Solution Owner Kinaxis

Solution Owner – Kinaxis - North Brabant – Hybrid

Mars is a family-owned business with over $50 billion in global sales, producing iconic brands like M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and more. We operate in 80+ countries and are guided by our Five Principles: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom. Join our 150,000 Associates in creating the world we want tomorrow.

Mars is establishing a Centre of Excellence (CoE) as the driving force behind a human-centric digital planning transformation. If you’re excited to lead the continuous improvement of planning systems and user experiences, especially with advanced tools like Kinaxis, read on!

CONTEXT & THE TEAM

In today’s rapidly evolving world, an agile supply chain is a key differentiator for our customers and consumers. Mars believes that a digitally connected, human-centric planning team is essential to unlocking this agility. Through “enterprise planning,” Mars is creating a new organizational structure, future-fit planning capabilities, and best-in-class systems—transforming the way our supply chain operates to be more connected, transparent, agile, and customer-focused.

The Planning Centre of Excellence (CoE) is at the heart of this transformation, acting as a digital catalyst for planning innovation across Europe and the Russian sourcing circle. The CoE operates on principles of transparency, planning by exception, and continuous improvement, using a build-measure-learn approach to:

• Monitor and enhance planning ways of working
• Provide actionable insights to the business
• Identify and implement best practices
• Build new capabilities, processes, tools, and dashboards
• Create machine-driven forecasts as a common reference
• Ensure high-quality data storage and retrieval
• Deliver training on tools and processes

We are building a dynamic team of digital-savvy change agents who share a passion for bringing the benefits of digital transformation to planning operations across Mars.

THE ROLE

As Solution Owner Demand, you will report to the Operational Excellence Lead within the CoE. You will ensure that planning systems—especially Kinaxis RapidResponse—are fit for purpose, well understood, and continuously evolving to meet best practices. You will act as a bridge between business needs and digital solutions, collaborating closely with process stewards, the corporate Digital Technology (DT) team, and software vendors.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the super user and primary point of contact for Kinaxis RapidResponse and other advanced planning tools.
• Ensure software capabilities are fully leveraged to support business objectives.
• Drive a digital mindset within the end-to-end planning team through exceptional user experience and expertise.
• Act as the focal point for all software-related questions, training, and standard documentation.
• Collect, prioritize, and communicate user feedback and ideas for improvement (UI, data availability, automation).
• Act as the escalation point for software issues, ensuring uptime, data integrity, and optimal user experience.
• Develop a vision and implementation plan for making process status and key information digitally accessible.
• Collaborate with software vendors to stay informed about enhancements and advocate for improvements aligned with business needs.
• Ensure timely installation and thorough testing of system updates in partnership with Process Stewards.
• Advise management on additional capabilities or conceptual changes to planning systems.
• Work closely with the Digital Technology organization to assess and implement new tools and capabilities.

EXPERIENCE / BACKGROUND

Education & Professional Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or Natural Sciences (Master’s or advanced degree preferred).
• 5–8 years of supply chain management and planning experience in a global or multi-plant CPG/FMCG environment.

Knowledge & Experience:

• Proven experience with Kinaxis RapidResponse (configuration, administration, and user support).
• Experience with Advanced Planning Systems (APS) and digital supply chain transformation.
• Strong background in change management and technology adoption.
• APICS certification in Production and Inventory Management is a plus.
• Experience managing and administering software solutions for large teams.
• Understanding of agile development methodology and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with database systems, data transformation, and planning data (SQL, Azure preferred).
• Understanding of supply chain data structures, including master data, transactional data, and external unstructured data.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and training delivery skills.
• Fluent in English.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose-driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry-competitive salary and benefits package, including a company bonus.

Mars is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.