DEMAND PLANNING MANAGER

Background & Purpose of the Job: Lead and develop the demand-planning function for SEB Professional North America and LATAM by establishing a reliable consensus forecast process and leading an effective demand-review within the S&OP cycle. Improve forecast accuracy and visibility of risks and opportunities to support product availability, customer service, inventory optimization, and profitable growth. Partner closely with Sales, Service, Product Management, Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, and central teams to strengthen planning discipline and drive continuous improvement. Who You Are & What You’ll Do: Own and continuously improve the demand-planning process, including a rolling 12- to 18-month forecast across brands, product categories, customers, channels, and markets. Lead the monthly demand-review process and represent the approved consensus demand plan within the broader S&OP cycle, clearly documenting assumptions, risks, opportunities, and required decisions. Partner with Sales, Service, Product Management, Finance, Supply Chain, production sites, and central teams to develop an unbiased, fact-based consensus demand forecast. Analyze forecast performance using forecast accuracy, forecast bias, value-added forecast analysis, and other relevant planning KPIs; identify root causes and implement corrective actions. Identify demand-related gaps versus budget, latest estimate, and business objectives, and coordinate appropriate commercial or operational responses. Incorporate customer intelligence, commercial projects, promotions, seasonality, market trends, and exceptional events into the demand plan. Provide demand-planning inputs for safety stock, allocation, reservation, inventory, and supply-prioritization decisions in partnership with Supply Planning and Supply Chain Operations. Identify and communicate product-availability risks and opportunities, and partner with production sites and business stakeholders to support mitigation and prioritization decisions. Support product life-cycle planning, including new-product introductions, phase-ins, phase-outs, promotions, projects, and discontinuations. Analyze slow-moving and obsolete inventory and coordinate demand-side actions with Sales, Service, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain. Use ERP, demand-planning, reporting, and analytical tools to improve forecast quality, planning visibility, process efficiency, and decision-making. Establish planning governance, performance routines, documentation, and continuous-improvement standards across the organization. Develop demand-planning capabilities across relevant functions through training, coaching, and clear accountability for forecast inputs. What You’ll Need to Succeed: Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, or a related field. Master's degree or an advanced supply chain certification is preferred. Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in demand planning, forecasting, supply planning, inventory management, or a related supply chain function. Proven experience leading demand-review and S&OP processes in a multi-brand, multi-market, or multinational environment. Strong understanding of statistical forecasting techniques, including trend, seasonality, outlier management, forecast segmentation, and exception-based planning. Strong understanding of inventory management, product life-cycle planning, and supply chain fundamentals. Experience with SAP - ERP, demand-planning, and advanced planning systems, including management of planning master data and forecast hierarchies. Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with business-intelligence and data-visualization tools, such as Power BI or equivalent platforms. Demonstrated ability to influence senior and cross-functional stakeholders, constructively challenge commercial assumptions, and drive alignment without direct authority. Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building ski…

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