What are the responsibilities and job description for the Demand Planner position at IFab Corporation?
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve demand forecasts based on customer orders, sales inputs, historical data, and market trends.
- Translate demand forecasts into production and material requirements in coordination with Production Planning and Materials teams.
- Collaborate with Sales, Engineering, and Operations to understand project-based and custom metal fabrication demand.
- Analyze forecast accuracy (MAPE, bias) and implement corrective actions to improve reliability.
- Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) or demand review meetings by presenting demand scenarios and risks.
- Work closely with Purchasing and Materials Management to ensure raw materials availability (steel, aluminum, sheet metal, extrusions, etc.).
- Monitor demand changes and proactively communicate impacts on capacity, lead times, and inventory.
- Maintain planning data in ERP/MRP systems and ensure alignment between demand plans and system outputs.
- Support new product introductions, engineering changes, and customer ramp-ups specific to metal manufacturing.
- Identify opportunities to reduce excess inventory, shortages, and expedited costs.
- Ensure planning processes comply with company procedures, quality standards, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related field.
- 3–5 years of demand planning or production planning experience in a metal manufacturing, fabrication, or industrial environment.
- Strong understanding of make-to-order / engineer-to-order manufacturing.
- Hands-on experience with ERP/MRP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Epicor, or similar).
- Solid knowledge of forecasting techniques and demand planning KPIs.
- Proficiency in Excel and data analysis tools.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in sheet metal, structural steel, aluminum, or custom fabricated assemblies.
- Exposure to capacity planning and constraint-based manufacturing.
- Experience supporting S&OP or IBP processes.
- Familiarity with lean manufacturing or continuous improvement concepts.
- APICS certification (CPIM, CSCP) is a plus.