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 West Sussex
A scenic county in southern England and, according to the Met Office, the sunniest county in the UK, West Sussex shares borders with Surrey, East Sussex and Hampshire, as well as Brighton and Hove. It also has an expansive coastline on the English Channel.
The county town of West Sussex is Chichester, while other major settlements in the area include Crawley, Bognor Regis, Horsham, Burgess Hill, Littlehampton and Haywards Heath. Indeed, the region offers a variety of options for anyone seeking Customer Supply Manager positions.
Various large companies are based in West Sussex or have operations in the region. These include Rolls Royce, Roche Diagnostics, Network Technology, BOC Edwards, Novartis and RSA Insurance Group. The Body Shop was founded here in 1976, and is now part of the L'Oreal group.
The local economy also relies on tourism, with visitors coming to enjoy the sunshine and sea air, while the service sector and retail are important as well.
What's more, Gatwick Airport is located in West Sussex. Situated less than 30 miles from central London, it's the capital's second largest international airport and the country's second busiest in terms of passenger traffic. It serves a variety of airlines, including BA, Aer Lingus, EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic and Thomas Cook and processes a significant amount of cargo as well.
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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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