Demand Planner

The Demand Planning Analyst will be responsible for sku level base level inventory and promotions forecasting. This role will work closely with Non-Perishable Sr. Manager, Merchandising & distributor teams to align on business strategy, upcoming promotions and trends. Role will also trouble-shoot any inventory or supply chain discrepancies within systems and elevate to appropriate key stakeholders. This position is responsible for purchase order generation, value and frequency to support DC inventory fulfillment.

Ensure correct inventory quantities are on hand at all servicing DC's to support store sales demand and merchandising objectives. As a Demand Planner you will partner with distributors, merchandising, store operations, and supply chain to manage:

• Store In Stocks and Fill Rate
• PO On time and Fill Rate
• Inventory, turns, DOS
• Sales and Margin
• Implement best practice

This position is located at our Store Support Office in Phoenix, Arizona, and operates on a hybrid schedule (in office Tuesday–Thursday).

• Develop sku-level forecast at weekly/store/DC level to inform recommended inventory. Communicate missed sales opportunity through OSA and root cause analysis of inventory gaps. Track forecast accuracy by week and month and adjust accordingly.
• Collaborate with Merchants, Distributors, Supply Chain team and Manufacturers to optimize inventory and minimize supply constraints.
• Responsible for weekly reporting on Inventory, OSA, promotions, supply chain metrics and monthly forecast accuracy.
• Owns the end-to-end management of demand planning and allocation optimization, including in-stock and service levels; set targets and achieves plans for inventory productivity required to support the sales, gross margin and in-stock plans, maintain high levels of promotional product availability during promotional periods while minimizing ad residue
• Analyze trends, seasonality, external factors, and other influences that impact demand and leverage statistical models to build a demand plan that quantifies the business environment for current and future needs
• Manage frequent review of order patterns to inform near-term forecast expectations and communicate tactical deviations to all stakeholders.
• Coordinate, facilitate, and support cross functional meetings to drive alignment on end-to-end plans.
• Develop and lead continuous improvement projects to drive improved competencies and outcomes in the Demand Planning process.
• Manage communication with stakeholders by crafting and maintaining reporting to all levels of the organization that summarize relevant and actionable metrics and key performance indicators.
• Participates in the seasonal, annual, and long-range strategic and financial planning for specified departments
• Integrate processes and systems to optimize accuracy, efficiency and inventory productivity

• Must have a bachelor’s degree from a 4 year college or university, coursework in business or supply chain; or 3-5 years replenishment experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel; intermediate to advanced knowledge of spreadsheets, Tableau reporting, PowerBI, & Replenishment systems (Relex, Manhattan, Blue Yonder)
• High level of initiative and organization, with the ability to manage some ambiguity and changing direction. Ability to work in a fast paced, deadline driven environment.
• Requires strong collaboration and building relationships across the organization
• Strong analytical aptitude with a demonstrated ability to analyze/interpret data and build quantitative models to solve business problems
• Excellent oral and written skills, organizational and time-management abilities,…