What are the responsibilities and job description for the Demand Planner position at IFABCORP?
Job Summary
The Demand Planner at iFAB is responsible for developing accurate demand forecasts to support efficient production planning, material availability, and on-time delivery. This role partners closely with Sales, Production, Materials, and Operations to align customer demand with manufacturing capacity. Experience in a metal manufacturing or fabrication environment is critical due to iFAB’s build-to-order and engineered product portfolio.
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.