Customer Collaborative Planner (Mat Cover)
St Alban's/St. Paul's, GB
Company Description
We are FBC UK, Fox's Burton's Companies! ……And we bake the UK's most incredible biscuits (we might be slightly biased, but we will leave that for you to judge).
FBC UK was a match made in heaven, with two of the top UK biscuits manufacturers (Burton's Biscuits and Fox's Biscuits) coming together to create one unique, integrated company.
We are home to famous iconic brands, including Maryland, Fox's, Jammie Dodger & Rocky, to name just a few. We are proud manufacturing partners to some of the biggest UK retailers and household names. We bake our incredible biscuits at eight bakeries across the UK, located at Isle of Arran, Livingston, Blackpool, Llantarnam, Edinburgh, Kirkham, Batley & Dorset and our HQ in St Albans. Together, we employ circa 4,000 amazing colleagues across all our locations.
Whilst we know that we have delicious products we also know that that the key ingredient to our success is our people, and the passion we have for our brands. You could be the jammy to our dodger, party ring to our Fox’s or the choc-chip to our Maryland?! We knead people with innovative ideas, an entrepreneurial spirit, and the commitment to drive FBC UK to success.
We are committed to building an inclusive workforce that feels empowered to build a fulfilling and successful career. By embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) we create a supportive environment for people to thrive and strive to have more positive impact.
We understand that having formal and on-the-job learning opportunities is key to our colleagues’ professional and personal growth. We are committed to providing an environment where everyone can learn from each other and grow through a variety of learning experiences.
Our colleagues make our business special. With strong community values, we believe FBC UK is a more prosperous and fun place to work when people feel free to be themselves. We believe in the power of being authentic, entrepreneurial, and supporting each other whilst meeting our business goals.
About the Role
The Customer Collaboration Planner is responsible for optimizing service and forecast performance for designated customers by working closely within customer head offices and building strong networks and partnerships with FBC UK. This role facilitates data sharing to benefit both parties and ensures seamless collaboration across supply chain and sales functions to achieve an uninterrupted flow of products to the end consumer.
You will lead customer service projects, working with internal stakeholders and third parties to deliver month-end projections, volume, and revenue targets, providing clear rationale for any variances. The role is critical in achieving customer KPIs related to service, on-shelf availability, and waste, while leveraging relationships to maximize performance. Additionally, you will optimize data and operational sources to ensure flawless execution of promotions, seasonal events, and product launches, driving maximum revenue.
This role will be covering maternity leave, around 12 months FTC.
Main Responsibilities
Alignment and Collaboration
- Manage volume phasing by working closely with Grocery Supply Analysts to align customer demand with phased forecast plans and maximize service levels.
- Ensure order fulfilment visibility, monitoring customer operational performance and communicating impacts in collaboration with CS&L Analysts.
- Lead customer planning for new products, seasonal and promotional activities, proactively managing constraints and improving forecast accuracy.
Weekly Forecast Management
- Conduct daily/weekly forecast analysis to track consumption versus forecast, identifying phasing changes or material shifts.
- Drive change management, proposing and aligning actions with sales and planning teams.
- Proactively manage short-term forecast changes (12-week window) within the S&OP process to maintain availability.
- Track customer availability across depots and stores using data tools, replenishing stock and identifying gaps to maximize sales and ensure full availability.
Collaborative Forecasting
- Formalize and lead weekly/monthly forecast reviews, assessing accuracy and bias, and updating short- and long-term forecasts.
- Work collaboratively with sales channels and customer supply chain teams to optimize forecast accuracy and align demand with intake plans.
- Plan promotional, NPD, range changes, and seasonal activities through structured meetings and reviews.
- Synchronize forecast and orders to ensure alignment with phasing plans.
- Manage seasonal commitments, tracking performance and minimizing residual stock.
- Monitor waste targets, run-in/run-out processes, and optimize residual materials alongside forecasts.
Customer Relationship & Supply Management
- Build strong relationships across customer organizations to enable effective supply, delivery, and execution.
- Develop and implement collaborative supply plans with priority customers to drive service and on-shelf performance, measured by the Customer Advantage Survey.
Who we are looking for
- A strong interest in analytics and problem-solving (more important than prior FMCG experience).
- Moderate to advanced Excel skills, including formulas, pivot tables, and graph creation.
- Keen interest in business, analytics, economics, and project work.
- Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships across teams.
- Technology literate, with adaptability to new systems and tools.
- Comfortable collating, visualizing, and presenting data to stakeholders in a clear and impactful way.
Diversity Statement
FBC UK is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at FBC UK. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.
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