Demand Planning SME - o9 IBP & SOE
Mondelez International · Mumbai
Job Description
Are You Ready to Make It Happen at Mondelēz International?
Join our Mission to Lead the Future of Snacking. Make It Possible.
You will develop the 0-24-month IBP forecast by brand and at the stock keeping unit (SKU) level. You will coordinate, challenge and influence building block with input from sales, marketing and other partners. In addition, you will review the disaggregated short-term demand plan, which includes SKU/location mix and weekly pacing. Finally, you will provide the finalized detailed demand plan by SKU to supply planners and adjust it based on feedback from supply planners or commercial teams.
How you will contribute
You will:
- Contribute to the demand management cycle of the integrated business planning (IBP) process for your categories and to strategy and structure discussions
- Liaise with the commercial and operational teams and develop ways to continuously improve communication between the functions to support the delivery of the business KPIs for their families
- Manage forecast compilation process, which includes owning the short-term weekly plan and the long-term forecast (three or more months)
- Interact with modelling team to generate statistical forecasting
- Participate in the integrated business planning process and manage the demand planning tool
- Perform root-cause analysis for continuous plan improvement for key service issues, forecast error and bias, and share output with appropriate leadership
What you will bring
A desire to drive your future and accelerate your career and the following experience and knowledge:
- Experience in a fast-moving consumer goods or consumer packaged goods environment, preferably in food or other fast moving, dynamic industry where shelf life is a constraint
- Experience within an IBP/S&OP environment
- Able to influence cross-functional teams, working on priorities and improving the plan
- Excellent problem-solving skills, analytical skills – and able to understand and interpret data
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Team player who can work with many other functions on a daily basis
More about this role
What you need to know about this position:
You will be an integral part of the implementation and go-live of the new planning solution (o9) within the AMEA region, with a primary focus on executing Integration Testing (I Test), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), data validation, and end-user training. You will work closely with the BU Champion and regional SME leads to ensure the solution is thoroughly tested, validated, and ready for business adoption. Meanwhile, as an early foundation of demand analysis role, this role would require business insights to deep dive into forecast error reasons and improve the AIML/Operation fcst KPI with BU team.
What extra ingredients you will bring:
- Solid understanding of Demand Planning processes (statistical forecasting, consensus planning, demand sensing)
- 4–8 years of relevant experience in Supply Chain Planning or a related operational role
- Familiarity with planning tools/systems; exposure to advanced planning solutions (o9, Kinaxis, OMP, SAP IBP) is a necessity.
- Strong attention to detail — ability to execute test scripts methodically and identify data discrepancies
- Comfortable working with testing tools (qTest, Jira) and documenting test results and defects
- Good communication skills — ability to train and support peers in a clear, structured manner
- Collaborative mindset with ability to work in cross-functional, multi-market teams under tight timelines
- Growth mindset, quick learner, and comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced transformation environment
- Proficiency in English; additional regional language skills are a plus
Education / Certifications:
Bachelor's Degree or postgraduate. With relevant Demand planning experience.
Job specific requirements:
The Demand Planning SME will serve as the BU's dedicated testing and adoption resource for the o9 Demand Planning module. Reporting into the region DP transformation lead, this role is responsible for executing test scripts, validating data integrity, supporting training delivery, and ensuring seamless transition from testing to go-live. The SME will act as the first line of support for end users, bridging the gap between the technical implementation team and the business, and championing user confidence and adoption of the new platform.
Testing & Validation
- Execute Integration Test (iTest) and UAT test scripts end-to-end for Demand Planning processes, ensuring 100% script coverage as per the test strategy
- Validate pre-load and post-load data accuracy during User Cutover Testing (UCUT), flagging discrepancies and coordinating resolution with the data and cutover teams
- Perform security role validation — test user access, roles, and permissions ahead of each testing phase
- Log, track, and follow up on defects in qTest/Jira, ensuring timely resolution within SLA and supporting retesting of failed test cases
- Execute E2E (End-to-End) scenario testing including cross-stream scenarios with Data Science, Supply Planning, and IBP
- Support pre-test preparation including batch job readiness, test script pre-requisites documentation, and environment checks
- Participate in daily testing war rooms, morning kick-offs, and end-of-day recaps to report progress, blockers, and pass rates
Training & Change Adoption
- Support the delivery of Pre-UAT and UAT training sessions for BU end users, including o9 system basics, Day-in-the-Life (DILO) walkthroughs, and advanced DP system training
- Conduct shadow testing sessions — walk end users through test scripts and o9 navigation to build familiarity and confidence
- Act as a go-to resource for end users during testing phases, providing real-time guidance on o9 processes and ways of working
- Support the BU Champion in driving change management activities, user communications, and adoption governance
- Contribute to training material review and localization for BU-specific contexts
Go-Live & Sustainment
- Support Parallel Run execution — assist end users in running DILO/MILO cycles using real business cases to validate outcomes
- Participate in BU Readiness Checkpoints and contribute to UAT sign-off documentation
- Provide hypercare support post go-live, acting as the first point of contact for end-user queries and issues
- Document lessons learned, process gaps, and improvement opportunities from testing phases to feed into sustainment planning
- Support the institutionalization of new ways of working and standard operating procedures in the o9 platform
Demand Analysis Support
- High data quality management before modelling run – co-work with market planner and stakeholder to set foundation of master data, transaction and driver data.
- Closely working with data scientists to maintain the highest degree of forecast at item and planning accounts level based on industry trends and demand patterns.
- Conduct forecast review and analysis to assess demand trends, measure forecast accuracy, recommend data-driven adjustments.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support product lifecycle milestones, ensuring accurate demand planning for new items.
- Propose and implement forecasting improvements to enhance demand accuracy and efficiency.
- Partner with market planners to review KPIs, gather market insights, and translating market insights into actionable forecast adjustments.
- Monitor and ensure KPI metrics consistently meet business goals.
- Provide weekly performance recaps, including ASE performance reviews, root cause analysis, and action plans aligned with business operations.
Business Unit Summary
Headquartered in Singapore, Mondelēz International’s Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region is comprised of six business units, has more than 21,000 employees and operates in more than 27 countries including Australia, China, Indonesia, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. Seventy-six nationalities work across a network of more than 35 manufacturing plants, three global research and development technical centers and in offices stretching from Auckland, New Zealand to Casablanca, Morocco. Mondelēz International in the AMEA region is the proud maker of global and local iconic brands such as Oreo and belVita biscuits, Kinh Do mooncakes, Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate, Halls candy, Stride gum, Tang powdered beverage and Philadelphia cheese. We are also proud to be named a Top Employer in many of our markets.
Mondelēz International is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.