Director of Demand Planning

Bunzl Distribution 01 St. Louis, MO 63141, USA

Are you a visionary supply chain leader who thrives at the intersection of data, strategy, and operations? We’re seeking a Director of Demand Planning to transform how we forecast, plan, and deliver for our customers. This role drives the end-to-end Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process with other cross-functional business leaders, ensuring demand insights shape inventory strategy, optimize service levels, and fuel business growth.

You’ll leverage Blue Yonder (JDA) planning expertise to lead a high-performing team, influence senior leadership, and deliver actionable insights that directly impact company performance. If you’re ready to take forecasting and demand planning to a strategic, game-changing level, this role is for you.

The Director of Demand Planning will lead the organization’s demand planning and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) initiatives, ensuring inventory strategies align with customer demand and business objectives. This role drives supply chain efficiency, service excellence, and data-driven decision-making. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in demand planning, strong leadership capabilities, and hands‑on experience with Blue Yonder (JDA) planning solutions to optimize forecast accuracy, inventory management, and cross‑functional alignment.

• Lead the demand planning function, overseeing accurate forecasts that incorporate historical data, market trends, sales insights, and promotional activity.
• Drive forecasting for new customer onboarding, ensuring demand projections support seamless ramp‑ups and sustained customer satisfaction.
• Integrate long‑term strategic planning into operational forecasts, supporting business growth objectives.
• Own and enhance the S&OP process, facilitating alignment between demand planning, purchasing, sourcing, and sales teams.
• Lead cross‑functional S&OP meetings, presenting actionable insights and recommendations while collaborating with cross‑functional leaders.
• Ensure demand plans are executable, balancing customer service targets with inventory and operational efficiency.
• Leverage Blue Yonder (JDA) and other advanced planning tools to analyze demand trends, forecast accuracy, and inventory performance.
• Develop dashboards and reports for executive leadership, highlighting forecast performance, service levels, and inventory health.
• Implement process improvements and corrective actions based on forecasting accuracy metrics.

• Align inventory strategies to demand forecasts to minimize stockouts and excess inventory across multiple distribution centers.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning processes to enhance service levels and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with procurement, logistics, and sourcing teams to ensure timely replenishment and optimal inventory positioning.

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high‑performing demand planning team with expertise in forecasting, S&OP, and planning technologies.
• Champion best practices and continuous learning, promoting adoption of advanced tools and data‑driven decision‑making.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and strategic thinking within the team.
• Partner with sales, sourcing, and service teams to understand demand drivers, product lifecycle changes, and market dynamics.
• Engage directly with key customers and suppliers, as needed, to ensure forecasts accurately reflect customer requirements and align inventory strategies with demand.

• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, or a related field; MBA preferred.
• Proven leadership experience in demand planning, forecasting, or S&OP within a complex supply chain environment.
• Hands‑on expertise with Blue Yonder (JDA) Demand Planning and Supply Planning modules.
• Strong analytical skills and experience leveraging data to drive strategic decisions.
• Exceptional cross‑functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to optimize inventory, balance service levels, and improve forecast accuracy.

Bunzl Distribution offers competitive salaries, a comfortable work environment, and a full range of benefits including a 401k with a company match.

Bunzl Distribution has a tradition of commitment to equal employment opportunity. It is the established policy to attract and retain the best qualified people without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex/gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran status as provided by law.

Equal Opportunity Employer
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