Customer Supply Manager jobs
Maintaining a supply of stock is vital in retail and manufacturing. With retail, a lack of stock can result in empty shelves or inability to monopolise on promotions. In manufacturing, failure to supply vital components can bring a production line to a halt, with potentially disastrous results for supplier and manufacturer alike.
The customer supply manager’s job will be at the bare minimum to ensure that such events never happen. But it will also be about much more. It will be to ensure regular and timely delivery to meet the customer’s needs, communicate with the customer regularly to be updated on shifting needs which can either be predictable (e.g. seasonal demand or national festivals) or in reasonably short timeframes (e.g. something sparked by unseasonable weather or product recall replenishments). It will also to ensure that efficiency is built into the whole process.
Modern supply management can involve a good deal of automated ordering via direct-channel communication between sales departments, stock rooms and supplier. It is still essential to keep on top of the supply needs and manage forecasts and fine-tuning however, and since this might form only a part of the supply effort, there could be a good deal of juggling between this and the traditional means of identifying supply needs.
The skills required
With regular contact with customers an essential part of the job, the customer supply manager will need to possess first rate communication skills over any channel or face to face. Errors in ordering that are down to bad communication or overly complex instructions will not be tolerated in almost any supplier/customer relationship.
Since you might have a good deal of autonomy in the role, you’ll need to demonstrate an ability to make actionable decisions and see them through to fulfilment without constant reference to senior management. In high volume customer supply, such as in supermarkets, the supplied goods could be diverse and numerous, so you’ll need to be on top of all their stats from an early stage.
You’ll also need to be completely at ease using software solutions that are relevant to the type of supply you’ll be engaged with. A good all-round ability to pick up and master novel IT solutions will stand you in good stead, as many suppliers will have their own systems in operation.
Customer Supply Manager Jobs in Lisburn
Lisburn is a city whose centre is 7.5 miles (12 km) south west of the centre of Belfast. It is Northern Ireland’s newest city, gaining city status in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The city is historically noted for its links with the linen industry, and now has a museum dedicated to the craft. To Lisburn’s north west are the banks of Lough Neagh, which at 151 square miles (392 sq km) is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles by surface area (Lake Windermere, England’s largest, is only about 5.5 square miles in area!). The city is connected to Belfast by the M1 motorway. It is also on the railway line from Belfast to Dublin, and trains can be taken from the city centre to both capitals.
Although the population of Lisburn is roughly 70,000, it is part of The Dublin-Belfast Corridor, which is home to 3 million people. The population of the whole of Northern Ireland is just under 2 million. Close to three quarters of a million people live in the Belfast area, which means that about a third of the population is concentrated in this small area on the country’s east. The city’s population is growing steadily, and indeed the local government is attempting to boost Lisburn’s population with a set of schemes it is putting in place.
With its growing population and excellent links to Belfast and Dublin, Customer Supply Manager positions do come up in Lisburn or its neighbouring areas relatively frequently. Northern Ireland as a whole has seen more prosperity over the past decade or so, and it’s now considered a good place to invest, which can only be good news for the logistics, supply chain and procurement industries.
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Cast UK’s supply chain opportunities
Cast UK’s founder members and consultants all come from the logistics, procurement and supply chain sectors, so we know what employers and candidates are looking for in their staff and careers respectively. Cast UK is growing in this part of the UK recruitment industry, mainly because these are the only sectors we deal with, which means that many employers come to us first to create a candidate shortlist because they know we’re tightly focused on delivering the best people to them.
People approach us for many reasons, whether seeking more job fulfilment or simply relocating with the family, so it’s good to know that we always have the complete range of positions available nationwide.
Please see what’s available in your region and if you’ve seen something you’re interested in, do get in touch – whether it’s today or tomorrow, we might have the ideal position for you.
To find out more about how Cast UK can help you recruit a Customer Supply Manager for your business or find you a job as a Customer Supply Manager then contact one of our consultant team on 0333 121 3345.
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