Demand Planning

Job DetailsLevel: ExperiencedJob Location: Corporate Office - Mount Pleasant, PA 15666Position Type: SalaryEducation Level: 4 Year DegreeTravel Percentage: Occasional TravelJob Shift: DayJob Category: Supply ChainDemand & Supply Planner - Grocery

Job Summary

The Grocery Demand & Supply Planner is responsible for developing, managing, and continuously improving demand forecasts and supply plans across grocery SKUs and programs. This role plays a critical part in aligning sales expectations with purchasing, inventory, and financial strategies across defined planning horizons.

This individual partners closely with Sales and Purchasing to build accurate, time-phased demand plans, while collaborating with Marketing, Finance, and Logistics to ensure effective execution across the end-to-end supply chain. This role requires both strategic oversight and hands-on execution in a fast-paced, high-growth Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) environment.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and maintain demand forecasts across weekly, monthly, and seasonal planning horizons
Translate sales inputs, promotional plans, and market trends into accurate, data-driven forecasts
Partner with Sales and Marketing to incorporate customer programs, promotions, and new product launches into demand plans
Collaborate with Purchasing and Operations to convert demand forecasts into executable supply and procurement plans
Build and manage supply plans aligned with supplier lead times, production constraints, and distribution requirements
Lead or support monthly demand review and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) / Integrated Business Planning processes
Monitor forecast accuracy and continuously refine forecasting models and assumptions
Analyze POS data, shipment history, promotional lift, and seasonality to improve forecast performance
Balance service levels, inventory turns, and shrink/spoilage, particularly in perishable categories
Identify risks and opportunities (e.g., demand variability, supply disruptions) and recommend mitigation strategies
Partner with Finance to align forecasts with budgets, revenue targets, and financial plans
Coordinate with Logistics to ensure plans are operationally feasible
Maintain data integrity across forecasting systems and tools

QualificationsEducation & Certifications

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Statistics, or a related field preferred but not required

Professional certifications are a plus

APICS / ASCM CPIM (Certified in Production & Inventory Management)
APICS / ASCM CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional)
IBF CPF (Certified Professional Forecaster)

Experience

5+ years of experience in demand planning, supply chain planning, or forecasting within a CPG environment (food industry preferred)
Experience managing SKU-level forecasts across multiple retailers and sales channels
Experience supporting or leading S&OP / Integrated Business Planning processes
Proven experience collaborating cross-functionally with:

Sales
Marketing
Finance
Operations
Vendors and external partners

Experience with new product launches and promotional forecasting
Experience working with retailer POS data (e.g., Nielsen, IRI, or retailer portals)

Technical Skills

Advanced Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, Power Query, forecasting models)
Experience with demand planning or ERP systems (e.g., SAP, NetSuite, Oracle)
Strong analytical capability with the ability to interpret:

POS data
Shipment history
Promotional lift
Seasonal trends

Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI) preferred

Leadership & Business Skills

Ability to lead monthly demand review meetings and contribute to S&OP processes
Strong cross-functional leadership, particularly with Sales and Marketing teams
Ability to translate sales pipeline and promotional activity into statistical forecasts
Experience managing and improving forecast accuracy metrics
Ability to balance customer service levels, inventory investment, and operational constraints
Capable of mentoring others and helping build demand planning capabilities across the organization

Industry Knowledge

Strong understanding of food CPG dynamics, including:

Retailer replenishment processes and lead times
Promotional calendars and trade spend management
Shelf resets and product lifecycle management
Perishability and shelf-life considerations
Co-manufacturing and supplier constraints

Additional Attributes

Hands-on and comfortable building and adjusting forecasts directly
Able to work effectively with imperfect or incomplete data
Strong partnership mindset with sales leaders and key account managers
Comfortable managing rapid SKU growth and innovation pipelines in a dynamic environment
Ability to help scale processes and develop team capabilities as the organization grows