Q&A: Lena Unger, Head of Factory Planning and Supply Team at RFS

Profile:
Lena is Head of Factory Planning and Supply at RFS. She moved into this role in 2020 from Customer Service Management, where she had previously led Customer Service teams across EMEA. 

Her career in the communications industry began at RFS through a trainee programme, meaning Lena has a wealth of experience in ensuring RFS delivers from a customer perspective. She was also recently recognized for her contribution to the business with an internal award for excellence. 
Q&A with Lena 

Q1: How would you describe the role your team plays in supporting customers?

"The best case is that my team is completely invisible."

Our role is to make sure everything works in the background so that customers receive what they need, when they need it. At the same time, we stay in close contact with customers on logistics and delivery to make sure we are aligned and meeting their requirements, especially when orders are more complex. Having planning and supply closely linked to customer service is a key part of how RFS works.

Q2: Can you walk us through your role and how you coordinate across regions?

My role focuses on factory planning and supply in Hanover, covering raw materials, traded goods, and planning. I work closely with our team in China to manage shipments and coordinate supply across locations. A lot of the work involves balancing trade-offs, like deciding between "fastest versus the best price" based on the situation and the customer’s needs. A large part of my role is also focused on improving internal and external processes to make sure planning and supply run as efficiently as possible.

Q3: What are some of the key challenges you manage in planning and logistics?

A big part of the role is managing the right level of buffer in our planning. We need enough buffer to make sure customer expectations are met, but also to reduce inventories as much as possible to keep tied-up capital to a minimum. That balance becomes more challenging when you factor in supply chain disruption, economic pressures, and geopolitical factors that can impact shipments and material availability.

Q4: How are you improving visibility and communication around shipments and delays?

We have been focusing on improving both internal and external processes. A recent project involved introducing an external tool that monitors shipments, delays, and potential risks for shipments due to disturbances on the planned route. It allows us to foresee issues earlier and track orders more effectively, to keep customers informed and manage expectations proactively if something changes. 

Q5: What role does automation play in how your team is evolving?

There has been a strong push on automation and making systems work better internally. We have been starting to use SAP more efficiently and have automated parts of our planning processes. The focus is on finding the right balance between manual controls and having a system that can react automatically. The goal is to remove administrative work and allow the team to focus more on strategic processes.

We have implemented this across a small number of products and are now scaling it. It is a new way of using our SAP system with all its possibilities at RFS, and we are working closely with the IT team to continue developing it.
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Thank you to Lena for her time and insight into her role at RFS. We look forward to catching up with more of the RFS team later this year.