Demand Planner

Job Purpose

The role of the Demand Analyst / Planner is to manage the forecasting process of assigned Business segments through the gathering and critiquing of data, to ensure customer requirements are accurately reflected in the forecast so that the correct business decisions are made:

1. (30%) Analytics

• Technical: Gather and interrogate data points to predict future demand requirements
• Fundamental: Overlay external factors base on knowledge
• Feed the forecast into the relevant systems

2. (30%) Insight to Action

• Support the Customer Demand Manager with the Demand Step in IBP
• Provide a long term view for the Demand Review over a 4 to 36 month time horizon
• Deliver actionable insight to inform the Demand Control process over 0 to 3 months

3. (25%) Ways of Working

• Drive effective and accurate forecasting with Sales (internal)
• Develop the Team’s accurate forecasting via collaboration with Customers (internal)
• Involve cross functional expertise to improve accuracy (e.g. Category, Product manager)

4. (15%) Reporting

• Track targets for Accuracy/BIAS & variance through Lags -1 to -3
• Inventory analysis (e.g. SLOB, MTS, MTC, etc)

Demand pattern and Customer segmentation 

Key Accountabilities

• Produce accurate and detailed forecasts in order to contribute to IBP process.
• Accurately reflect customer plans across key metrics (e.g. Volume, GIV & PPL).
• Challenge & manage the assumptions used in the sales forecast in order to inform the correct business decisions and gain learnings to improvefuture performance.
• Monitor performance to forecast and lead discussions to tackle the issues as they arise.
• Understand the impact of changes in the forecast on the wider business and keep Marketing/Finance and Supply chain informed of any changes.
• Manage, analyse and take learnings from abnormal customer demands to inform decision making with the Demand Control process, whilst striving to meet Customer service requirements.
• Gain Customer expertise and liaise directly with customers to understand their future business plans and activities.

Key Activities

• Setting and tracking of forecasting KPIs.
• Develops demand forecasts (operational and financial forecasts) at multiple levels of aggregation for multiple time horizons as part of the IBP process.
• Developing cross functional relationships to facilitate high performance (internal).

Requirements

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent.
• Experience in constructing and maintaining forecasts.
• Previous exposure to Supply Chain management.
• Sales experience is desirable.
• Process driven to deliver incremental business efficiencies.
• System capability, e.g. Infor, SAP, Power BI, BW/BI, CRM
• Advanced Excel knowledge required.
• Numerate, analytical and results oriented.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels, internally & externally.
• Six Sigma/Continuous Improvement experience is desirable.