Demand Planner (Commercial & Trade Support)

Role Purpose

Drive accurate demand forecasting, stock readiness, and day-to-day commercial operations to protect service levels and inventory health. This role is the commercial backbone of the planning function—owning the weekly forecast cycle, responding swiftly to operational enquiries, and supporting principal brand management to ensure the business meets customer demand efficiently while minimising costs and optimising inventory levels. Key Responsibilities A) Demand Planning & Forecasting (70%)

Forecast Cycle & Methodology

• Run the weekly forecast cycle by category, key account, and channel; maintain a rolling forecast (13-week + monthly horizon).
• Build and consolidate demand forecasts from department heads, sales teams, and relevant channels.
• Apply statistical methods using time-series historical data and customer pipeline data to predict adequate inventory levels to meet future customer needs.
• Review and challenge forecast inputs from department heads based on historical trends, seasonality, and probability of deal closure.
• Collaborate with the sales team to incorporate leading indicators of future demand: seasonality, marketing activity, and promotional uplifts.

Promotional & New Product Forecasting

• Build promo uplift forecasts and ensure pre- and post-promo adjustments are captured.
• Forecast new product introductions (NPI) and manage phase-in/phase-out forecasting for delists or pack changes.

S&OP and Cross-functional Coordination

• Prepare monthly S&OP materials: demand plan, risks, upside, constraints, and key assumptions.
• Flag supply risks early (lead times, MOQs, allocations, logistics delays) and recommend mitigations such as substitution, allocation plans, or timing shifts.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain, Procurement, and Warehouse to align stock build and replenishment priorities.
• Collaborate with various sales channel leads, commercial, and production departments to ensure demand is met with supply.
• Manage and control contract validity based on the ability to fulfil.

Inventory Health & Reporting

• Monitor and improve inventory turns, days on hand, ageing, and expiry risks; propose actions with Sales and Operations (push plans, bundles, clearance, substitutions).
• Anticipate inventory write-offs from demand shocks; coordinate with the sales planning lead on strategies to reduce write-offs.
• Produce standard dashboards: forecast vs actual, SKU movement, availability/fill rate, promo readiness, and outcomes.
• Support post-campaign analysis by providing sell-in, sell-out proxies (where available), stock position, and variance drivers.

Data & Process Discipline

• Maintain planning master data integrity: SKU mapping, pack size changes, substitutions, lead times, and MOQs.
• Refine forecasting methodology and adjust models to improve forecast accuracy over time.
• Define and track KPIs related to demand forecasting and inventory management.
• Improve planning SOPs, templates, and cadence (weekly forecast meeting, monthly S&OP pack).
• Document key assumptions and changes: new accounts, lost accounts, seasonal spikes, one-off tenders.

B) Daily Commercial Operations (20%)

Pricing Feedback & Exception Handling

• Act as the first point of contact for internal pricing discrepancy queries—verify, investigate, and coordinate timely resolution with Sales, Finance, and relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain a pricing exception log; track issue volume, root causes, and resolution timelines to identify recurring gaps and drive process improvements.
• Stock Chasing & Availability
• Be the first point of contact for stock availability, ETA, backorder, and allocation enquiries from Sales and Customer Service.
• Drive campaign stock readiness: confirm stock build, allocation by account, and cut-off timelines.
• Maintain an exceptions tracker for low stock, expiring stock, slow movers, and forecast gaps; drive timely actions with stakeholders.

Specification & Document Clarification

• Handle day-to-day requests for product spec sheets, technical documents, and compliance information from internal stakeholders and customers.
• Coordinate with relevant principals or internal teams to clarify pack changes, product specifications, or regulatory documentation as needed.
• Ensure documentation of commercial commitments, spec updates, and operational changes is kept current and accessible.

C) Principal Brand Management (10%)

• Serve as an operational liaison for assigned principals: coordinate on availability, lead times, allocations, and claim documentation.
• Support Trade Marketing or Key Account Managers in principal-related activities including promotional submissions, new product information, and brand performance reporting.
• Track principal-specific requirements (e.g., ordering windows, promotional calendars, compliance standards) and ensure internal teams are aligned.
• Escalate supply, pricing, or fulfilment issues related to principal products to the Trade Marketing Manager as appropriate.

Role Boundaries

• This role supports campaign execution through forecast and stock readiness but is not the primary owner of campaign planning or principal negotiations.
• Escalate exceptions that materially impact service level, margin, or key account commitments to the Trade Marketing Manager.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Forecast Accuracy (MAPE) and Forecast Bias
• Service Level: Fill Rate / OTIF, especially during campaign periods
• Inventory Health: Turns / Days on Hand; ageing and expiry reduction
• Campaign Stock Readiness: zero avoidable OOS; minimal post-campaign overstock
• Daily Operations SLA: response time and resolution rate for pricing, stock, and spec enquiries
• Timelines and quality of weekly forecast updates and monthly S&OP pack

Key Requirements

• 2–5 years' experience in demand planning, forecasting, category support, or commercial operations (FMCG, foodservice distribution, retail/wholesale preferred).
• 1–2 years minimum in a production, forecasting, or planning role with emphasis on replenishment, inventory planning, analysis, and modelling.
• Knowledge of supply chain fundamentals: inventory, procurement, lead times, production, and replenishment with deep understanding of forecasting in the consumer goods industry.
• Strong Excel skills; comfortable with data cleaning, pivot tables, and basic modelling for seasonality and promo uplift.
• Experience with ERP/planning tools (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, NetSuite, or equivalent) is an advantage. Prior experience with Demand Planning Software is a bonus.
• Commercial mindset with strong stakeholder management; able to handle fast-moving enquiries with high accuracy.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to collaborate effectively across multiple departments.
• Structured, detail-oriented, and able to work under tight deadlines.