Promasidor was founded in 1979 by Robert Rose, who left the United Kingdom in 1957 for Zimbabwe to pursue his African dream. As Chairman of Allied Lyons Africa for over 20 years, he travelled extensively across Africa and gained a unique and thorough knowledge of the food industry throughout the continent. In particular he noticed a lack of availability of the one highly nutritious product that the developed world takes for granted – milk.
He realised that with technology in the manufacture of milk powders advancing rapidly, there was an exciting opportunity to provide milk powder in small portions that could be packaged in flexible sachets. It was found that removing the animal fat from the milk and replacing it with vegetable fat allowed for a longer shelf life. This meant that for the first time, milk powder could be distributed across the vast African continent, providing access to affordable milk to everyone in Africa.
A passionate belief in this vision fuelled the pioneering concept of selling filled milk powder in small sachets and Promasidor began selling the Cowbell brand in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) in 1979. Today Cowbell is sold in the majority of countries across the African continent.Job Purpose and Objective
Responsible for managing and optimizing the supply chain operations of Promasidor Nigeria. This role ensures efficient import/export, distribution, logistics, and sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes.
Key Responsibilities and Activities
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP): Oversee and drive the S&OP process with Sales, Finance, and Production teams. Set and monitor targets for forecast accuracy, operational performance, inventory levels, and cost control.
Logistics: Lead the logistics team in managing all activities related to clearing, transportation, and warehousing, from suppliers to distributors. Establish and track targets for cycle time, customer service levels, and logistics costs.
Procurement: Direct procurement for sourcing and purchasing production and marketing materials. Set targets for pricing, quality, inventory levels, customer service, and landed costs, ensuring strong supplier relationships. Analyze market trends and competitor performance to support naked margin forecasts.
Strategic Planning: Develop, propose, and execute a three-year strategic plan for supply chain operations to support overall business goals.
Human Resources: Manage and develop the supply chain team, ensuring skills and resources align with the demands of the S&OP and new project initiatives.
IT and Tools: Lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of supply chain IT tools, including S&OP, MRP, distribution planning, margin analysis, inventory control, and tracking systems. Requires proficiency in RDBMS, web applications, and cloud technologies.
Process Management: Regularly review and validate supply chain processes, ensuring alignment with company standards and objectives.
Project Management: Lead and mentor on supply chain projects, ensuring successful implementation and alignment with business strategy.
Reporting: Report directly to the CEO, ensuring robust reporting systems are in place to evaluate supply chain performance. Prepare consolidated reports for EXCO and the board.
Budgeting: Define and monitor the supply chain budget, ensuring efficient resource allocation and cost management.
Qualification and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree and postgraduate qualification in Operation Management or Supply Chain / Marketing if the first degree is not in a related field. MBA would be an advantage.
8-10 years’ work experience in the Supply Chain function, preferably FMCG, with at least 6 years at senior management level
Knowledge and Skills:
Supply Chain processes and techniques (MRP, S&OP, Distribution, Warehousing, Transport, Clearing, Import/Export, SRM)
IT tools (RDBM, Web development, Cloud technologies, VBA, Filemaker, MS Nav, MS Office pack)
Project management
New product development process
People management and capability- building
Third-party supplier management
Negotiation skills
Presentation skills
Personal Attributes:
Self-motivated & proactive
Able to assimilate a range of different
viewpoints in decision-making
Analytical
Able to provide objective rationales in planning & decision-making
Able to maintain good relationship with stakeholders while pushing for results