Job Title: Ice Cream Customer Execution Specialist IH

Location: Kingston

Work-Level: 1B

ABOUT ICE CREAM: Life Tastes Better With Ice Cream 

As ice cream makers we are serious about happiness. With warm hearts, we create the coolest products, and we supply them to our consumers. As the largest ice cream company in the world, we have over 100 years of experience in delivering smiles, and we plan to continue this for many more years to come. If you are in the current Unilever Ice Cream business or considering working for the newly separated Ice Cream business, you will work for the Global leading Ice Cream player in a growing category where we are part of the 1 trillion snacking and refreshment industry, growing consistently at high pace. We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of Ice Cream as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen by November 2025. Committed to innovation, quality, and sustainability we have 35 brands, including 3 one billion Euro brands (Magnum, Wall’s, Ben & Jerry’s), a strong presence in over 60 countries, generating annual revenue of over $8 billion, of which 2.8b comes from Europe region.  As part of the supply chain team, you will turn the ordinary into the extraordinary by supplying unique and high-quality product to our customers and consumers, coordinating the entire E2E supply chain network in an efficient and sustainable way.  

The UKI is one of the biggest ice-cream markets in Europe and the wider world, delivering nearly £500m turnover across Retail, Out-of-Home and D-COMM channels. This role is an exciting opportunity to join the UKI SCLT leadership team and lead the In-Home Customer Services team which is the largest share of business at 70% and now includes DCOMM and ICNOW channels.  

JOB PURPOSE 

The Customer Execution Specialist IH is primarily responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Unilever Ice Cream daily order cycle in the IH channel. They are the face of Unilever’s Supply Chain to customers and 3rd party logistic partners regarding any operational queries. They work closely with our third-party partners and are to are responsible for troubleshooting current order issues, whilst working to root cause and eradicate repeat issues through a process of continuous improvement.  The key focus of the role is driving to make Unilever the preferred supplier to our customers, whilst also running efficient and effective processes in a standardised way. 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

Key Metrics  

Fulfilment Rate – Dispatch Rate %, CCF / Customer Measure of Service 

Customer Service Inbox – volume of mails & turnaround time. 

Customer Service - AGS 

Logistic Efficiency – FTAs, FTDs, Returns, Refusals, Logistic Claims  

PEGA tickets – number and time to resolve 

Month end open items - deliveries, returns, orders 

Order Fulfilment cycle time 

Order accuracy 

Lead time adherence 

Customer Trade Terms Compliance to LET grid 

Operations & Systems 

Order to Deliver  

Point of escalation for support and issue resolution in a timely manner relating to all operational activities involved in the daily order cycle – including but not limited to PEGA ticket resolution and Order Fulfilment team queries. 

Manage rebooks and logistics issues with customer and 3PL partners, where customer insights and decisions are required.  

Respond to haulier and customer queries via e-mail and telephone to ensure smooth operations and delivery of exceptional customer service. 

Support 3rd party partners (such as warehouse, order fulfilment, etc) with execution of O2D processes in times of contingency. 

Ensure compliance to all applicable month end controls.  

Manage any exceptional issues – including but not limited to uplifts & lead-time exceptions. 

Provide bank holiday operational O2D cover as part of agreed rota within Customer Execution team. 

Implement supply chain initiatives with key contacts at the customer (e.g. setup of new delivery point, lead-time reduction, weekend ordering etc). 

Bill to Cash 

Prompt resolution of Logistic Claims to support delivery of cash. 

Understanding of the wider Order to Cash process and interactions between O2D and B2C, such as (but not limited to) where manual keying of orders could create additional complexity for commercial teams. 

Systems that a role holder would be expected to use or interpret includes but is not limited to – SAP, PEGA, High Radius, PowerBI, MS Office, Customer Portals. 

Projects, Innovation & Capabilities 

Monitor execution of exceptional events (NPD, Shippers, WIGIGs etc) to troubleshoot order issues and ensure OTIF delivery. 

May be expected to lead on the one or more of the following ad-hoc order processes for sample, charity, remnant and residual customers. 

In collaboration with subject matter expertise onboard new technical solutions into day-day-day operations, working within standardised ways of working to realise efficiency gains e.g. customer portal.  

This role may be asked to support and/or lead on specific projects or process improvements. 

Keeping up with the pace of technological change is an expectation in this role. 

Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving 

Many of the responsibilities below are to be done in partnership with the Customer Service Managers and their teams, despite this not being a direct reporting line. 

Investigation & RCA of logistic issues – including but not limited to FTAs, FTDs, Returns, Refusals and Logistic Claims with third party logistic teams and customers to identify route cause and reduce recurrence.  

Analysis of the trends around PEGA tickets, and the delivery of a programme to reduce the number of PEGA tickets over time. 

RCA of individual PEGA tickets and develop action plans with customer and CCS to reduce recurrence. 

Support identification of repeat service losses and share with CCS to help eradicate. 

Support CCS in reviewing compliance with logistics trade terms and identifying opportunities to improve with customers. This includes analysis of order patterns, load fill, volumes, full pallets, cancellation/amendment of orders post-creation of delivery note (ORCHID system), etc. 

Collaborates with third parties and internal stakeholders to influence the continuous improvement of reports, processes and ways of working pertinent to this role & its interfaces. 

Share trade terms reporting with relevant stakeholders.  

Analyse data and identify trends in delivery issues, creating action plans and where appropriate work with their customer(s) to reduce the number of incoming claims and improve invoice accuracy. 

Customer Communications & Relations 

Act as the operational supply chain face of Unilever to our customers. 

Respond to customer queries received via email or phone in a prompt and complete way. 

In conjunction with HUBs prepare and issue agreed format of shortage reports to customers, with commentary aligned with internal stakeholders.  

Understanding the execution needs of retail customers and develop relationships with key customer contacts. 

Build relationships to positively influence customer behaviour in line with Unilever’s operational & leadership expectations. 

Own a customer fact book / reference guide that holds all relevant customer insight to enable Unilever to meet/exceed their customers’ expectations. 

Expected to visit customer offices and sites to develop face-to-face relationships and improved understanding of their issues and opportunities. 

Line Management & Coaching 

Training & coaching for new CES starters will be an expectation of this role. 

This role may be expected to coach / educate CAMs on supply chain execution fundamentals.  

ALL ABOUT YOU 

Minimum Requirements 

Proficiency in English & Maths. 

Ability to manage time effectively and to plan workload. 

Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with ability to work with external partners (customer and 3rd parties.) 

Good adherence to standard processes. 

Good problem-solving skills and an ability to think logically. 

Good quantitative analytical skills. 

The ability to stay calm & focused in fast-paced situations. 

A customer-focused mindset, seeking to exceed their expectations where possible. 

Willing and able to travel to meet customers. 

Ideal Requirements 

Intermediate skillset in Microsoft Excel. 

Experience with SAP or other ERP software. 

Experience working with retail customers. 

Experience working in logistics, planning or commercial roles. 

An understanding of basic financial / commercial measures and how supply chain roles can influence them. 

A good grasp of supply chain fundamentals. 

KEY INTERACTIONS 

Customer – Commercial & Supply contacts 

CD - Customer Account Managers & Customer Business Managers 

Customer Experience - Customer Collaboration Specialists, Stock Availability Specialists 

Order Fulfilment Specialists, Order Validation team, Process Control & Customer Experience Analysts 

Subject Matter Experts 

Logistics 

What we offer

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. 

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (unilever.com).