Demand Planner: Lead S&OP & Cross‑Functional Forecasting

Demand Planner – Midwest Yogurt

The Demand Planner role at Midwest Yogurt is a highly visible role with direct accountability for the accuracy, integrity, and alignment of the demand plan across the business. This role serves as the single point of truth for demand, owning the development of unconstrained forecasts and driving cross‑functional alignment between commercial strategy and operational execution.

The Demand Planner will lead the monthly S&OP Consensus Demand Review process, integrating data‑driven insights with inputs from Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain to develop a balanced and unbiased demand plan. This role also plays a critical part in identifying risks and opportunities, improving forecasting capabilities, and influencing key business decisions through strong analytics and storytelling.

• Own and lead the monthly S&OP Demand Review (Consensus Demand Meeting), ensuring alignment on assumptions, risks, opportunities, and final monthly demand plan.
• Own development of forecasts and integrate cross‑functional inputs (Sales, Marketing, Finance) to deliver a consensus demand plan.
• Maintain item, location, and weekly forecasts to optimize service levels, inventory, and waste.
• Ensure forecast accuracy, bias management, and data integrity across all planning systems.
• Generate Demand Planning KPIs (Accuracy, Bias, Waste); lead root cause analysis where opportunities may exist.
• Drive effective cross‑functional dialogue, challenge assumptions, and influence decision‑making.
• Proactively identify demand trends, risks, and opportunities using internal and external data sources (e.g., shipments, POS, syndicated data).
• Drive continuous improvement through enhanced forecasting methodologies, tools, and automation.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Finance to understand customer strategies, promotional plans, and financial targets.
• Support new product launches by participating in initial forecast generation, monitoring performance, and adjusting assumptions.
• Engage in weekly Sales & Operational Execution (S&OE) meetings, escalating and informing the cross‑functional team of demand‑related issues.
• Drive continuous improvement by analyzing current processes and implementing new forecasting methodologies, tools, and techniques to reduce effort and improve results.

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent required.
• Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Economics, or related field preferred.

• 3–6 years of experience in Demand Planning, Forecasting, Supply Chain, or related analytical roles.
• Experience in CPG or a high SKU, fast‑paced environment strongly preferred.

• Advanced proficiency in Excel with general knowledge of other MS Office applications is required.
• Ability to work with large data sets and automate reporting processes.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into business insights.
• Experience with forecasting/planning tools (e.g., OMP, Futur Master, SAP IBP, Anaplan).
• Experience leveraging BI tools (Power BI, Tableau) for demand analytics preferred.

We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options, including generous retirement contributions, paid time off from day one, and training and development opportunities such as Education Reimbursement.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally‑recognized basis including, but not limited to, veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an affirmative action employer will comply with all related legal obligations.