S&OP Lead and Demand Planner, India

Campari Group today is a major player in the global branded spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, marketed and distributed in over 190 markets around the world, with leading positions in Europe and the Americas.

Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Campari Group owns 25 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 26 countries, and employs approximately 4,700 people.

Shares of the parent company Davide Campari - Milano N.V. are listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. Campari Group is today the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry.

General description of the role

• The Demand Planner plays a pivotal role for developing and coordinating the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process across the market
• The role assumes full business process ownership to develop an operational demand forecast providing governance of process and system, ensuring overall compliance with the global and regional planning cycle and monthly activities
• The role is responsible for guaranteeing data integrity & aggregation to provide the volume forecast outlook for the regional Supply Chain team as well as the BU MD and Management Team as part of the S&OP decision making process
• The role is also the key business reference between the SC and the Business Unit, acting as the bridge between sales, marketing, operations, and finance to ensure products are available at the right time and cost.

Key Responsibilities and activities

1. Forecasting & Analysis

• Leading the Demand Planning processes.

• Develop accurate demand forecasts using historical sales data, market trends, and statistical models.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and adjust models based on real-time data.
• Identify demand patterns, seasonality, and market shifts to anticipate future needs.
• Collaborate with Supply Planning to balance supply and demand to avoid stockouts or excess inventory.
• Be responsible for BUs planning template (IBP/SAP) ensuring that the system is deployed, utilized fully and proper system settings are maintained. Keep responsibility for system maintenance and IT ticket management

2. S&OP and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Champion S&OP to drive the change management and continuous improvement across countries to achieve the S&OP vision, objectives, and desired benefits
• Be the Key reference point with regards to S&OP activities

• Work closely with sales, marketing, and operations to align forecasts with promotional activities and product launches.
• Provide insights to finance teams for budgeting and revenue planning.
• Act as a central point of communication across departments to ensure consistency in demand planning.

• Conduct ongoing training both process and system to Key Users in Sales, Marketing, FP&A & Local Supply teams to ensure full understanding of S&OP and the planning activities are performed in the correct manner

3. Reporting & Communication

• Prepare regular demand reports for management, highlighting risks and opportunities.
• Communicate forecast changes and inventory implications to stakeholders.
• Support decision-making with data-driven insights.

• Own the forecast accuracy KPIs to ensure definition and measurement is fully embedded in each country and support analysis & reporting.  Drive forecast accuracy, MAPE and BIAS targets with the local teams.

5. Continuous Improvement

• Implement forecasting tools and software to enhance accuracy.
• Benchmark performance against industry standards.
• Drive process improvements in demand planning and supply chain efficiency

Summary of Experience

• Minimum 5-10 years of proven Demand / Supply Chain Planning experience
• Strong knowledge of commercial forecasting methods, background in statistical forecast
• Experience of working with Demand Planning systems in a defined planning cycle required.
• Must have a strong understanding and experience of S&OP/IBP and demand management principles and processes coupled with end-to-end supply chain operational processes.
• Experience of introducing/working with supply chain solutions, software and systems is beneficial. SAP experience is highly desirable.
• Hands on experience of SAP IBP Demand Planning advantageous.   

Education / Professional Qualifications

• College / University degree with a major in Supply Chain management and/or Commercial Business Management
• APICs certification a plus
• Oliver Wight or similar Sales & Operations Planning / Integrated Business Management certified courses a plus
• Fluent in English

Personal skillset

• High communication skills and ability to engage with key stakeholders
• Ability to lead and influence
• Ability to educate business partners and to drive change
• Ability to anticipate risks or opportunities
• Out of the box thinking
• Ability to think in the future to deliver results through others
• Intercultural competence and team worker

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

At Campari Group we believe in building more value together, thus we see diversity in all forms as a source of enrichment. Our employment policies and practices ensure that we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities in all aspects of employment without regard to any individual’s race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or characteristics or expression, political affiliation or activity, age, veteran status, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Campari Group believes that fair compensation and equal opportunities are crucial for employees’ well-being, empowerment, and engagement.  Our efforts to ensure fair pay have earned us the Fair Pay Certification by Fair Pay Workplace, an independent organization dedicated to dismantling pay disparities based on gender, race and their intersection.

Note to applicants:

Your application will be assessed based on your abilities, expertise, general knowledge and experience, not because of any confidential, proprietary or trade secret information you may possess. You must not disclose to Campari Group any such information. In the event that you are asked a question that cannot be answered without disclosure of any confidential, proprietary or trade secret information (including from a current or prior employer or their vendors or customers), you must decline to answer the question.

Notice to third party agencies:

Please refrain from cold-calling or emailing our executive leadership team or the HR community directly. The Talent Acquisition department manages centralized recruiting operations globally, including the selection and management of external suppliers. Currently, our preferred supplier list is at full capacity. To ensure we have your information on file for future consideration, we kindly request that you complete the online form provided here.