Logistics Planner

CHEP; KwaZulu-Natal; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

CHEP is seeking a Logistics Planner in KwaZulu-Natal to own demand forecasting, oversee inventory control, and coordinate production planning across Service Centres. You will partner with Commercial Sales to validate forecasts and drive efficiency in transportation and distribution.

The role emphasizes data-driven insights, KPI reporting, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver 100% DIFOT at minimum cost, while aligning with CHEP’s Hybrid Work Model and sustainability goals.

Qualifications

• Diploma in Supply Chain or related field.
• 3–5 years in Demand and Supply Planning and Inventory Management.
• Proficient in Blue Yonder, SAP, Power BI and advanced Excel.

Responsibilities

• Own the Customer Forecasting process and validate forecasts with Sales.
• Develop and maintain KPIs and dashboards for logistics performance.
• Plan national production and inventory to meet demand.
• Balance service centre capacity and optimize flows to reduce costs.
• Coordinate with Operations, Sales and finance to ensure timely deliveries and budget adherence.

Skills

Demand planning

Inventory management

BI reporting

Analytical thinking

Education

Diploma in Supply Chain

Tools

SAP

Blue Yonder

PowerBI

Business Warehouse

JDA

Job description

CHEP helps move more goods to more people, in more places than any other organization on earth via our 347 million pallets, crates and containers. We employ approximately 13,000 people and operate in 60 countries. Through our pioneering and sustainable share-and-reuse business model, the world’s biggest brands trust us to help them transport their goods more efficiently, safely and with less environmental impact.What does that mean for you? You’ll join an international organization big enough to take you anywhere, and small enough to get you there sooner. You’ll help change how goods get to market and contribute to global sustainability. You’ll be empowered to bring your authentic self to work and be surrounded by diverse and driven professionals. And you can maximize your work-life balance and flexibility through our Hybrid Work Model .Job DescriptionKey Responsibilities May Include:Conduct comprehensive analyses of transportation patterns, inventory metrics, and logistics costs to uncover improvement opportunities that optimize efficiency and reduce operational costs.Develop, maintain, and refine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor logistics operations, offering proactive alerts and insights to stakeholders through detailed reporting.Initiate and drive continuous improvement projects to streamline logistics processes, focusing on achieving cost reduction, operational efficiency, and superior service delivery.Partner with regional teams and external stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of logistics strategies and initiatives that align with business goals.Design and generate real-time dashboards and reports that track the progress of logistics initiatives, providing insights for performance improvements and strategic decision-making.Regularly engage with senior leadership, presenting data-driven insights and recommendations for long-term supply chain enhancements and business growth strategies.Maintain compliance with internal controls, company policies, and legal requirements, contributing to logistics planning, budgeting, and financial performance monitoring.Position PurposeThe Logistics Planner role takes ownership for planning and fulfillment of customer demand, and for transport revenue and costs. This role acts as the liaison between Planning & Logistics, Operations and the Commercial Sales teams to ensure supply and demand needs are met; and will be responsible for developing the short to medium-term hire equipment demand and supply plan, ensuring sufficient hire equipment availability at the right time and right location to meet customer demand. Through stringent analytical processes, the Logistics Planner will control, drive and implement procedures to ensure that the Service Centre network is optimally balanced and CHEP hire equipment are adequately planned to positively impact overall Customer Experience (CX) through striving toward achieving 100% DIFOT and 100% CIFOT at the lowest cost to serve.Key AccountabilitiesEquipment Flows (Demand Planning):Own the Customer Forecasting process, working with the Commercial Sales teams to obtain and validate customer forecasts through monitoring and utilizing historical demand data as well as market intelligence to ensure a high level of short to medium-term issue and return forecast accuracy by customer and Service CentreDevelop and maintain an in-depth understanding of dynamics and influencing factors specific to CHEP products at a customer, Service Centre, geographical area and regional levels, including seasonal fluctuations and reasons / causes of fluctuations.Strive toward achieving 100% Demand Planning forecast accuracy in Blue Yonder through ensuring that customer master data in Blue Yonder is maintained and through suggesting changes to forecasting algorithms to improve customer level demand forecasts.Conduct detailed analysis of network flows to identify, setup and maintain Inventory Management and Order fulfillment & distribution