NCR CORPORATION
CORPORATE FORECASTING AND PLANNING

Responsibilities:

• Managed an organization of six MBA-degreed professionals.
• Department determined basic production requirements such that international marketing demands were met at the lowest level of inventory.
• Department obtained, evaluated, and processed International Marketing Group forecasts monthly.
• Department obtained and reported marketing and resource data from country organizations.
• Published status of resource, marketing and production to appropriate management.
• Supported Annual and Long Range Plan activities as they related to International Marketing Group product sales and billings.
• For asset management reporting purposes, quarterly allocated Distribution and International Finished Goods Center inventory among the marketing groups.
• Prepared material for presentation at the monthly meeting of the Finished Inventory Control Committee, an Executive Office-level committee.
• Provided monthly Country-level analysis and monitoring of compliance with the Customer Order Shipment program, designed to match country product availability with customer demand.
• Handled special data gathering and analysis requests on an ad hoc basis.
• Provided interface to Requirements Planning and International Delivery Coordination on product availability/Open-to-Buy issues.

Accomplishments:

• Production Requirements – Defined data elements for a new marketing planning system designed to provide greater inventory management. Solidified cycle as to when requirements should be generated, reviewed, etc. Redefined the reconciliation process such that number variances were minimized through new reporting to marketing groups and consideration of in-transit inventory.
• Reorganized to increase interaction with Marketing Groups by assigning one analyst to only one product group. Defined monthly, specific analytical relationships to be utilized in forecast evaluation.
• Took on a recently-completed Product Analysis Reporting system. Performed testing, and defined numerous reports for use both internally and by the International Marketing Groups.
• Addressed complaints of’ untimely information by segregating publication of the Customer Order Actual Report from the Worldwide Best Estimate, and published separately as soon as data was available.
• Redefined totally the methodology by which inventory allocation to the marketing groups was performed, as well as the reporting format. New method considered key peripherals, E&O activities, and related to Management Report numbers.
• Preparation of Finished Inventory Control Committee material. Due to the presenter being made a level lower than previously both manager and all analysts were much more involved in process than before. Began including inventory data as part of Quarterly presentation.
• Compliance with Customer Order Shipment program, designed to ensure product availability in countries actually having the demand. When it became apparent that control mechanisms were lacking, designed reports for Group visibility highlighting exceptions, and directed specific actions against some organizations that were flagrant violators.
• Established a more easily digested modified Open-to-Buy format and designed pro formas. Made availability a required discussion topic at most meetings with the Marketing Groups.
• Handled numerous special analyses for other departments worldwide.

Interfaces:

Including, but not limited to:

Office of the Chief Executive
International Marketing Groups
U.S. Marketing
Forecast & Inventory Management
Manufacturing facilities worldwide Strategic Planning
Manufacturing Group Staff
Personal Computer Division Office Systems Division
Financial Planning and Analysis Country marketing organizations worldwide Corporate Accounting
Corporate Consolidation
Corporate Auditing
Price Waterhouse
MIS Personnel
Product Marketing Staffs
Product Management Staffs
Corporate Product Release
Physical Distribution Division
International Delivery Coordination
Requirements Planning
Product Identification and Pricing Services
Corporate Policies and External Reporting