Global Food Manufacturer

 What recruitment challenge were you looking to address?

Demand Planning is a key role within our business as the forecast directly effects the stock levels that we purchase or plan to manufacture. The better the forecast, the better control we have on costs and cash flow.

This increased focus and drive for better accuracy has meant that the team has expanded from 2 to 4 demand planners in the last 12 month. Finding candidates who are willing to travel to our location is not easy due to the travel congestion and the competition of people wanting to work in London.

What was the impact of this challenge?

Running a team on less than full numbers makes doing the extra jobs that really make a difference very challenging as we manage a portfolio of 1600 SKUs.

What capabilities were you looking for in a recruitment partner, and why did you choose us?

The recruitment partner needs to understand the fast pace of our business and find potential candidates that have both demand planning experience and the ability to handle pressure to deliver results. Candidates need to be agile and able to adjust to an industry that is always changing and developing. Additionally, the recruiter needs to do the first candidate reviews to ensure they are capable of doing the job so I’m not wasting my time carrying out an interview.

Portfolio Procurement has a good understanding of Demand Planning and the skill set required to be successful in the role. You advertise the jobs on the internet and also head hunt potential candidate that have the necessary experience to fill my vacancy. Having worked with your team for the last 4 years I know and trust the quality of the CV’s that are shared.

How did we help resolve the problem?

Our location is not an easy place to get to so finding the right calibre candidates can be difficult.

Portfolio Procurement have demonstrated that they are able to sell the vacancy to potential job seekers.

What has been the impact on your business?

The additional heads have allowed our business to focus in on processes and issues that would otherwise have gone unchallenged. The end result has been a 15% improvement in forecast accuracy over the last 12 months.

The improvements have led the business to review the head count again within the team and we are now looking to increase it by another 1-2 heads over the next 6 months to continue our drive on accuracy and lower costs.

Would you use us for future recruitment needs?

Yes, Portfolio Procurement will always be the first recruitment agency that I call when I have a new vacancy.