Assistant Supply Planning Manager

JOB TITLE: ASSISTANT SUPPLY PLANNING MANAGER
LOCATION: MALAYSIA

ABOUT UNILEVER

Be part of the world’s most successful, purpose-led business. Work with brands that are well-loved around the world, that improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We promote innovation, big and small, to make our business win and grow; and we believe in business as a force for good. Unleash your curiosity, challenge ideas, and disrupt processes: use your energy to make this happen. Our brilliant business leaders and colleagues provide mentorship and inspiration, so you can be at your best. Every day, many Malaysian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out of life-giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future.
Every individual here can bring their purpose to life through their work. Join us and you will be surrounded by inspiring leaders and supportive peers. Among them, you will channel your purpose, bring fresh ideas to the table, and simply be you. As you work to make a real impact on the business and the world, we will work to help you become a better you.

ABOUT THE ROLE

An Assistant Supply Planning Manager is responsible for translating demand into executable supply plans, ensuring stock availability and production reliability while balancing service, inventory, and cost. The role involves close coordination with manufacturing, suppliers, and cross-functional teams to manage short-term execution and long-term capacity risks. Weekly activities focus on plan execution, exception management, and performance tracking, while monthly responsibilities centre on capacity alignment, inventory optimisation, and continuous improvement. The planner also ensures system accuracy, supports change initiatives, and drives end-to-end supply chain resilience.
Frequent and effective interaction with demand planning, factories, suppliers, procurement and logistics teams is essential. In addition, you will prepare capacity-constrained supply plans using planning tools; organize and coordinate meetings with 3PMs to build a “partner to win” relationship and identify future customer service risks and work with the cross-functional teams to quantify and reduce the impact on customers.

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT YOU'LL DO

The Assistant Supply Planning Manager is expected to be a team player. The Supply Planner will understand big picture ideas and work to incorporate company-wide goals and values into our Supply Chain. The ideal candidate is comfortable balancing a number of responsibilities at once and can pivot between projects with ease. Customer service is the number one priority for your day-to-day operational role, ensuring maximum stock availability for retailers’ orders at the right Distribution Center.
In times when stock supply is constrained, you'll act as a key connector with the Marketing, Trade Marketing, alerting the local internal teams, such as Customer Service, about restricted supply situations and recovery plans. You are responsible for ensuring the SKU level demand signal created is produced and supplied on time in full by the Unilever supply network.
You'll manage your SKU's entire life cycle, setting up new products and managing the exit of SKUs from the Unilever range. You'll be expected to proactively identify and mitigate future risks to the business and drive this change agenda that will help us get ahead of a crisis.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Daily / Short-Term Operational Planning
- Translate latest customer demand signals into short-term supply plans (SAP / planning tools).
- Ensure stock availability to meet delivery schedules and service requirements.
- Review production output vs plan and track Output Reliability.
- Monitor exceptions (e.g., shortages, delays, supply risks) and take corrective actions.
- Ensure correct production quantities and plant allocation in system.

Weekly Planning Cycle & Alignment
- To run, validate weekly supply plan and convert plan into actual PO
- Coordinate with production teams on:

• Capacity constraints

• Weekly production schedules & deliveries

- Review production plan conformance vs actual execution
- Identify and resolve operational issue to avoid downstream impact
- Capability to manage multiple supply scenarios with data-driven decisions

Mid- to Long-Term Supply & Capacity Planning
- Align with Regional Category Planner on:

• Short-term and long-term capacity outlook

• Supply constraints and mitigation plans

- Validate feasibility of demand vs supply over longer horizon

Inventory & Network Optimisation
- Analyze stock levels by category / SKU
- Provide insights on:

• Excess vs shortage

• Healthier inventory positioning

- Provide systematic approach to meet inventory targets

Cross-Functional Coordination
- Work with:

• Demand Planning (changes in forecast)

• Manufacturing / factories (capacity and execute supply plan)

• Procurement / suppliers (material availability)

• Logistics (deployment constraints)

- Align and work with relevant cross functional team on new launches, promotions, and relaunches to ensure OTIF delivery
- Escalate risks and proactively communicate supply chain constraints/risk

Performance Monitoring & Issue Resolution

- Prepare weekly RCA (Root Cause Analysis) on order drops / service failures

- Track KPIs:

• Service level (weekly)

• Output Reliability - Plan conformance (weekly)

• Inventory Management (monthly)

• Business Waste Management (monthly)

- Actively resolve supply risks and prevent recurrence

System & Data Quality Management

- Maintain master data for planning accuracy in SAP & Kinaxis (master data, planning parameters)

- Ensure planning scenario reflect actual network constraints

- Support system-related activities (testing, improvements, changes)

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE/SKILL/KNOWLEDGE:

• Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations Planning or related fields.

• Operational Process Planning and experience with SAP and Kinaxis are a plus

• Bias for action, able to respond quickly from problem identification to actionable solutions

• Strong growth mindset and team spirit to work towards shared business outcomes/objectives

• Able to take accountability for end-to-end SKU performance and service delivery

• Demonstrate high resilience and agility, with the ability to adapt and perform effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure situations

TO APPLY

Please apply online and add your updated resume. Your application will be reviewed against our requirements, and we will be in touch to provide you with an update on the status of your application if shortlisted.  

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.