Demand Planning Analyst

Overview

We are looking for a Demand Planning Analyst to join our Supply Chain team, reporting to the Category Demand Planner and playing a key role in Sales & Operating Planning. This role consolidates the long-term demand plan and translates data into clear, actionable insights that support both weekly demand planning and monthly long-range forecasts. Using tools such as APO and Blue Yonder, the Analyst analyses demand data to build optimised plans that maximise product availability and freshness.

The role partners with cross-functional teams to assess forecast versus budget performance, identify risks and opportunities, and provide visibility of product demand volumes to ensure plans align with lead times and operational constraints.

The Analyst will collaborate with the Category Demand Planner to present demand plans during consensus meetings and contribute to wider supply chain reviews, aligning forecasting, demand, and supply processes, measuring forecast accuracy against budget, and assessing downstream impact on the supply chain. It provides a pivotal entry point into the Supply Chain organisation, ensuring cross-functional alignment on KPIs such as forecast accuracy, freshness, and service level, while supporting informed decision-making across the business.

• Aggregate demand plans, shape demand forecasts, and support the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cycle across the short and mid-term horizons.
• Collect and consolidate historical and forecast data from Sales and Marketing (including volume, revenue, and pricing) with distributor input where relevant.
• Consolidate data into a consistent planning framework, covering product and SKU-level views by week for the short term and brand-level views by month for the mid-term horizon.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing to provide updates, adjust the demand plan, and share forecasting methodologies and tools to drive consistency and understanding.
• Ensure a comprehensive demand plan across the full S&OP horizon, considering trends, commercial initiatives, distributor insights, and advanced analytics.
• Translate demand into an executable delivery plan at SKU, weekly, quantity, and price level, recognising constraints that cannot be managed, with an 18-month rolling horizon using the group demand planning system.
• Act as a Brand Owner within the S&OP process, working with local and central stakeholders to address topics such as product destruction or write-offs in S&OP discussions or dedicated routines.
• Deliver KPIs and reporting, prepare and support local S&OP meetings, and reflect agreed decisions in the demand plan. Contribute to the annual budget process by evaluating major changes or discontinuities.
• Support Sales and Marketing with forecasting for new product launches by analysing trends, seasonality of comparable products, launch curves, and pipeline forecasts.

• Strong understanding of the Sales & Operations Planning process and experience working in cross-functional teams.
• Inquisitive and constructive mindset with the ability to challenge assumptions and communicate clearly and honestly when needed.
• Objective, fair, and able to build trust and credibility with stakeholders at all levels.
• Proven ability to communicate and present information clearly and concisely, with comfort under pressure and ability to prioritise in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to learn, share best practices, and collaborate with others; experience in forecasting and demand planning is essential.

Ferrero began its journey in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy, in 1946. Today, it is one of the world's largest sweet-packaged food companies, with many iconic brands sold in countries all over the world. Find out more about Ferrero at