Senior Manager, Demand Planning (Wholesale)

Senior Manager, Demand Planning (Wholesale)

Ashley Furniture Industries

Who We Are

At Ashley, inspiring the love of home is at the heart of everything we do. As the world's largest manufacturer of home furnishings, we're more than a business—we're a family driven by innovation, competitiveness, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. We persevere through challenges, push beyond the status quo, and constantly seek better ways to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Our solutions-first mindset and dedication to growth are why Ashley remains #1 in our industry.

If you're ready to grow, you've come to the right place. With a true "Growth Mindset," Ashley Furniture invests in developing future leaders and helps every team member learn from the best in the business.

(If you are a current Ashley employee, please login to your UKG account and apply using the internal job board.)

Reporting Structure

Reports to: Senior Director, Demand Planning

Leads: Demand Planning team, including multiple direct reports

Location: On-site — Tampa, FL

Role Purpose

The Senior Manager, Demand Planning is responsible for leading the development and execution of a decision-ready wholesale demand plan within an Integrated Business Planning (IBP) framework. This role combines people leadership, cross-functional influence, and analytical rigor to ensure the organization has a high-quality demand signal that supports operational execution and strategic decision-making.

As a leader in a modern, evolving supply chain, the Senior Manager, Demand Planning will oversee a team of demand planners, establish planning discipline and governance, and drive the adoption of faster, more automated planning processes. The role partners closely with Sales, Account Management, Manufacturing, Supply Planning, Distribution/Fulfillment, Procurement, and Finance to translate demand signals into actionable business insights, operational priorities, and enterprise trade-off decisions.

This leader will also help advance forecasting capabilities through the use of statistical, AI-enabled, agentic, and large-language-model-supported planning approaches, while ensuring the team remains focused on accuracy, accountability, and business value.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Demand Planning Function within an IBP Framework

• Own the rolling wholesale demand plan and ensure alignment to IBP, S&OP, and S&OE cadences
• Lead the team in creating demand plans that are assumption-based, documented, risk-aware, and decision-ready
• Consolidate market, customer, historical, and causal inputs into a cohesive demand plan that supports enterprise planning
• Prepare and present demand outputs, key assumptions, risks, and scenario implications for IBP leadership forums
• Ensure planning processes, timelines, and deliverables are executed consistently across the team

Manage and Develop a Team of Demand Planners

• Lead, coach, and develop multiple direct reports to build a high-performing demand planning organization
• Set clear goals, performance expectations, and development plans for team members
• Establish standard work, planning routines, and accountability measures across the function
• Provide guidance on forecast construction, exception management, scenario analysis, and communication of business risks
• Build bench strength and support organizational design, succession planning, and capability development within demand planning

Drive Cross-Functional Alignment and Accountability

• Partner with Wholesale Sales and Account teams to incorporate customer commitments, programs, promotions, and market intelligence into the demand plan
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Supply Planning, Procurement, and Distribution/Fulfillment to translate demand changes into operational implications
• Work closely with Finance to ensure demand assumptions align with revenue, margin, inventory, and cost-to-serve expectations
• Serve as the primary planning point of contact for escalations, trade-off discussions, and cross-functional issue resolution
• Foster strong working relationships across functions to improve transparency, responsiveness, and decision quality

Advance AI-Enabled, Agentic Forecasting and Analytics

• Lead the team in leveraging statistical, machine learning, and causal forecasting techniques to improve forecast quality and responsiveness
• Operate within emerging agentic forecasting workflows, including anomaly detection, signal monitoring, and LLM-generated insight interpretation
• Partner with data, systems, and analytics teams to monitor model performance, improve adoption, and reduce manual effort
• Ensure planners use technology and advanced analytics appropriately, balancing automation with business judgment
• Champion the practical application of modern forecasting tools that improve efficiency and decision support

Translate Demand into Operational and Business Meaning

• Guide the team in interpreting demand plans into implications for capacity, inventory, sourcing, fulfillment, and service levels
• Proactively identify risks and opportunities and escalate them through the appropriate IBP and S&OE governance forums
• Ensure that demand plan changes are clearly communicated and tied to business impact
• Support rapid response planning when market conditions, customer needs, or operational constraints shift

Provide Financial Insight and Scenario Leadership

• Quantify demand scenarios and alternatives, including impacts to revenue, margin, inventory, working capital, and cost-to-serve
• Frame key business trade-offs and support leadership decision-making with clear scenario analysis
• Partner with Finance and senior leadership to ensure demand planning outputs are actionable and relevant to financial planning
• Improve the organization's ability to evaluate upside, downside, and constrained-demand scenarios

Lead Planning Modernization and Continuous Improvement

• Drive initiatives that reduce planning cycle times, improve forecast usability, and increase automation across the demand planning process
• Standardize planning methods, reporting, and team workflows to improve scalability and consistency
• Identify process gaps and lead continuous improvement efforts across systems, data, governance, and team capability
• Support transformation efforts related to IBP maturity, digital planning, and supply chain modernization
• Promote a culture of operational excellence, continuous learning, and change leadership

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, Operations, Engineering, or a related field required

Experience & Skills

• 8 years of demand planning, forecasting, or supply chain planning experience in complex environments required
• 2 years of people leadership experience, including leading teams with multiple direct reports required
• Strong experience working within cross-functional planning processes such as IBP, S&OP, and/or S&OE
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, influence stakeholders, and drive alignment across commercial, operational, and finance functions
• Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills with the ability to connect data to business action
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and data analysis tools
• Excellent presentation and stakeholder management capabilities
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Strong business acumen with understanding of supply chain, manufacturing, and financial planning processes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SAP IBP, o9, Kinaxis, Anaplan, or similar planning platforms
• Experience in wholesale, consumer products, manufacturing, or other vertically integrated supply chain environments
• Working knowledge of AI/ML forecasting approaches and LLM-enabled planning tools
• Experience leading planning transformation, capability building, or process improvement initiatives
• MBA or advanced degree in a related field is a plus
• APICS certification (CPIM, CSCP) or similar supply chain credentials preferred

Our Core Values

Honesty & Integrity: Acts with transparency and ethical judgment in all demand planning activities and cross-functional partnerships. Trusted to provide accurate, unbiased forecasts and business insights.

Dirty Fingernail: Takes full accountability for demand plan outcomes, not just tasks. Ensures forecast accuracy, data integrity, and follows through on commitments to the business.

Continuous Improvement: Actively seeks better ways to improve forecasting methods, planning processes, and team capabilities. Learns from forecast errors and embeds lessons into standard work.

Growth & Results Focus: Understands how demand planning drives revenue growth, cost reduction, and customer satisfaction. Keeps work aligned to enterprise priorities and strategic objectives.

Culture of Leadership: Leads through influence, develops talent, and builds trust across functions. Supports leaders at every level and models excellence for the demand planning team.

Customer-Centric & Boundaryless: Works across silos for the greater good of the organization. Ensures demand plans meet the needs of Sales, Operations, Finance, and ultimately our customers.

Operational Excellence: Demonstrates strong organizational discipline, attention to detail, and the ability to translate complex demand signals into clear, executable plans.

Additional Information

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