Mary Keria

Experienced Demand Planner with a proven track record coordinating demand planning across South Africa, Kenya, Horn of Africa, Great Lakes, and Indian Ocean Islands. Skilled in aligning sales forecasts, production schedules, and inventory planning for Cigarettes, Vapor, and Modern Oral products. Adept at cross-functional collaboration and building planning tools to optimize supply and meet customer demand at Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) level.

Planning & Information Executive
British American Tobacco | South Africa/ Remote | April 2023 to Date (2 years 4 months)
• Demand Forecasting: I develop forecasts for Reduced-Risk Products with the objective of achieving high forecast accuracy (80%-70%) and providing key inputs to the overall business planning process.
• Supply Chain Management: I review historical sales trends, reconcile variances of actuals vs. forecast and closely coordinate demand forecast with the supply planning teams to ensure lead times align with demand plans.
• Scenario Planning: I run scenario planning and opportunity assessments based on historical performance and current trade and consumer insights and guide strategic decision-making across the organization.
• Project Management: I manage New Product Introduction (NPI), brand migration and brand delist projects ensuring zero write off and out of stock incidences.
• Sales and Operations Planning: I support monthly Demand Review Meetings to align on final volume figures by all involved stakeholders.
• Business Systems Integration: I champion business systems that support the forecasting and reporting process i.e., SAP, APO, and Power BI.

Insights Executive
British American Tobacco | East Africa Markets | May 2021 to March 2023 (1 year 11 months)
• Market Trend Monitoring: I identified, analyzed, and interpreted trends, technologies, and market shifts relevant to the business.
• Market Performance Reporting: I provided tactical and strategic counsel to stakeholders, including senior management, by developing comprehensive foresight reports and presentations to aid in effective business decision making.
• Power BI: I designed, developed, and deployed convenient and stakeholder relevant Power BI reports for to aid in agile business decision making.

Demand Planning Executive 
British American Tobacco | East Africa Markets | March 2017 to April 2021 (4 years)
• Demand Forecasting: I translated market insights and research into accurate and scientific forecasts which were then integrated into the business planning cycle.
• Supply Chain Management: I aligned and coordinated production and shipment plans for markets to track out of stock or over stock of varied brands with both the regional and local supply chain teams through weekly status update meetings.
• Stock Management: I tracked and reported end market inventory through end month stock reconciliation to ensure adequate stock holding based on demonstrated sales.
• Project Management: I managed New Product Introduction (NPI), brand migration and brand delist projects ensuring zero write off and out of stock incidences.
• Sales and Operations Planning: I led monthly Demand Planning Meetings for markets to align on final volume figures by all involved stakeholders.
Marketing Administrator
British American Tobacco (Contract) | Kenya | January 2015 to February 2017 (2 years 2 months)
• Executive Support: Managed executive diaries, scheduled meetings, resolved calendar conflicts, and coordinated high-level engagements for Marketing Directors and Leadership Teams across East and Central Africa.
• Travel Management: Oversaw complex travel logistics including flights, accommodation, and transfers for senior leaders and regional teams.
• Administrative Operations: Handled administrative processes including expense reconciliation, business credit card management, and processing of subscriptions, school fees, and utility payments.
• Supplier & Procurement Coordination: Managed supplier onboarding, LPO issuance, and invoice processing in collaboration with procurement and finance teams.
• Sales Reporting: Produced and shared sales tracking reports (daily, monthly, quarterly) for the Coast Region to support commercial decisions.
• Event & Engagement Planning: Planned and executed events, workshops, and team-building activities to enhance team cohesion and performance.

MSc. Human Resource Management 
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology | Kenya | November 2015
BA Social Sciences
Catholic University of Eastern Africa | Kenya | September 2010