Demand Planner
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina (100% ONSITE - LOCAL CANDIDATES ONLY)
Department: Supply Chain / Demand Planning
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Summary
We are seeking a highly analytical and collaborative Demand Planner to support demand forecasting, inventory planning, and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) activities in Charlotte, NC.
The Demand Planner will develop, maintain, and optimize demand forecasts across products, SKUs, customer segments, sales channels, and markets. This role will collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, Product Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, and Operations to analyze historical demand, seasonality, market trends, promotional activities, new product introductions, and other business intelligence to develop accurate and reliable consensus forecasts.
The ideal candidate combines strong analytical capabilities, business acumen, and cross-functional communication skills to improve forecast accuracy, optimize inventory levels, minimize stockouts and excess inventory, and support overall business growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve short-term and long-term demand forecasts across products, SKUs, sales channels, and customer segments.
- Analyze historical sales, seasonality, customer demand, product trends, promotional activities, and market conditions to anticipate changes in demand.
- Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product Planning, Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations to develop and maintain a consensus demand forecast.
- Support monthly Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes by providing forecasts, identifying risks and opportunities, and recommending corrective actions.
- Monitor forecast accuracy, forecast bias, and other key performance indicators (KPIs), investigating significant variances and identifying root causes.
- Adjust forecasts based on changing market conditions, customer activity, sales trends, business priorities, and relevant market intelligence.
- Support inventory planning initiatives to maintain appropriate product availability while minimizing excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
- Identify potential stockouts, inventory imbalances, supply constraints, and demand fluctuations, communicating risks proactively to relevant stakeholders.
- Partner with Supply Planning and Operations teams to align demand forecasts with production schedules, sourcing, replenishment, and distribution requirements.
- Incorporate new product introductions, product transitions, promotions, and product phase-outs into demand forecasts.
- Analyze SKU performance and productivity to support inventory positioning, assortment planning, and product lifecycle management decisions.
- Prepare demand-planning reports, dashboards, and presentations for leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Identify opportunities to improve forecasting methodologies, planning systems, reporting capabilities, and overall supply-chain efficiency.
- Maintain accurate demand-planning data within enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply-chain planning systems.
- Participate in special projects and continuous-improvement initiatives across Supply Chain and Operations.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Statistics, Analytics, or a related field.
- Approximately 3–5 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, supply-chain planning, inventory planning, or a related analytical function.
- Demonstrated experience developing, maintaining, and analyzing product-level demand forecasts.
- Strong understanding of demand-planning principles, inventory management, forecasting methodologies, and supply-chain operations.
- Experience working with ERP systems, demand-planning platforms, or supply-chain planning software.
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including the ability to analyze large datasets, identify trends, and develop actionable insights.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex data into practical business recommendations.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across multiple departments.
- Ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing business needs in a fast-paced environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes.
- Experience in automotive, manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, or another SKU-intensive industry.
- Experience supporting multi-location or global supply-chain operations.
- Knowledge of statistical forecasting methodologies, demand variability analysis, forecast accuracy, and forecast-bias measurement.
- Experience with business intelligence, data visualization, and reporting tools.
- APICS/ASCM certification or another relevant supply-chain certification.
- MBA or master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Analytics, Engineering, Statistics, or a related discipline.
Key Competencies
- Analytical Thinking and Data Interpretation
- Demand Forecasting and Planning
- Business Acumen and Decision-Making
- Inventory Optimization
- Statistical Analysis and Forecast Accuracy
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Problem-Solving and Root-Cause Analysis
- Attention to Detail and Data Integrity
- Communication and Stakeholder Management
- Process Optimization and Continuous Improvement
Work Location
This position is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Candidates should be able to work in the Charlotte area in accordance with the employer's established work arrangement.