Manager - Business Planning & Coordination

Position Title

Manager - Business Planning & Coordination

Department

Sales Excellence / Commercial Operations

Location

Hyderabad

Reporting To

Chief Executive - SEEDS Business

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Role Purpose

The Manager - Business Planning & Coordination is responsible for driving the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process by aligning demand forecasts, sales plans, inventory management, and supply execution. The role acts as the central coordination point between Sales, Supply Chain, Production, Finance, Product Management, and Regional Teams to ensure optimum product availability, inventory control, and business performance.

The incumbent will lead forecasting, demand planning, liquidation management, data analytics, sales governance, business review mechanisms, and digital sales process adoption to achieve business growth while minimizing inventory risks and operational inefficiencies.

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Key Responsibilities

1. Sales Forecasting & Demand Planning

- Develop and drive robust forecasting models at crop, product, region, and territory levels.

- Integrate internal business drivers such as:

Product performance

- Channel inventory

- Distributor order trends

- Territory performance

- Incorporate external market variables such as:

Monsoon patterns

- Commodity prices

- Water availability

- Crop acreage estimates

- Government policies

- Competitor movements

- Work closely with Sales, Product Management, and Regional Teams to validate assumptions and improve forecast reliability.

- Conduct monthly forecast reviews and variance analysis.

- Recommend corrective actions to improve forecast accuracy and business responsiveness.

KPI

- Forecast Accuracy >90%

- Forecast Bias within agreed benchmark

- Forecast adherence by crop and geography

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2. Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

- Lead the end-to-end S&OP process across functions.

- Ensure demand plans are translated into executable production and supply plans.

- Coordinate with Production, SCM, Procurement, and Sales teams to balance demand and supply requirements.

- Monitor demand-supply gaps and drive timely corrective actions.

- Facilitate monthly S&OP meetings and track closure of action points.

- Ensure alignment of inventory, production schedules, and dispatch plans with sales requirements.

KPI

- Dispatch Plan vs Actual >95%

- S&OP adherence score

- Supply fulfillment rate

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3. Inventory Management & Liquidation

- Monitor inventory availability across warehouses, CFAs, distributors, and sales channels.

- Drive inventory liquidation strategies for aging and slow-moving products.

- Track seasonal liquidation progress on a weekly basis.

- Identify inventory risks and develop liquidation plans in coordination with Sales teams.

- Minimize year-end inventory carry-over and write-offs.

- Publish inventory health dashboards and actionable insights.

KPI

- Liquidation Achievement >90%

- Inventory Carry-over within approved limits

- Slow-moving inventory reduction

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4. Business Review & Governance

- Anchor Weekly Sales Reviews and Collection Review Meetings.

- Coordinate Monthly Business Reviews with senior leadership.

- Facilitate Rolling Sales Planning (RSP) meetings.

- Consolidate business updates, action trackers, sales performance reports, and management dashboards.

- Ensure closure of key action items arising from review meetings.

- Maintain governance standards under The Mahindra Way (TMW) framework.

KPI

- 100% Timely Review Readiness

- Zero-error Management Reports

- Action Closure Compliance >95%

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5. Data Analytics & Market Intelligence

- Analyze sales trends, channel performance, placement, liquidation, market demand, and profitability.

- Generate actionable business insights through advanced sales analytics.

- Develop and maintain reports, dashboards, and management information systems (MIS).

- Monitor competitor activities, market movements, and customer buying behavior.

- Provide recommendations for business improvement, inventory optimization, and sales acceleration.

KPI

- Accuracy and timeliness of business reports

- Adoption of analytics-driven decisions

- Reduction in reporting cycle time

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6. Digital Sales Processes & Sales Portal Management

- Drive organization-wide adoption of sales portal and digital order management systems.

- Monitor portal usage across regions and territories.

- Identify process gaps and improve ordering efficiency.

- Ensure data integrity and transaction accuracy within systems.

- Conduct user training and support continuous improvement initiatives.

KPI

- 90% Orders through Sales Portal

- Portal Adoption Rate

- Order Processing Accuracy

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7. Cross-functional Coordination

- Act as the central coordination link between:

Sales

- Supply Chain

- Production

- Product Management

- Finance

- Commercial Teams

- Ensure timely communication, issue resolution, and execution of business priorities.

- Support leadership with strategic planning inputs and business decision-making.

KPI

- Timely closure of cross-functional dependencies

- Supply fulfillment effectiveness

- Stakeholder satisfaction index

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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Category
KPI
Target
Frequency

Sales Planning
Forecast Accuracy
>90%
Monthly

Sales Planning
Forecast Bias
Within Benchmark
Monthly

Supply Chain
Dispatch Plan vs Actual
>95%
Fortnightly

Inventory
Liquidation Achievement
>90%
Weekly / Seasonal

Inventory
Inventory Carry-over
Within Budget
Seasonal

Governance
Review Readiness
100%
Monthly

Governance
Error-free Reporting
Zero Errors
Monthly

Digital Adoption
Orders via Sales Portal
>90%
Monthly

Data Analytics
Report Timeliness
100%
Monthly

Corporate Governance
TMW Audit Score
Green Rating
Annual

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Qualifications

Education

- MBA / PGDM in Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Agribusiness, or related discipline.

- Engineering background preferred.

Experience

- 6 - 10 years of experience in:

Business Planning

- Sales Planning

- Demand Planning

- S&OP

- Sales Operations

- Supply Chain Coordination

- Experience in Agri Inputs, Seeds, FMCG, Crop Protection, or related industries preferred.

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Critical Competencies

Functional Competencies

- Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

- Demand Forecasting

- Inventory Management

- Business Analytics

- MIS & Dashboarding

- Market Intelligence

- Sales Governance

- Supply Planning

Technical Skills

- Advanced Excel

- Power BI / Tableau

- SAP / ERP Systems

- Sales Planning Tools

- Data Analytics & Reporting Platforms

Behavioral Competencies

- Strategic Thinking

- Problem Solving

- Stakeholder Management

- Cross-functional Collaboration

- Attention to Detail

- Execution Excellence

- Decision Making under Ambiguity