Demand & Materials Planning Manager

Boler, Hendrickson, Anchor Harvey•Schaumburg, IL

About The Position

The Demand & Materials Planning Manager leads demand planning and raw-material forecasting across multiple manufacturing locations. The role translates customer demand, production schedules, historical usage, inventory levels, supplier lead times, and business forecasts into purchasing and material plans that support uninterrupted production while optimizing inventory investment. It requires significant experience leading multi-site demand planning in manufacturing, strong ERP/MRP capabilities, and a practical understanding of purchasing and inventory management. Metals purchasing experience is preferred, as is familiarity with CNC machining and the effects of material grades, dimensions, yields, scrap, and lead times on production requirements. The manager partners with Purchasing, Operations, Production Planning, Engineering, machining teams, Sales, Finance, IT, and site leadership to forecast and procure materials, monitor availability and inventory, maintain planning data, and address supply risks. The role leads and standardizes planning practices across sites, provides direction and expertise to planning, purchasing, and materials personnel, and drives improvements in forecast accuracy, inventory performance, material availability, and cross-site planning execution. The position is full-time, with an annual salary range of $80,000–$120,000. Final compensation depends on experience, education, qualifications, and other job-related criteria. The posting refers applicants to the company benefits website for a full benefits list but does not specify individual benefits. Occasional travel between manufacturing locations and supplier sites may be required. Work includes an office setting and interaction in manufacturing and warehouse environments; manufacturing-area visits require proper PPE. The employer states that duties may change and that employment is at will.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations Management, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience leading demand planning across multiple manufacturing sites.
Demonstrated experience in demand forecasting, raw-material planning, purchasing, supply chain, or inventory management in a manufacturing environment.
Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and system-generated material and purchase requirements.
Experience managing planning parameters such as lead times, safety stock, reorder points, lot sizes, order policies, and material requirements.
Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret large data sets and convert findings into purchasing and operational actions.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookup functions, data analysis, and reporting.
Ability to lead cross-functional planning processes and influence decisions across multiple sites without relying exclusively on direct authority.
Excellent communication, organization, problem-solving, and prioritization skills.
Ability to sit at a computer for extended periods.
Ability to review raw materials, inventory, and manufacturing processes on the production floor.
Occasional travel between manufacturing locations and supplier sites may be required.
Proper personal protective equipment is required for occasional visits to manufacturing areas.

Nice To Haves

Professional supply-chain certification such as APICS CPIM or CSCP.
Metals purchasing experience, particularly with aluminum, steel, alloys, forgings, castings, bar stock, billet, or plate.
Experience in a CNC machining, metalworking, forging, casting, or precision-manufacturing environment.
Knowledge of raw-material grades, specifications, dimensions, yields, scrap considerations, and supplier lead times.
Experience supporting Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), demand reviews, or other formal cross-functional planning processes.
Experience improving enterprise planning processes, ERP/MRP parameters, and inventory-management practices.

Responsibilities

Lead and standardize demand-planning methods, reporting, and performance expectations across multiple manufacturing locations.
Develop and maintain raw-material forecasts using customer demand, production schedules, historical consumption, inventory balances, supplier lead times, and anticipated business requirements.
Translate finished-goods demand and production plans into projected raw-material requirements by site, material type, specification, and timing.
Analyze forecast-to-actual consumption, identify variance causes, and implement actions to improve planning accuracy.
Identify and communicate anticipated shortages, excess inventory, changing demand, and material risks to Purchasing, Operations, and site leadership.
Establish planning horizons and replenishment assumptions that reflect supplier lead times, production requirements, service expectations, and inventory objectives.
Provide material-demand projections to support capacity and production-planning decisions.
Partner with Purchasing to translate forecasts and ERP/MRP requirements into raw-material purchasing plans.
Monitor material availability, supplier lead times, open purchase orders, inventory levels, safety stock, reorder points, and anticipated production needs.
Support purchasing strategies for metals and other applicable manufacturing materials.
Recommend order quantities and replenishment strategies that balance production continuity, inventory carrying cost, minimum order quantities, and supplier constraints.
Identify supply constraints and recommend mitigations such as alternate timing, inventory transfers, supplier escalation, or approved substitutions.
Analyze slow-moving, excess, and obsolete raw-material inventory and recommend disposition or consumption plans.
Consolidate demand across sites when appropriate to improve purchasing leverage, inventory utilization, and supplier planning.
Use ERP/MRP systems to manage demand signals, material requirements, lead times, order policies, safety stock, purchase requirements, and planning parameters.
Review system-generated recommendations and convert them into practical purchasing and material-planning actions.
Maintain accurate planning master data and collaborate with Purchasing, Operations, Engineering, and IT to resolve data-integrity issues.
Develop and maintain reports and dashboards for forecast accuracy, inventory levels, material availability, shortages, purchase requirements, and excess inventory.
Use advanced Excel and analytical tools to assess trends, model demand scenarios, and support fact-based decisions.
Lead continuous improvement in ERP/MRP utilization, planning disciplines, data accuracy, and material visibility.
Work with Operations, Production Planning, Engineering, and machining teams to understand how schedules and process changes affect raw-material consumption.
Incorporate material grades, specifications, sizes, yields, scrap factors, lot requirements, and production constraints into forecasts and purchasing plans.
Anticipate changes in material requirements due to new programs, engineering revisions, customer demand changes, process improvements, or production transfers.
Apply practical knowledge of CNC machining and metalworking when evaluating material needs, risks, and production priorities.
Facilitate recurring demand and material-planning reviews with Purchasing, Operations, Sales, Finance, Engineering, and site leadership.
Provide direction, coaching, and subject-matter expertise to site planning, purchasing, and materials personnel.
Communicate material risks, inventory concerns, forecast changes, and recommended actions to stakeholders and leadership.
Drive measurable improvements in forecast accuracy, inventory performance, material availability, and cross-site planning execution.