Overview

Position Summary:

The Demand Planning Manager is the critical integration point between Sales, Marketing and Operations. This position leads the forecast development for both financial & operational planning, and champions cross-functional communication through clear, concise information sharing. The position is highlighted by researching, analyzing, maintaining and reporting pertinent data to achieve a consensus forecast by collaborating with leaders of the business units to drive best-in-class accuracy.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions/Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop a twenty-four (24) month rolling demand forecast which serves as the basis for LE (Latest Estimate), Operating Plans and Financial Projections by collaboratively working with Analytics, Trade Development, Sales, Customer/Brand Management and Finance.
• Utilize statistical demand planning software to generate forecasts with advanced modeling techniques; supplement modeling methodology with offline tools to provide analysis critical to development of accurate forecasts.
• Where supply constraints exist, develop and evaluate demand plan options such as promotion and launch dates with Sales and Marketing to optimize service levels and inventories.
• Interpret traffic/transaction trends and business intelligence from Analytics, Sales, Marketing, Product Development & Innovation to incorporate into the forecast such as new product introductions, discontinuations, LTO’s and market tests.
• Collaborate to develop goals and objectives for Demand Planners which support business & individual needs.
• Provide ongoing development, coaching and performance management to the team and ensure a high level of performance.
• Lead the monthly Consensus Review meeting to gain agreement on the latest twenty-four (24) month forecasts using input from Sales & Marketing
• Deep forecast understanding to bridge changes from month to month, while also explaining gaps to AOP
• Clear, concise communication of business or technical issues and recommendations, both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated background in leveraging experiences to drive continuous improvement, with a precise focus on process management & operational efficiency.

Qualifications

Qualification Requirements:

• 5 years of demand/supply chain planning experience required
• 2 years of supervisory experience ideal
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Preferred experience in CPG, Food Industry, Demand Management
• Deep understanding of product life cycle of perishable goods
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• High level analytical & problem-solving capabilities
• Effective organization and time management skills
• Advanced competency in use of PC and Microsoft Windows environment.
• Preferred experience with demand planning software system (Logility & SAP preferred)
• Proven high-level competency in Microsoft Excel and Data Warehouse – requires professional experience using advanced Excel formulas, graphing and pivot tables.
• Competent use of Microsoft Office computer applications including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.
• Strong analytical capabilities.
• Effective organization and time management skills

Supervisory Responsibility:

Demand Planner(s) - Supervisory responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, training, goal-setting, scheduling, appraising and terminating employees.