Sales & Operations Planning Analyst

ABOUT THE GROUP

From a small store in Turin to a large, internationally recognized group: we are present in 90 countries around the world, with over 5,000 employees and 30 companies, managed directly and indirectly by the Luigi Lavazza Spa parent company, which distribute and market our products and coffee machines. In addition to Lavazza, the following brands are also part of our Group: Carte Noire, Merrild, Kicking Horse, Eraclea and Whittington tea.

 

Joining Lavazza means doing business with passion, knowing that the impact of our work goes beyond the quality of the production chain. We are a big family and are constantly looking for new talents who share our values and can enrich our team. We combine competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility as we create superior quality products available for consumption both at home and out of home, and distributed through all channels: Retail, Foodservice, Office Coffee Service (OCS), and Vending. Our strong, diversified presence enables us to offer consumers and clients perfectly suited solutions, for any occasion and time of day.

JOB OVERVIEW

At Lavazza North America, the Sales & Operations Planning Analyst plays a pivotal role in driving business success by creating accurate demand forecasts that support our commercial objectives and ensure seamless delivery to our customers. This role is integral to optimizing production efficiency, achieving sales channel goals, mitigating risks, and minimizing inventory obsolescence.

As the Demand Planner for the Away from Home (AFH) channels in the US and Canada, you will act as the central point of coordination for demand planning, aligning closely with our Commercial Strategy, Sales Leaders, Finance, Marketing and Operations teams. Your work will directly impact revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and the overall efficiency of our supply chain. You will manage both immediate tactical projects and long-term strategic planning to identify risks and opportunities that drive sustainable business growth.

 

Location: West Chester, PA

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JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist in developing short- and long-term plans which act as the basis for supporting companywide goals and objectives.
• Engage sales, marketing, and operations leaders resulting in a detailed sales forecast for the 12–24-month demand plan in support of an Integrated Business Planning (IBP/S&OP) process.
• Collaborate with key partners (both internal and external) in sales, marketing, and finance to obtain consistent forecast inputs and address gaps that may arise.
• Taking a pro-active approach to the potential risks in product availability and proposing mitigation strategies, partnering also with corporate stakeholder within Lavazza Group HQ.
• Ensure forecasts are updated in a timely manner.
• Monitor and improve forecast accuracy (Quality & Bias) by diagnosing issues, identifying the drivers of variance (exceptions) and by adjusting for abnormal demand.
• Review and manage statistical forecasting methods where this strategy is implemented.
• Continually improve the process and providing feedback to the business channel.
• Implement new processes and procedures that support the Step 2 process from beginning to end and ensure adherence.
• Lead the internal sales operations and analytics team providing service to the field sales team.
• Manage communications between internal and external demand functions.
• Demand projects and assignments as needed.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in business management, Trade Marketing, related field preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in demand planning, demand analytics, sales planning, or operations.
• Demand or Supply Chain functional experience and an appreciation for end-to-end business managing processes.
• Keen sense for analyzing data an