Inbound Planner

Asahi UK (AUK), part of Asahi Europe & International Ltd, aims to enrich consumer experiences through innovation, high-quality service and an exceptional portfolio of premium beer, ale and cider brands including, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asahi Super Dry, Meantime, Fuller’s London Pride and Cornish Orchards. Our aim is to be the leading super premium beer business in the UK, through a brand mix that creates a compelling proposition. At AUK we operate as an end to end business unit responsible for sales, marketing, customer operations, production, supply chain and wholesale operations in the UK & Ireland. For further information, visit www.asahibeer.co.uk

Asahi Europe & International is a subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, a global beverage and food company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan. Employing > 12,000 people, Asahi Europe & International is the custodian for leading super premium lager brands Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch, Asahi Super Dry, plus international Czech lager brands, Pilsner Urquell and Kozel. The business has world-class brewing and production facilities in 8 markets – UK, NL, ITL, PL, CZ, SK, HU, RO. In most of these markets, we are the leading brewer with full portfolio of famous brands. Commercial operations in other parts of Europe, USA, Canada, LatAm, Africa and Asia are served through our global distribution network. With state-of-the-art facilities, some of the best brewers in the world, quality ingredients, and a culture based on innovation and collaboration, Asahi offers the best quality of beer to beer lovers worldwide. More information can be found at www.asahiinternational.com

Inbound Planner

The Inbound Planner is responsible for the scheduling of inbound deliveries from EU breweries to our UK warehouses and direct customers, ensuring that targeted OTIF is achieved by driving improved stock availability whilst hitting budget targets.  

Key accountabilities 

The Inbound Planner is responsible for the following key outputs and accountabilities: 

Inbound Freight Management   

• Responsible for the coordination and planning of the inbound containers from UK port to 3PL warehouses with agreed hauliees 
• Prioritising inbound loads to maximise stock availability whilst also avoiding out of scope costs such as quay rent 
• Communicate daily delivery plans to hauliers and receiving warehouses 
• Responsible for providing visibility of inbound stock availability to demand, supply, and customer service teams and for attending daily calls on stock availability & order fulfilment 
• Resolve problem inbound movements ensuring timely release of containers, communicating late arrivals, and ensuring appropriate delivery slots available at the 3PL operation 
• Ensure that daily inbound volumes are in line with warehouse storage and throughput capacity 
• Provide visibility and forecasting of inbound volumes to 3PLs, ensuring sufficient operational capacity to cope with upcoming demand, particularly during business peak periods 
• Ensure compliance to all contractual standards and ensure that inbound KPIs are met including 3PL unloading and goods receipt time 

 
Customs Management 

• Responsible for ensuring that all inbound movements are appropriately customs cleared into the UK 
• Manage the day-to-day relationship with customs agents and ensure that they are provided with full and accurate consignment details to enable smooth clearance 
• Responsible for communicating the cleared status of containers at UK ports to the receiving 3PLs, including any loads on customs hold, and providing full details of customs entries to enable the raising of ARCs, providing missing load documentation where necessary 
• Responsible for resolving customs issues and implementing processes to avoid repeat occurrence 

 
Cost Management 

• Support with the monthly financial tracking of inbound costs 
• Take full accountability for quay rent costs, working to avoid and reduce quay rent through effective inbound planning 
• Responsible for logging and explaining quay rent costs incurred each month, providing detailed root cause analysis to the wider business 
• Responsible for identifying cost risks and for implementing mitigation plans 
• Maintain inbound damage trackers with 3PL warehouses and validate rework costs to repair damaged product 
• Use damage tracker data to identify quality issues with products and work with breweries to put in place permanent fixes and preventative measures  
• Re-charge breweries and hauliers for damages caused by poor handling of goods   

 Direct D2C Deliveries  

• Provide weekly status updates of planned and in-transit direct deliveries to the customer service team, ensuring timely communication of delivery delays 
• Closely monitoring ETAs for direct deliveries and working with carriers to hit OTIF  
• Ensure that OTIF KPIs are reported to both internal Supply Chain stakeholders and hauliers 
• Proactively find solutions for delivery issues 
• Use delivery confirmations to trigger billing in the ERP system 
• Join weekly calls with key customer account managers to provide logistics insight 

Reporting 

• Ensure all delivery delays and incidents are logged and reported 
• Ensure that ERP data accuracy is maintained to a high standard 
• Cost tracking and analysis for primary and direct freight costs vs budget 
• Ensure that 3PLs have goods receipted inbounds within the expected timeframe
• Liaise with carriers to improve Transwide fill rate and accuracy 

Miscellaneous  

• Provide cover and support for the wider Logistics team 
• Additional responsibilities as required by the Primary Logistics Controller 
• Attend customer and sales team meetings where required 
• Support with the delivery of strategic projects 

Experience required 

• Strong Supply Chain and logistics experience, particularly experience of monitoring and managing inbound volumes 
• 3PL management 
• Good communication and interpersonal skills 
• Customer or supplier relationship management exposure 
• Experience in a fast-paced, high volume, detailed and process driven organisation   
• System experience in an ERP environment (specific SAP experience desirable) 
• Intermediate Excel skills 
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail 
• European Languages would be an advantage esp Italian, Dutch, and Polish.  Fluent English is essential 

Key attributes of the successful person 

• Customer service focussed 
• Highly effective communicator  
• Highly organised & with great attention to detail 
• Able to work calmly and efficiently under pressure 
• Able to work at speed on own initiatives & be able to balance this with team collaboration 
• Ability to problem solve with a positive attitude 
• Diligent in completion of key tasks & projects 
• Demonstrates high standards of professionalism both in presentation & attitude 
• Resilient and focused 

We are committed to nurturing a workplace where we celebrate and respect difference, and support everyone to be true to who they are! At Asahi Europe and International we believe you can SHINE AS YOU ARE - no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs.  We want to support you to be courageous in your individuality and to know that whoever you are and whatever your circumstances, you can belong with us without having to conform.