Demand Planning & Analytics Director, CoE

Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

Demand Planning & Analytics Director, CoE  

The following position is open in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

What makes this a great opportunity?

As a world leader in premium spirits, Beam Suntory inspires human connections. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company's brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker's Mark Bourbon brands, Suntory Whisky Kakubin and Courvoisier Cognac, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek, Basil Hayden's and Legent Bourbon; Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki and Toki Japanese Whisky; Teacher's, Laphroaig and Bowmore Scotch Whisky; Canadian Club Whisky; Hornitos and Sauza Tequila; EFFEN, Haku and Pinnacle Vodka; and Sipsmith and Roku Gin. 

Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and vision of Growing for Good. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. Our culture is anchored deeply in a set of core values, including our East-Meets-West Culture, Yatte Minahare spirit, Giving Back to Society, Delighting Consumers, responsibly and Embracing Diversity & Inclusion.

Role Responsibilities

Beam Suntory has committed to a 5-stage Global Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Process to support the new Brand House Operating model.  The S&OP Process is an enterprise-wide integrated business planning process (IBP) for Beam Suntory to manage the delivery of its business goals and commitments over the 3-year strategic planning process.  The development of Beam Suntory’s S&OP Process globally will require the implementation of a business transformation program.  Beam Suntory’s S&OP Process needs to evolve globally from the supply-chain focus of demand-supply join-up to a cross-functionally-aligned IBP process that consistently engages the key functions of Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain and Finance.  The newly formed Global S&OP CoE/BPO function is essential to the development and implementation of the Global S&OP business transformation program.  The Director, Global S&OP CoE/BPO – Supply Planning & Analytics is a critical leadership role for this new function.

The Director, Global S&OP CoE/BPO – Supply Planning & Analytics is a senior-level position who has experience in leading multiple implementations of S&OP globally with specific expertise in Supply Planning and leading Global Supply Reviews.  This position will be accountable for all aspects of developing and managing the implementation of the Global S&OP Program to drive continuous improvement by leveraging best practices for the critical Supply Planning stage of the S&OP Process.  In addition, this position must be knowledgeable in the following:

• Drivers for OU master scheduling from long-term rough-cut capacity planning to short-term finite scheduling
• Operational aspects of OU Supply Planning, including the drivers of manufacturing execution management; understanding of Liquid planning & management is also preferred
• Integrated reconciliation specific to Risks & Opportunities determined in the Supply Review stage

The position must also have proven operational experience in leading monthly Global Supply Reviews.

The Director, Global S&OP CoE/BPO – Supply Planning & Analytics will collaborate with the S&OP Leadership as well as Supply Chain leaders in the regions and OU supply planning leaders to define and manage the implementation of the business transformation program specific to Supply Planning.  This position will have shared goals, business metrics and KPIs with the S&OP Leadership in all regions.  These goals, business metrics and KPIs will be defined in the agreed-to Global S&OP Process transformation roadmap.

Key responsibilities include the following:

• Global S&OP Transformation Roadmap:  Define the multi-year transformation roadmap in collaboration with S&OP Leadership in the regions, CIO and Sr. Mgr - Supply Chain Organization Design & Change Management specific to Supply Planning.  Gain Senior-Level Leadership alignment with the transformation roadmap as part of the broader Global S&OP roadmap.  Refresh the roadmap in conjunction with the 3-year strategic planning process.  The roadmap will encompass cross-functional projects that cover:
  • Process improvements based on insights from KPIs and external best practices
  • Systems functionality driven by the process design and knowledge of advancements in digital technology
  • Organization change management defining new ways of working and talent development & training based on the implementation of process and system improvements
• Program Management & Execution: Collaborating with S&OP leadership, Supply Chain leaders and OU leaders  in the regions to manage the implementation the Supply Planning-specific projects defined in the aforementioned roadmap.  Provide regular updates on these projects to the VP, Global S&OP and the Sr. Director, Global S&OP CoE/BPO to support the updates to the regional steering committees and to the ELT.
• Best Practices & External Benchmarking:  Developing and leveraging a professional network to identify best practices as an essential approach to continuously improve Beam Suntory’s portfolio review management and demand planning capabilities globally.  Assess Beam Suntory’s supply planning capabilities against external benchmarks as a critical input to drive continuous improvement.
• Global Supply Review:  Lead the monthly Global Supply Review with the support of the Regional Supply Chain Leaders, VP, CFO – Supply Chain, VP – Procurement & Liquid Planning and OU Supply Planning Leaders.  Gain alignment of the required decisions, action plans and risk & opportunities to support the Regional and Global S&OP Executive Reviews as well as identify Liquid Allocation issues for Brand House Strategic Portfolio Reviews
• Business Process Ownership:  Decision-maker on Beam Suntory’s S&OP Process specific to supply planning & analytics design and technology, including standard definition of KPIs and metrics.
• Continuous Improvement:  Leveraging business metrics and KPIs to define improvement opportunities.  Support the development of the business case required for project approval, which will include IT and resource investments.
• People Management:  Set goals for direct reports.  Support the talent assessment and development for the Global S&OP CoE/BPO team.  Foster strong engagement by proactively embracing our Beam Suntory leadership behaviors and our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion.

This position will report to the Sr. Director, Global S&OP COE/BPO.  Reporting to this position will be:

• Manager, NA Supply Planning & Analytics
• Manager, International Supply Planning & Analytics
• Manager, Japan & China & Emerging Asia Supply Planning & Analytics

These positions will work directly with the BU S&OP Leaders in each region on the management of the projects defined in the Global S&OP Process transformation roadmap as well as the assessment of continuous improvement opportunities.

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years of demonstrated operational performance in Supply Planning for manufacturing plants with significant volume and SKU complexity
• Demonstrated performance in leading business transformation projects specific to Supply Planning
• Experience with SAP ECC and SAP APO
• Strong knowledge in Digital Technology
• Strong knowledge in Supply Planning best practices and proven application of these practices
• Demonstrated performance in leading Supply Planning continuous improvement
• Outstanding capabilities in developing talent
• Demonstrated focus on team goals vs individual accomplishments – “we over me”
• Excellent interpersonal skills
  • Highly collaborative and development of business partnerships
  • Strong verbal and written communications
  • Highly effective conflict resolution
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Exceptional facilitation skills
• Demonstrated flexibility in easily moving between strategic thinking and tactical execution 
• Advanced skills in PowerPoint and Excel 
• Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management preferred

At Beam Suntory, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Beam Suntory is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant’s skills and experience.