Developing, maintaining, and optimizing demand forecasts across products, SKUs, customer segments, sales channels, and markets is the core of this Demand Planner role. The position supports demand forecasting, inventory planning, and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) activities. It suits a highly analytical and collaborative professional who can work closely with various departments to develop accurate and reliable consensus forecasts.
Responsibilities
Develop, maintain, and continuously improve short-term and long-term demand forecasts across products, SKUs, sales channels, and customer segments
Analyze historical sales, seasonality, customer demand, product trends, promotional activities, and market conditions to anticipate changes in demand
Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product Planning, Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations to develop and maintain a consensus demand forecast
Support monthly Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes by providing forecasts, identifying risks and opportunities, and recommending corrective actions
Monitor forecast accuracy, forecast bias, and other key performance indicators (KPIs), investigating significant variances and identifying root causes
Adjust forecasts based on changing market conditions, customer activity, sales trends, business priorities, and relevant market intelligence
Support inventory planning initiatives to maintain appropriate product availability while minimizing excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory
Identify potential stockouts, inventory imbalances, supply constraints, and demand fluctuations, communicating risks proactively to relevant stakeholders
Partner with Supply Planning and Operations teams to align demand forecasts with production schedules, sourcing, replenishment, and distribution requirements
Incorporate new product introductions, product transitions, promotions, and product phase-outs into demand forecasts
Analyze SKU performance and productivity to support inventory positioning, assortment planning, and product lifecycle management decisions
Prepare demand-planning reports, dashboards, and presentations for leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
Identify opportunities to improve forecasting methodologies, planning systems, reporting capabilities, and overall supply-chain efficiency
Maintain accurate demand-planning data within enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply-chain planning systems
Participate in special projects and continuous-improvement initiatives across Supply Chain and Operations
Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Statistics, Analytics, or a related field
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Approximately 3–5 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, supply-chain planning, inventory planning, or a related analytical function
Demonstrated experience developing, maintaining, and analyzing product-level demand forecasts
Strong understanding of demand-planning principles, inventory management, forecasting methodologies, and supply-chain operations
Experience working with ERP systems, demand-planning platforms, or supply-chain planning software
Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including the ability to analyze large datasets, identify trends, and develop actionable insights
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex data into practical business recommendations
Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across multiple departments
Ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing business needs in a fast-paced environment
Nice to have:
Experience supporting Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes
Experience in automotive, manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, or another SKU-intensive industry
Experience supporting multi-location or global supply-chain operations
Knowledge of statistical forecasting methodologies, demand variability analysis, forecast accuracy, and forecast-bias measurement
Experience with business intelligence, data visualization, and reporting tools
APICS/ASCM certification or another relevant supply-chain certification
MBA or master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Analytics, Engineering, Statistics, or a related discipline
