Demand Planner at PrimeSource Building Products, Inc.

Overview:

Reporting to the Sr. Manager, Demand Planning, the Demand Planner position is responsible for all forecasting and demand planning activities associated with customers and products.  The Demand Planner creates and maintains forecast models for assigned product lines and customers, incorporating business intelligence, and forecast information gathered from sales, marketing, finance, retailer analytics, and other sources.    The Demand Planner is the integration point into the sales and commercial organization.  Basic forecast modeling is the responsibility of this position.  This position leads the monthly consensus forecasting process and is a key contributor to the monthly SIOP process. 

Responsibilities:

To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Develops an unconstrained forecast driven by statistics, market intelligence, sales programs, and product life cycle, customer POS, customer inventory data, and error analysis techniques.
• Maintains strong relationships and works closely with Sales and Marketing to understand demand drivers, sales plans and strategies, customer trends and buying plans, and incorporate into the demand and operational forecast.
• Facilitates a collaborative planning process with sales, marketing, and finance to achieve a consensus operational demand forecast.
• Collaborates with SIOP, Executive Leadership, Finance, Product Management, Regional and Local Sales Teams, supply planners, inventory planners, and procurement teams to ensure that all demand plans are in alignment from a top-level perspective to a more detailed customer
• Assists in generating major assumptions package of economic and market indicators that help guide the forecasting and strategic planning
• Delivers the confirmed unconstrained unit forecast at the appropriate level to the supply planning and purchasing
• Works closely with the supply planning and purchasing teams to understand supply issues and future product availability impacting the sales forecast
• Works with supply planning to develop inventory strategies on existing items, new product, and product phase-outs to ensure effective inventory management and customer service
• Manage and maintain forecasting and demand planning systems and software.
• Prepare and maintain relevant reports pertaining to demand planning process

Key Results:

• A demand forecast which incorporates current and accurate market information that allows the company to correctly predict customer demand and provide its supply chain with the appropriate information to plan how to meet that customer demand.
• Strong relationships among sales, marketing, finance, supply chain planners, which will lead to effective knowledge sharing and an optimal consensus forecast to facilitate the decision-making process.
• Refined system and methods to continually improve forecasts to better anticipate customer needs.
• Execute with excellence in the area of customer replenishment and feedback to the Supply Chain group the opportunities and risks regarding customer replenishment performance metrics.

Qualifications:

• 5 + years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, inventory management, supply chain, or related field
• Demonstrated proficiency in statistics, forecasting, and forecasting methods with an understanding of their financial and operational impacts.
• Demonstrated proficiency using root cause analysis to improve forecast accuracy and demand planning processes.
• Ability to independently identify and resolve problems or take advantage of opportunities.
• Strong analytical, organizational, decision-making, and presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to effectively interact with all teams, areas, and levels of business affecting the forecasting process.
• Familiarity with private label fasteners, building supplies, MRO materials, and hardware and/or hand tools, preferred.
• Familiarity with wholesale distribution and complex supply chain networks, preferred.
• Knowledge of advanced demand planning software, preferred.

Education:    

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Economics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, or related field, or equivalent experience

Computer Skills:      

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office skills
• Proficiency with Tableau or PowerBI reporting tools, desired
• Planning system experience – SAP/IBP, Blue Yonder / JDA, Netstock/ Demandworks, SAP APO, SAP, or SAP Business Objects, preferred