Demand Control & NPD Planner

Who We Are

Suntory Beverage & Food Europe is part of the Suntory Group, one of the leading and most innovative drink companies worldwide.

Our uniqueness lies in our culture, a distinctive blend of Japanese heritage and European roots, and our people, who are driven by our bold and playful Yatte Minahare spirit.

Shinjiro Torii shared his ambition, passion and entrepreneurship with other founders, who like Torii were true pioneers of their time. They all had a thirst for challenge, an obsession for people and a mindset of sustainable growth, and together, they contributed to making what Suntory Beverage & Food Europe is today.

About your role

In this role, you become the central connector between innovation, supply chain performance, and business impact. As our NPD & Demand Control Planner, you’ll guide new product developments and product changes from idea to launch, ensuring supply feasibility and smooth execution across multiple markets. You’ll act as the Supply Chain voice in technical and Stage & Gate forums, translating complexity into clear actions and enabling fast, informed decisions.

You’ll also lead our demand control cycle turning data into insights, spotting trends, and challenging assumptions to keep the business on track. This is a role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys balancing operational realities with tactical thinking, and knows how to bring diverse stakeholders together to make things happen.

What You'll Do

• Lead NPD and product change activities, ensuring supply feasibility, factory readiness, and smooth execution across reformulations, redesigns, and new launches.
• Represent Supply Chain in Stage & Gate and technical meetings, giving visibility to markets and aligning cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Own demand control: gather demand snapshots, analyze trends, highlight outliers, and lead monthly demand review cycles and forecasting with BUs.
• Maintain and evolve demand dashboards, support budget cycles, and ensure data accuracy and insight-driven decision-making.
• Drive continuous improvement by collaborating with IT and business teams to implement workflow tools and optimize processes.
• Balance operational firefighting with tactical planning, prioritizing based on business impact and navigating tight deadlines.
• Reduce obsolescence, support portfolio reviews, and contribute to major SC initiatives such as new line implementations or customer integrations.

What's in it for you

• An exciting role where you influence both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic decisions.
• The chance to work across multiple functions; Technical, BU teams, Finance, IT, Procurement, and external partners such as copackers and customers.
• A platform to shape how innovation flows through the supply chain, from concept to post-launch performance.
• A culture that values autonomy, ownership, and proactive problem-solving perfect for a self-starter who loves connecting the dots.
• Opportunities to grow your expertise in NPD, demand planning, and cross-functional project management.
• A team environment that encourages continuous improvement, experimentation, and learning.

What You need to be successful

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Experience in supply chain, demand planning, or NPD project management.
• Strong self-starter mindset—you take initiative, anticipate issues, and move things forward without waiting for direction.
• Solid supply chain acumen with the ability to connect the dots across functions, data, and processes.
• Ability to balance operational execution with tactical thinking, keeping both the details and the bigger picture in view.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills; you can align diverse teams with different levels of maturity.
• Strong prioritization and organizational capabilities, especially under tight deadlines.
• High proficiency in data management, including Excel analysis and working with SAP ECC/APO or similar systems.
• Comfort with ambiguity: you make decisions with incomplete information, stay agile, and adapt quickly.
• A collaborative, team-oriented approach combined with independent drive and strong business orientation.

Our DEI Commitment

At Suntory, we recognize that diverse knowledge, perspectives, and backgrounds contribute to our collective success. We are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where all individuals can bring their whole selves to work every day, regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other protected characteristic.

Our recruitment and selection processes are designed to highlight what Suntory offers as an employer while allowing candidates to share their unique skills and experiences. We understand that career trajectories vary, and if you believe your experience/background can benefit our team, we encourage you to apply. We endeavor to make our interview process as inclusive as possible and offer reasonable accommodations as needed. Together, we can cultivate a workplace where everyone can thrive and propel our mission of Growing for Good.