Customer Collaboration Lead in Ipswich

About Us: LDH la doria is a leading supplier of ambient food products to major UK Supermarkets. Established for over 65 years, we are the best in the business working in close relationships with all of our customers and meeting the highest of service targets.

Job Summary: The Customer Collaboration Lead owns the added-value Customer collaboration agenda. The role leads structured customer engagement, collaborative forecasting, demand challenge, order fulfilment strategy, range-change governance, supply planning alignment, customer workstreams, continuous improvement and escalation ownership. It converts process data into commercial and operational insight, helping LDH move from reactive process management to proactive customer collaboration with clearer assumptions, earlier risk identification and stronger shared accountability.

Job Emphasis: This role is process, procedure, reporting and coordination focused. It supports customer collaboration but does not carry primary accountability for senior customer engagement, strategic forecast challenge, customer workstreams or continuous improvement leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the execution of customer collaboration and order fulfilment strategy, translating senior direction into clear actions and measurable outcomes.
• Develop and maintain effective relationships at the right level to support service, forecasting, range-change and improvement activity.
• Create a structured engagement plan covering routine contact, escalation routes, forecast collaboration, range-change reviews and improvement workstreams.
• Lead forecast collaboration and demand challenge for material activity, including range changes, distribution changes, promotions, sales uplifts and material demand variances.
• Align customer forecast demand with LDH Demand Planning, Supply Chain and Commercial teams to support supply planning and order fulfilment decisions.
• Monitor and analyse ordering patterns, variances, market dynamics, contract sell-through/run-out and on-shelf availability risks.
• Challenge incomplete or unreliable forecast information and obtain customer assumptions wherever possible, including expected weekly sales, store-type impact, pipe-fill assumptions and timing impacts.
• Own the range-change governance process and ensure material changes are reviewed early enough to support Supply Chain, production, stock holding and warehouse planning.
• Act as the primary escalation point for material customer service issues, ensuring timely resolution with internal and customer stakeholders.
• Use systems, customer activity, service reporting and demand signals to provide actionable insight to Supply Chain, Demand Planning and Commercial teams.
• Evaluate customer account data and collaborate with Customer to identify opportunities that support supply chain efficiency and maximise LDH sales opportunities.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement activity linked to service performance, availability, working capital, stock risk, waste, lead time, Ti-Hi optimisation, productivity and cost-to-serve.
• Provide direction, coaching, development support and prioritisation to the Specialist role.
• Represent LDH in customer meetings, joint workstreams, presentations and strategic initiatives where required.
• Maintain transparency and accountability across the customers strategic decisions, process improvements and escalations.

Knowledge/Qualifications:

• 5+ years experience in similar role
• Excel Data Analysis
• Strategic thinking skills
• Strong communication

Competitive Salary, Discretionary Annual Bonus, Pension Scheme, 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), Hybrid working arrangements, Free Parking, Life Assurance, Employee Assistance Programme, Fantastic Social Events.

Equal Opportunities: LDH is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination. If you would like to be part of a successful Company who values its employees, then please send in your C.V. for consideration.