the supply chain, from planning and procurement to manufacturing and logistics. You could join our Global Supply Planning team to develop and implement our global supply strategy, or work with our Procurement Centre of Excellence team to negotiate and manage our supplier relationships. Our Manufacturing Excellence team help us improve the efficiency, quality and safety of our manufacturing operations, and our Logistics Excellence team develop new and innovative ways to distribute our products to customers.
About the role
Dive into the dynamic world of supply chain management as a Demand Planner at Reckitt. This is your chance to apply your analytical skills and business accumen to make impactful decisions that drive our brand forward. Be at the core of ensuring our products not only meet but exceed customer expectations. Your role is essential to the smooth delivery of our leading consumer products, and you'll have the opportunity to tackle meaningful projects that improve our processes and efficiency.
You will be responsible for maintaining an accurate demand forecast supporting the Supply Organisation to deliver in Customer and Inventory management for the compant to deliver sales. While also maintaining SKU forecasts that will be used for planning production and the purchase of finished goods from thrird parties ect.
Your responsibilities
- An aptitude for building strong, productive relationships.
- Experience with planning systems and an affinity for technology.
- Strong numerical and problem-solving skills.
- An eagerness to learn and grow within supply chain planning and logistics management.
- Knowledge or interest in analytics and data-driven decision-making.
- A proactive attitude towards business process improvement.
- Generates new forecasts by reviewing historical trends, promotional calendar, and activities available from commercial team,
- Analysis SOH and Sell out and ensures that this intelligence is input into the IBP process
- Deeply analysis Promo activity to ensure building blocks are input correctly into the IBP process
- To lead meetings with commercial team within the IBP process to produce unbiased forecast, gap identification or closure with sound facts and communicate supply constraints or business risks.
- Continuously re-look the IBP process and present best practices to enhance the process
- To challenge forecasts, when necessary, based on trend analysis, MAPE & BIAS data, promotional and media phasing etc.
- Ensures IMEx’s agreed forecasts are communicated to source points via Kinaxis and Supply Planners for stock planning.
- Plans replenishment of product to maintain supply service levels; manage the local IBP process for defined brands and categories.
- Plans the Supply Finished Goods purchased from suppliers/intercompany source points to achieve the desired service level.
- Updates, produces, and publishes reports including the monthly forecast accuracy report, IBP Gap initial and final reports. Provide SKU volumes to Finance for Business Forecasts and Plan.
- Ensure good or bad news are communicated early using the IBP process to allow business alignment with relevant action points to be established to address the issues.
- Works with source points to ensure production levels are at optimum level.
- Ensure inventory controls and levels conform within budgets and forecasts.
- Ensuring business waste is kept minimal for product relaunches or promotions.
The experience we're looking for
- An aptitude for building strong, productive relationships.
- University degree related to the field of Supply Chain or Procurement.
- Knowledge in SAP ECC, Kinaxis, JD Edwards, MS Office (especially in MS Excel);
- Customer centric and with strong customer service mindset.
- Has experience in various supply chain functions such as Demand/Supply Planning, inventory management, logistics, IBP etc.
- Highly analytical and fact-based decision making.
- Able to work independently, think logically, challenge status quo, and consistently seek to improve current way of working to seek of productivity.
- Team working ability and ability to lead a team in a cross functional organization.
- High levels of motivation to get the job done. Act as a change catalyst
- Good understanding of the FMCG nature and business.
- Good command of English.
- Experience with planning systems and an affinity for technology.
- Strong numerical and problem-solving skills.
- An eagerness to learn and grow within supply chain planning and logistics management.
- Knowledge or interest in analytics and data-driven decision-making.
- A proactive attitude towards business process improvement.
The skills for success
Supply Chain Management, Business Partnership, Collaboration and partnership building, Relationship Management, Business accumen, Productivity management, Improve business processes, Advanced Analytics, Data Analytics, Supply Chain Planning, Logistics Management.
What we offer
With inclusion at the heart of everything we do, working alongside our four global Employee Resource Groups, we support our people at every step of their career journey, helping them to succeed in their own individual way. We invest in the wellbeing of our people through parental benefits, an Employee Assistance Program to promote mental health, and life insurance for all employees globally. We have a range of other benefits in line with the local market. Through our global share plans we offer the opportunity to save and share in Reckitt's potential future successes. For eligible roles, we also offer short-term incentives to recognise, appreciate and reward your work for delivering outstanding results. You will be rewarded in line with Reckitt's pay for performance philosophy.
Equality
We recognise that in real life, great people don't always 'tick all the boxes'. That's why we hire for potential as well as experience. Even if you don't meet every point on the job description, if this role and our company feels like a good fit for you, we still want to hear from you. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability or medical condition; colour, ethnicity, race, citizenship, and national origin; religion, faith; pregnancy, family status and caring responsibilities; sexual orientation; sex, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender identity; protected veteran status; size or any other basis protected by appropriate law.