Demand Planner DACH
Köln, DE, 50670
About the Role
The goal of the position is to improve the supply chain service & performance by being a key partner in the S&OP cross-functional process. The demand planner will manage, capture, and translate the demand signal into desired supply & service requirements in close collaboration with local & regional commercial, R&D, Finance, and OSCO stakeholders. You will increase visibility and communication and ultimately improve service levels at the lowest cost. Externally you will build a profound understanding of the customer’ need and help drive collaboration and intimacy with key customers.
Key Responsibilities Include
- Lead the demand planning process for DACH on Industrial Accounts and/or Regional Accounts and/or Distributors & Artisans.
- Take overall responsibility for the demand plan figures within the Demand Planning system, ensuring they are representative of the S&OP latest cycle consensus plan (constrain the forecast when needed)
- Cooperate closely with sales in order to understand and reflect the latest business dynamics in the final forecast
- Be the commercial’s main challenger when making sure forecasts reflect the most realistic demand outlook
- Reconcile top-down, and bottom-up demand and gain consensus on new forecast assumptions
- Intensively work with business partners (Commercial & Financial analysts) on risks and opportunities, communicate them appropriately to SC counterparts (provide context beyond the numbers)
- Team up with the GBS demand planning team:
- Give guidance on how and where to enrich the forecast according to the latest forecast review discussions with sales
- Discuss and understand what is needed to improve forecast accuracy and forecast bias + translate into action plan
- Keep track of gaps in budgets and be able to explain
- Own the full local forecast construction process while making sure the monthly forecast cycle deadlines are met:
- Take the lead in the forecast validation with the DACH managing director
- Handover the local forecast and relevant information towards regional demand planning for the regional sign-off
- Work closely together with Finance on the YTG/YEF, budgeting, and MTP process
- Coordinate phase in phase-out for key innovation and product launches
- Collaborate with global supply chain organization on the consolidation of supply risks and early warnings for any supply disruption + communicate proactively to the sales community
- Contribute to reaching the right inventory health (incl. obsolescence) via active monitoring of stocks at risk and by setting up action plans with local commercial stakeholders
- Lead & manage the portfolio health assessment and optimization for your portfolio
- Act as a key contributor to the Value Creation Program identified for key/strategic customers (focus on improving service jointly, avoid cost/create shared value, and bring visibility on ESG initiatives. This will require a close collaboration both internally and externally including frequent customer visits / organizing workshops.
About You
- Degree in business administration, supply chain , or related field
- English fluent
- +5 years experience in integrated supply chain and ideally planning, and managing a portfolio with high product and channel complexity
- Experience with ERP systems (SAP, APO, BW reporting, PowerBi) is a plus
- Good knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint
- Able to work in virtual teams and cross-functional teams. Ability to balance day-to-day detail with long-term helicopter view.
- Strong networking, stakeholder, and influencing skills
- Positive communicator, easily approachable for all levels in the organization, confident to work with senior leadership
- Solid analytical skills with the ability to dig into raw data and interpret them for larger audiences
- Self-starter, entrepreneurial, and able to manage complex analytical projects
- Positive and agile mindset, looking for continuous improvement and embracing change.
- Methodical and well-organized
- Strong commercial acumen
Job Segment:
Demand Planner, Supply Chain, Supply, Engineer, Operations, Engineering