Remote Distribution Manager Ice Cream

**Unilever is currently hiring for a Distribution Manager Ice Cream (Exports, BNLS & Independent)**

**Function**: Customer Operations

**Reports to**: Customer Experience Manager SA Exports/Imports

**Scope**: South Africa

**Location**: Sandton Head Office, Johannesburg, South Africa

**Terms & Conditions**: Full time, Local terms and conditions, Open to SA citizens only

**ABOUT UNILEVER**

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people - we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

**CATEGORY/FUNCTION INTRODUCTION**

Customer Operations drives superior experiences for our consumers by ensuring product availability on line and on shelf and superior customer experiences through being the no. 1 supplier. The department links the supply and demand sides of the organization through digital platforms and ensures accurate forecasts, optimized inventory, superior customer service, reduced logistics costs and efficient order to cash processes.

**JOB PURPOSE**

Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do - creating a better business and a better world.

The key purpose of this role is to ensure high level of customer satisfaction and ensuring that the customer voice is translated into deliverables according to SLAs and customer efficiency metrics - order to delivery lead times adherance, DROO, CCFOT, Truck load utilization, optimal customer inventory management as well as other key metrics related to driving efficiencies in both customer and UL network.

This role is internally and externally focused and designed to create a holistic customer view of CX capabilities across a trade that lacks structure. The incumbent will be expected to introduce insights and analytics as the data source for decision making and to translate the market development strategies into operational efficiencies that drive primary sales targets. CX leads are responsible for driving automation, joint business plans and simplification through streamlining processes and develop agile ways of working that support a leader mindset, while driving a cost, service, and cash agenda.

**WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE**
- Business partner the Customer Development, Marketing and Finance Teams for Future Markets, ZZMM, BNLS
- Overseeing a team (CX specialists) that ensures day to day is running effectively and efficiently with focus being driving primary sales and continuous improvement
- Understanding the needs of the retail customers through internal reviews and supporting the resulting strategies through proactively initiating actions for continuous improvement
- Manage the relationship with key senior stakeholders within the customer’s organization
- Create and drive SC JBP (Joint Business Planning) discussions with CD, CD Finance and CX Managers to facilitate joint supply chain optimization projects using delivery platforms to drive competitive advantage
- Drive cost-to-serve analysis discussion within customer and internally to support business decision making through cross-functional collaboration with critical business stakeholders internally and externally
- Improvement in long term customer service metrics (Dispatch Rate/Strike Rate, OSA, TAT, Utilization)
- Driving CPFR (Collaborative, Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment) capabilities with Key Distributors
- Providing insights to the customer in terms of operational performance derived from data analytics and proposing new policy/policy revision to the customer, which includes presenting these findings in several collaborative forums like weekly operational meetings and quarterly customer updates
- Running pilots and POC’s (proof of concept) with customers who are keen to pilot new initiatives like VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) systems to drive efficiencies
- Drive standardization of methodologies and trading terms across the trading blocks to achieve savings and bring down cost-to-serve
- Evaluating logistics efficiency and cost deriving from ordering behavior and initiating and executing improvement actions
- Manage Intercompany and 3rd party service provider invoices
- Support the audit control process for the relevant markets
- Root cause analysis on claims with intent to reduce no. of claims received from customer
- Drive the transiti