in Blue Yonder, including identifying all rules and constraints affecting the supply of Hire Equipment at customer and Service Centre level, ensuring that relocation flows suggested by Blue Yonder are optimised for efficiency and cost.Conduct network balancing studies to identify and provide recommendations on changes to activities at Service Centres (inspection and conditioning) and to customer flow patterns to improve customer service and reduce cost to serve.Production Planning (Supply Planning):Calculate national production plans by Service Centre and material based on customer forecast, hire equipment flows as well as Service Centre conditioning capacities.Daily monitoring of Service Centre output vs. target and inventory cover to ensure sufficient hire equipment availability to meet demandDiscuss any shortfall on target production and stock cover with Operations leaders and make alternative plans to ensure availability of stock to meet customer demand.Liaise with Hire Equipment Planning team to ensure supply capacity is effectively planned and monitored to support new purchases and demand capacity in line with desired Field Stock Ratios.Inventory Control:Responsible for maintaining optimal inventory levels at the various Service Centres as well as communicating the inventory levels and stock transfer plans to internal customers.Ensure that the Service Centres remain within safe storage capacitiesDevelop and maintain an in-depth understanding of service centre capabilities and constraints relating to specific products:Availability of yard space to storeForklift availabilityLoad handling capability and time constraints (hours of operation and loading bays)Production capacityUnderstanding of the new product procurement plan including quantity on order and lead times to determine how these can be optimally deployed.Define stock transfer / collection & delivery plan requirements (i.e. product code and status, quantity, source, destination, timing) based on equipment flows, whilst taking into consideration service centre and transport constraintsOrder Planning and FulfillmentCorrectly place customer orders, ensuring that the orders are planned on the lowest cost lanesEnsure accurate change codes are applied when making changes to customer ordersMaximise truck utilisation, and work with Planners across other categories where required to build a full loadLiaise with Operations or Sales team to ensure that trucks are turned in the quickest possible time at Service Centres and Customer sites, minimising standing time chargesReduce the number of failed collections and deliveriesFinancial Control:Relentless focus on identifying and implementing initiatives to drive efficiencies in Logistics and reduce transport spend.Responsible for setting and communicating customer collection and delivery chargesReview actual relocation flows and network imbalances against relocation charges to identify and realign relocation charges where there is under and over recovery.Ensure that all transport spend is fully recovered from customersIntegrate planning to include budgetary requirements.Compile monthly commentary to Finance on Logistics Costs vs Budget/Forecast for hire equipment category being managedKey RequirementsDiploma qualification in Supply Chain or a related field3 - 5 years in Demand and Supply Planning, and Inventory Management·Experience setting up and maintaining JDA customer forecasting and rebalancing workbench modulesComputer Literacy – MS Office including advanced MS Excel and PowerBI, SAP, Business Warehouse, and Blue Yonder Supply Chain Planning, including Demand planning & forecasting; Inventory management; and Order fulfillment & distributionSkills and KnowledgeDemand and Supply PlanningInventory ManagementKnowledge of process improvement techniques.Ability to thrive in time-sensitive high-pressure environmentExcellent analytical skillsAdvanced MS Excel skillsMS PowerBIEffective written and communication skills.Knowledge of the principles of planning optimization and Inventory Management techniques.Ability to collaborate and work effectively in teams of individuals from various business units.Strong planning, prioritisation, and organising skills.Strong influencing skillsCustomer centric values.Remote TypeNot RemoteSkills to succeed in the roleAdaptability, Business Intelligence (BI) Reporting, Continuous Improvement, Customer Service, Data Analysis, Empathy, Experimentation, Logistics Execution, Operational Efficiency, Taking Ownership, Teamwork, Understand CustomersWe are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to developing a diverse workforce in which everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has the opportunity to contribute to business success while realizing his or her potential. This means harnessing the unique skills and experience that each individual brings and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.Individuals fraudulently misrepresenting themselves as Brambles or CHEP representatives have scheduled interviews and offered fraudulent employment opportunities with the intent to commit identity theft or solicit money. Brambles and CHEP never conduct interviews via online chat or request money as a term of employment. If you have a question as to the legitimacy of an interview or job offer, please contact us at [e-mail].