Senior Manager Customer Supply & Planning

Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia

Competitive package Vast / Food
Standplaats: Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia
Regio: Nordrhein-Westfalen
Eind Datum: 25-09-2026
Bedrijf: International food company
Salaris Indicatie: Competitive package
Dienstverband: Vast
Industrie: Food
Functie: Supply Chain Manager
1. Purpose of the role

 

Our client is an international food company with a strong position across several European markets. Following a period of rapid growth and organisational development, the company is looking to further strengthen its commercial supply chain organisation.

 

As Senior Manager Customer Supply & Planning, you will be responsible for the commercial side of the supply chain in Germany, the organisation's largest market, as well as several other Northern European markets.

 

The role sits at the intersection of Sales, Customer Service and Supply Chain. Your primary responsibility is to ensure that commercial ambitions are translated into realistic and executable supply plans, while maintaining high levels of customer service.

 

You will lead a team of approximately five professionals across S&OP, planning and customer supply. The team is relatively young and requires a manager who combines strong supply chain expertise with active people leadership.

 

The organisation has achieved strong service levels and the operation is stable. At the same time, the business is growing faster than anticipated. This creates new challenges around demand forecasting, capacity, inventory and supply risk. The next step is therefore to move from a strong operational focus towards a more proactive and forward-looking commercial supply chain organisation.

 

You will play an important role in shaping that next phase.

 

2. Key results

 

  • Take overall responsibility for commercial supply chain performance across Germany and several additional European markets.
  • Lead and further develop the S&OP process, ensuring strong alignment between Sales, demand planning and the wider supply chain organisation.
  • Improve forecast accuracy and forecast discipline, translating commercial expectations into realistic demand and supply requirements.
  • Develop a more holistic view of future demand, capacity, inventory and potential supply constraints.
  • Maintain a strong balance between customer service, availability, inventory and working capital.
  • Support Sales with supply chain insights that contribute to commercial decisions around customer strategies, volumes, promotions and pricing.
  • Ensure that commercial decisions take into account operational realities such as lead times, raw material availability and production capacity.
  • Act as a strong business partner to Sales and Customer Service while also representing the needs of customers towards the wider supply chain organisation.
  • Proactively identify future supply risks and develop scenarios and mitigation plans before issues impact customers.
  • Define and further develop relevant KPIs, including service level, forecast accuracy, inventory and logistics costs.
  • Improve visibility of supply chain costs and use these insights to support better commercial decision-making.
  • Work with logistics partners to identify opportunities to improve service, efficiency and ways of working.
  • Simplify and automate existing processes where possible and make better use of SAP, data and available reporting.
  • Create stronger ways of working between teams, improving communication, information sharing and accountability.
  • Lead, coach and develop a team of approximately five supply chain professionals, creating clear priorities and supporting their professional development.
  • Contribute to the integration of newly acquired activities and help establish consistent and scalable supply chain processes.
  • Take the space to look beyond day-to-day operational issues and help define what the future commercial supply chain organisation should look like.

 

3. Knowledge and skills

 

For this position, we are looking for an experienced supply chain professional who understands both the operational and commercial side of the business.

 

You bring:

  • Several years of relevant experience within Supply Chain, Demand Planning, S&OP, Customer Supply or Commercial Supply Chain.
  • Strong knowledge of S&OP / IBP, demand planning and the connection between sales forecasts, inventory, capacity and supply.
  • Experience within an international food, FMCG or manufacturing environment.
  • Experience within the dairy or meat industry would be particularly relevant.
  • Broad end-to-end supply chain knowledge, including planning, logistics, inventory and customer service.
  • Experience working closely with commercial teams and the ability to understand the impact of supply chain decisions on customers and commercial performance.
  • Experience leading and developing a team.
  • Strong understanding of supply chain KPIs and how to use them to improve performance.
  • Experience working with SAP or another comparable ERP environment.
  • Experience within a larger or more structured corporate organisation is considered an advantage.

 

More importantly, you are someone who is able to combine detailed supply chain knowledge with a broader view of the organisation.

 

  • You are proactive and self-driven and do not wait for issues to become urgent before taking action. You are comfortable taking ownership and creating your own agenda.
  • You communicate confidently and are able to challenge experienced commercial stakeholders when necessary. Rather than simply solving problems for Sales, you create transparency around consequences and help the organisation make better decisions.
  • At the same time, you are strongly customer and consumer focused. You understand that supply chain performance ultimately needs to support the customer and the commercial success of the business.
  • As a manager, you invest time in your people. You create structure, share knowledge, communicate regularly and make sure your team has the information and expertise required to perform.
  • Finally, you are able to step away from day-to-day firefighting, see the bigger picture and develop a clear view of how processes, people and the organisation can improve over time.

 

4. Selection procedure

 

AFF Recruitment & Executive Search is responsible for the recruitment and selection process for this position.

 

Due to the confidential nature of the search, the identity of the organisation will not be disclosed in the initial stage of the process. Candidates whose background matches the profile will receive further information during a personal introduction.

 

5. Interested?

 

Are you an experienced supply chain professional who enjoys working at the intersection of Sales, customers and operations and are you ready to help shape the next phase of an international supply chain organisation?

 

We would be pleased to hear from you.

 

Apply directly or contact AFF Recruitment & Executive Search for further information about this opportunity.


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