Position Responsibilities:

Serving as a critical point of contact for the business, the Demand Manager role is to drive alignment on a consensus forecast that will be communicated back to the supply chain organization to drive supply. Three (3) focus areas of responsibility that help create that forecast are: 

Demand Forecasting:

• Create and refine demand forecasts for the Business Unit (BU), integrating feedback from management and other departments to ensure accuracy.
• Evaluate and analyze key factors influencing the forecast, understanding their impact on risks and operations.
• Highlight critical forecast issues, tradeoffs, and necessary decisions for scenario planning and alignment meetings.
• Serve as the central point for consolidating and communicating the full BU demand plan from various sources.
• Determine the financial impact of demand planning decisions and aligning with BU strategy and long-term goals.
• Recognize and resolve forecasting exceptions, optimize forecast fit
• Identify and lead the implementation of opportunities to improve forecast accuracy.

Scenario Analysis:

·       Lead scenario analysis efforts, using Kinaxis Maestro to assess the impact of changes in demand drivers such as pricing, seasonality, inventory, and distribution.

• Examine the effects of different risk and opportunity scenarios on the demand forecast and make recommendations to the LT.
• Assist in developing strategies for the most significant scenarios in collaboration with business planning leadership.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Engage proactively with various departments to understand forecast drivers, gather business insights, and incorporate necessary adjustments into the demand planning process.
• Organize and facilitate monthly S&OP meetings (i.e., Demand Alignment and Consensus Meeting)
• Work with Sales to determine trends, identify new products, new customers and evaluate risks
• Manage agreed upon adjustments / overrides to the statistical forecasts based on market intelligence
• Explain the forecast and develop consensus. Identify major issues affecting the accuracy of the forecast.

 

Position Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree in Supply Chain, Economics, Business Administration, or related fields, or equivalent amount of work experience
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate data into actionable business strategies.
• Strong financial and analytical skills, including a deep understanding of forecast models and predictive analytics.
• Proficiency in data analysis and trend recognition.
• Comprehensive knowledge of customer operations and demand drivers.
• Solid background in supply chain management and operations.
• Excellent communication skills and executive presence.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, prioritize tasks, and adapt to changes.
• Strong cross-functional networking and influencing abilities throughout the organization.
• Intellectual curiosity and problem-solving skills.
• Recent experience in S&OP, IBP, or demand planning.
• Statistical modeling and predictive analytics are preferred.
• Experience in a customer-facing role preferred.
• Experienced using Kinaxis Maestro.