Senior Supply Chain Ops Manager in Milton Keynes

What you become part of

Our Milton Keynes Operations Centre is responsible for the purchase, distribution and refurbishment of all our cold drink equipment throughout GB.

Every cooler; vending machine and dispensing equipment comes from here.

The Centre is also home to our Contact Centre which is a 364 days a year, 7 days a week operation to support with calls ranging from equipment service requests, new business enquiries and machine movements as well as internal support for our Field Engineering Team and New Business Team.

The Telefix team is also based here, offering over the phone support to our customers to help get their equipment functioning.

What to expect

The Senior Manager – Supply Chain Operations leads the end-to-end logistics, inventory and supply planning agenda for Equipment Services, ensuring the right equipment, parts and refurbishment capacity are available to deliver customer service, cost efficiency and business growth.

The role is accountable for forecasting, purchasing, inventory optimisation, equipment refurbishment operations, transportation, third-party warehousing, and robust contract and supplier governance across key partners, balancing service levels, working capital and capital investment.

As a member of the GB EQS Leadership Team, the role provides visible leadership across Equipment Services, driving operational performance improvement, employee engagement and a high-performing culture.

Working closely with Commercial, Finance, Procurement and Equipment Services teams, the Senior Manager improves forecast accuracy, supply plan adherence and logistics performance, while managing risk and ensuring the successful delivery of the annual cooler plan and wider EQS strategic objectives.

• Main responsibilities
• Lead supply planning, forecasting, purchasing and inventory management processes to ensure product and parts availability, accurate stock deployment and optimised working capital.
• Own the delivery of the annual cooler plan, translating commercial demand into realistic supply, refurbishment, logistics and deployment plans.
• Lead third-party warehousing, transportation and distribution operations, including contract management, operational performance and senior supplier governance with strategic partners.
• Drive S&OP / Integrated Business Planning inputs for GB Equipment Services, providing a clear strategic view of supply, demand, risk, capacity and business-critical priorities.
• Optimise inventory levels and improve inventory accuracy, balancing customer service, cost, working capital and asset utilisation.
• Identify, escape and mitigate supplier, logistics, refurbishment and supply risks, ensuring continuity of service and robust contingency planning.
• Lead the equipment refurbishment operations to ensure safe, efficientand high-quality refurbishment of equipment and parts through strong health & safety, team engagement and operational performance, including support for the broader facility agenda as required.
• Partner with Finance to manage, prioritise and control capital requirements, including governance of the annual capex budget linked to equipment supply and deployment.
• Lead performance improvement across logistics and planning, using data to improve forecast accuracy, supply plan adherence, service performance, cost efficiency and warehouse productivity.
• Ensure logistics, planning and warehouse operations comply with company policies, safety expectations, quality standards and relevant regulatory requirements.
• Develop a high-performing team and supplier network, building capability, accountability and a culture of continuous improvement across logistics, supply planning activities and refurbishment activities.

Skills & Essentials

• Strong senior leadership experience across logistics, supply planning, inventory, distribution or operations within a complex service, manufacturing, FMCG or distribution environment.
• Proven track record managing third-party warehouse, logistics or supplier operations, including contract governance, performance management and senior relationship management.
• Strong planning capability, with experience in forecasting, stock management, inventory optimisation, supply plan adherence and balancing supply, demand, cost and working capital.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to manage commercial expectations and influence cross-functional partners at senior levels.
• Commercial and financial acumen, including budget management, capex prioritisation, cost control and value-based decision making.
• Data-driven and structured approach to performance management, risk mitigation, continuous improvement and operational problem solving.
• Ability to lead teams through ambiguity, build capability and create standardised, sustainable ways of working across multiple partners and functions.
• Nice-to-haves
• Experience within Equipment Services, refurbishment operations, field service, asset deployment or technical service environments.
• Experience with S&OP / Integrated Business Planning, supplier risk management and network optimisation.
• Knowledge of ERP, planning, warehouse management or reporting systems, with strong Excel / Power BI capability.
• Relevant supply chain, logistics, operations, project management or continuous improvement qualification.
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