Vacancy title:
Planning Manager

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Beverages, Category: Transportation & Logistics]

Jobs at:
AB InBev Africa

Deadline of this Job:
Wednesday, September 3 2025

Duty Station:
Lusaka | Lusaka | Zambia

Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, August 26 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

The Key Purpose of this role is to generate feasible monthly sales, supply, and inventory plans that meet desired customer service levels while minimizing unnecessary costs—such as core working capital, distribution, and obsolescence. This role serves as a critical link across the entire supply chain, connecting demand planning, manufacturing, procurement, finance, and logistics to ensure alignment and operational efficiency.

Key Outputs and Responsibilities:

• Implement and maintain compliance with LCP processes related to MRP, SNP, S&OP, and Inventory Policy.
• SNP Monthly Business Cycle: Generate the monthly CONA (tactical horizon) production, distribution, and inventory plans using Llamasoft, Excel, or other planning tools.
• Develop and align on weekly production plans to support short-term supply needs.
• Lead and manage the monthly S&OP cycle, including the product review, demand review, supply review, and Executive S&OP meeting.
• SNP Yearly Business Cycle Budget/LE: Produce a fully optimized long-term supply plan with a 16-month horizon (4 months current year + 12 months of next year), using budgeted sales and supply parameters.
• Inventory Policy: Generate, update, align, implement, and track the finished goods inventory policy at agreed intervals.
• Master data: Drive regular routines to ensure SNP-related master data (plants, DCs, DPGs, products, resources, lanes, efficiencies, rates, costs, penalties, etc.) is accurate and up to date. Collaborate with relevant functions to maintain data quality.
• Plan and coordinate the movement of finished goods and empty containers between breweries, distribution centers (DCs), and distributors to ensure key KPIs are achieved.
• Ensure the timely deployment of empty containers to production sites to avoid packaging downtime
• Tracking and Monitoring: Identify and resolve risks, constraints, scenarios, and performance issues. Analyze trends, uncover opportunities, and manage relevant KPIs to ensure continuous improvement.
• LES, SWA & NAM Planning: Generate, optimize, and control production plans across the production grid to meet long-, medium-, and short-term capacity requirements.
• Oversee production scheduling to prevent stockouts, align with manufacturing capabilities, and reduce working capital requirements.
• Stakeholder Communication: Maintain daily and weekly communication with planning teams and broader business stakeholders to ensure alignment and responsiveness.
• Work closely with Supply, Zone, and BU Planning teams across Demand, Materials, Stock, Containers, and Footprint Planning to ensure cohesive execution.
• Lead a materials planning team responsible for both operational (13-week) and tactical (12–18 month) planning horizons.
• Ensure the 12–18-month tactical plan is published monthly in alignment with CONA requirements.
• Own and manage the 13-week operational MRP plan, aligning short-term plans with the Executive S&OP and ensuring brewery-level execution.
• Ensure an updated 13-week plan linked to WSNP is regularly published and shared to proactively mitigate short-term supply risks.
• Promotion & Portfolio Coordination: Collaborate with portfolio and marketing teams on promotions, potential write-offs, and packaging changes to maintain supply continuity and cost efficiency.
• Act as the single point of contact (SPOC) for Hypercare MRP, providing stability during transitions or escalations.
• Lead supplier SOE (Schedule of Events) routines to strengthen supplier partnerships and improve supply performance.
• Own MRP-related KPIs, lead root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions for underperforming (“red”) indicators.
• Ensure compliance with LCP MRP standards and actively contribute to the Management Pillar initiatives.
• Accountable for delivering inventory deployment KPIs in line with AB InBev standards.
• Plan and manage both long- and short-term container requirements to support production and sales plans, avoiding downtime and ensuring supply continuity.

Key Attributes and Competencies:

• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage complexity and ambiguity
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate with senior stakeholders across manufacturing, sales, procurement, and logistics
• Customer-focused mindset with a practical approach to meeting service levels
• Proactive, energetic, and committed to continuous improvement
• Strong communication skills across all levels, both internal and external
• High tolerance for stress and resilience in high-pressure environments
• Flexible, adaptable, and pragmatic in approach
• Demonstrates operational excellence and a bias toward process improvement
• Excellent self-management, organization, and time management skills
• Ability to interpret sales trends, and supply chain data and translate insights into actionable production and import strategies

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or Commerce
• 3–5 years of relevant work experience (preferred)
• Familiarity with planning tools and techniques across tactical planning, distribution, and supplier management
• Experience or knowledge of linear programming/optimization analytics (advantageous)
• Working knowledge of manufacturing and distribution chains
• Understanding of supply chain principles from demand planning through to logistics

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 36

Level of Education: bachelor degree

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