Demand Planner, Lead

Lennox International•Richardson, TX

17d

About The Position

As a Demand Planner Lead, you will work with cross-functional teams to develop and maintain a demand (sales) forecast for finished goods to drive financial and inventory decisions. You will positively impact the overall sales and customer service by developing new and innovative methods of analyzing data, identifying process improvement opportunities, and determining which methods to apply. This role requires a broad understanding of statistical methodologies, strong abilities in forecasting and maintaining demand planning systems, and strong skills with SAP/APO or another advanced planning system. You will also coach, mentor, and develop demand planners to elevate overall team capability and performance, drive accountability, and remove roadblocks across cross-functional teams.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, preferably in Supply Chain/Logistics Management, Industrial Engineering, or Operations.
At least 8 years related experience, preferably in Supply Chain or Demand Planning.
Broad understanding of statistical methodologies.
Strong abilities in forecasting and maintaining demand planning systems.
Strong skills with SAP/APO or another advanced planning system.
Expert knowledge of Supply Chain Management and working in a consensus, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) environment.
Extensive understanding of best practices in demand planning.
Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation and training skills.
Ability to multi-task and work effectively in a fast-paced, high volume environment.
Strong analytical and problem solving skills, attention to detail, and solid Customer Relations skills.
Must be able to lead the work of others.
Proficient in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

Nice To Haves

Masters Degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Analyze historical data, market trends, seasonality, and business inputs to generate accurate demand projections.
Incorporate multiple data inputs (e.g., sales trends, promotions, inventory targets, and AI/ML forecasts) into planning processes.
Develop and manage statistical and judgmental demand forecasts across assigned product categories.
Lead forecast review cycles and identify key exceptions, risks, and opportunities.
Monitor forecast accuracy, bias, and key performance indicators; drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Work closely with Product Management and Sales to incorporate customer intelligence, pipeline data, and new product forecasts.
Collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure demand signals support inventory optimization and service-level targets.
Provide regular reports on forecast accuracy, inventory health, and service level performance.
Use ERP and planning tools (SAP, IBP, Oracle, or similar) for data analysis and execution.
Develops new and innovative methods of analyzing data and determines which methods to apply.
Coach, mentor, and develop demand planners to elevate overall team capability and performance.
Drive accountability and remove roadblocks across cross-functional teams (Sales, Finance, Product, Supply Planning, Inventory Optimization).
Lead alignment on demand assumptions and ensure clear ownership of forecast outcomes.
Translate strategic objectives into actionable tactical plans to improve forecast accuracy and business outcomes.
Partner cross-functionally to ensure demand plans are aligned with supply constraints, product strategies, and market dynamics.
Design and maintain robust demand forecasting models incorporating: External market/industry data (e.g., AHRI, channel trends), Product mix, seasonality, and lifecycle, Internal historical demand signals.
Apply advanced statistical modeling and analytics (e.g., regression, machine learning, time-series models) to drive consensus demand plans.
Develop and continuously improve forecast performance metrics, including: Forecast accuracy, Bias analysis, Exception-based reporting.
Partner with IT, BI, and Data Science teams to: Automate dashboards and reporting, Enable self-service analytics for planners, Improve data availability and quality.
Build and scale an analytics platform that enables: Item-level / region-level forecasting, Scenario modeling and sensitivity analysis, Continuous improvement toward world-class forecast accuracy.