Melissa Yesson

As part of the Senior Supply Chain Team, and reporting directly to the Supply Chain Executive, the purpose of this role is to effectively manage and co-ordinate the financial and operational performance of the fresh, perishable and frozen supply chain planning function within the Pick n Pay Supply Chain.

• Defining and executing strategies aimed to supply Fresh, Perishable and Frozen foods to all stores nationally in accordance with the business’s sales, waste, and availability targets.
• Creating a cost-effective and high-performance supply chain to distribute over 7,000 SKUs from suppliers into the four fresh distribution centers, and to over 1000 stores nationally.
• Strategic decision making with the Senior Supply Chain Team, Commercial Heads, Store Operating Divisions, Suppliers, and 3rd and 4thparty logistic companies to achieve the set deliverables.
• Collaborating with the Continuous Improvement and Analytics team to formulate the departments strategies for continuous improvement, automation, efficiencies, and optimization across the Fresh Supply Chain, relating to systems, reports, processes, and people.
• Managing a team of 50 Supply Chain Planners, Data Analysts and Planning Managers by creating a fit-for-purpose structure to support set strategic goals, stabilize operational execution, and implement effective cross-functional ways-of working with internal and external stakeholders.

• Managed a team of 20 supply chain analysts and planning specialists to maintain high sales forecast accuracies and replenishing of stock according to the targeted stock model, whilst reducing distribution costs through the value chain from suppliers to stores.
• Formulated and executed strategic operating plans for the department with key focuses that aligned to the supply chain purpose and broader business strategy.
• Identified opportunities to improve the supply chains profitability with focused projects and mutually beneficial cost saving initiatives aimed at reducing Pick n Pay and their Suppliers distribution costs.
• Formulated strategies which drove improved ways of working through fit-for-purpose planning structures, supported by enhanced processes, planning tools, BI reports and system developments.

Top Achievements Included:

• Instrumental in the seamless transition to the new distribution centre (largest single-phase warehousing development in South Africa) by formulating and executing plans for managing the master data changeover, smoothing outbound volumes according to the daily DC go-live capacity and effective collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to execute the plan. Mitigated sales risk of over R100mill.
• Formulated and executed a peak volume smoothing strategy which ensured that for the first time in 5 years, all Pick n Pay stores would be serviced fully over the Peak period without volume restrictions or additional supply chain costs. Achieved incremental sales of over R30mill.

• Managed the Operations Improvements Team responsible for supporting the supply chain planning teams with effective analytical tools, system developments and process improvements.
• Executed project implementation plans to over 50 supply chain planning analysts with focused training and change management strategies.
• Managed the end-to-end planning process by identifying opportunities to increase accuracy and productivity and reduce costs.
• Scoped, developed and tested the viability of IT solutions to ensure a return on investment.

Top Achievements Included:

• Created Profit Levers Model which simulated various scenarios and proposed actions to maximise profitability across the Pick n Pay business. The model simulated factors such as reviewing transhipment costs, reducing waste through optimising planning parameters, optimising lug configurations and reviewing effectiveness of range in stores. Increased Pick n Pays profitability for fresh categories by 20%.
• Created Power BI reporting dashboards which consolidated data from several sources and presented user-friendly and personalised dashboards to track and share KPI performance, identify trends and highlight business risk. Reports increased planner productivity by 20% and significantly increased planning parameter accuracy.

• Managed and developed a team to effectively execute planning processes, which supported Pick n Pay's fresh strategy.
• Integrated with key business stakeholders to ensure the implementation of sustainable cross-functional processes through alignment and collaboration.
• Lead projects aimed at reducing waste and distribution costs, increasing sales and driving process and system efficiencies within the team.
• Developed and implemented fit-for-purpose tools, models and reports which drove standardization across the planning teams and improved KPI performance.

Top Achievements Included:

• Created Fresh Sales Forecasting Tool which standardised and improved the sales forecast review and manipulation process. The tool provided a suggested sales forecast by analysing sales trends and making allowances for missed opportunities. Provided the user with the ability to easily manipulate the forecast at various levels to adjust for demand influencing factors. Benefits included improved visibility of the sales forecast, improved forecast accuracy by 20% and improved planner productivity by 15%.

• Consulted for various clients by conducting strategic logistic optimisation exercises, managing projects and facilitating client workshops to drive improvements across the supply chain.
• Facilitated SBV Cash in Transit in optimising their route planning and implementing driver scheduling software to mitigate business risks, improve driver utilisation, and reduce labour costs.
• Enhanced tools used to analyse route efficiencies by comparing distance traveled, time spent and vehicle utilisation.

• Consulted on a variety of engineering and management/business consulting projects in the public sector.
• Completed organisational designs and skills audits to ensure the company is structured for future purpose and developed training solutions for up-skilling the workforce.
• Mapped various processes for clients and provided recommendations to implement more streamlined processes supported by system solutions.