Demand Planner

CANPACK•Olyphant, PA

About The Position

The Demand Planner leads the CPUS demand planning process and develops a robust, consensus-based demand plan used as the primary input for Supply Planning, Production Planning, Inventory Management, and Integrated Business Planning (IBP). The role works closely with Sales, Customer Service, Finance, Marketing, Supply Planning, Operations, and business units to align commercial expectations with operational capabilities and financial objectives. It facilitates demand reviews, improves forecast accuracy, identifies risks and opportunities, and aligns customer demand with capacity constraints and business priorities. The position supports strategic decisions by translating market intelligence, customer insights, and statistical forecasting into actionable plans that improve service, inventory, and supply chain performance. The Demand Planner independently manages CPUS demand planning activities, forecast development, stakeholder alignment, and the monthly S&OP process under broad strategic direction from the IBP and Customer Relations Manager. The role also supports planning maturity, analytics, systems improvements, and North American and global planning governance. It serves as a CPUS subject matter expert and promotes data-driven decisions and cross-functional collaboration.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, or an equivalent undergraduate degree, with related work experience.
2–5 years of work experience.
English proficiency at C2 (Proficient) level.
Strong understanding of commercial, operational, and supply-chain business processes.
Advanced analytical and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to manage large datasets and perform diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics.
Strong business acumen and ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills across organizational levels.
Strong presentation, communication, and facilitation skills.
Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, matrix organization.
Strong project-management and organizational skills; ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Continuous-improvement mindset focused on measurable business value; ability to drive change and constructively challenge assumptions.
Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.
Deep knowledge of Demand Planning, S&OP, and IBP processes.
Understanding of Supply Planning, Inventory Management, Capacity Planning, and Customer Service processes.
Knowledge of supply-chain performance metrics, including MAPE, Attainment, Bias, FVA, service levels, inventory turns, and OTIF.
Understanding of financial planning and its integration with operational planning.
Knowledge of forecasting methodologies, statistical models, and demand-sensing techniques.
Experience with SAP IBP Demand and SAP IBP S&OP.
Advanced Excel, Power BI, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications.
Understanding of product lifecycle management, innovation planning, and portfolio management.
Knowledge of supply-chain optimization and inventory-management concepts.
Understanding of continuous-improvement methodologies and business-process-management principles.

Responsibilities

Develop, maintain, and continuously improve CPUS demand forecasts across customers, product categories, and markets.
Lead the monthly Demand Review as part of the IBP/S&OP cycle.
Consolidate commercial inputs, market intelligence, customer insights, promotional plans, innovation activities, and historical demand patterns into a consensus forecast.
Monitor forecast performance using MAPE, Bias, Attainment, and Forecast Value Add (FVA), analyze deviations, and implement corrective actions.
Collaborate with Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, Finance, Supply Planning, and Operations to align demand, supply, and financial plans.
Facilitate discussions on demand assumptions, risks, opportunities, and mitigation plans; communicate significant demand changes affecting capacity, inventory, and customer service.
Provide data-driven scenario analyses and recommendations to support executive decisions.
Coordinate CPUS demand planning within S&OP and IBP frameworks; prepare and present results, risks, opportunities, assumptions, and recommended actions in Demand Review and Supply Review meetings.
Drive adherence to planning calendars, governance standards, and demand planning processes, and support improvements to planning maturity and decision-making capabilities.
Analyze data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, demand drivers, customer demand behavior, inventory implications, and service-level impacts.
Develop predictive and diagnostic analyses and provide business insights and recommendations.
Act as a key user and subject matter expert for SAP IBP, reporting tools, and planning systems.
Support planning-tool, dashboard, and reporting implementation and enhancement; identify process standardization and improvement opportunities.
Participate in cross-functional supply-chain transformation and digitalization projects.
Identify and quantify forecast risks and opportunities, develop mitigation plans, and support scenario planning and sensitivity analysis.
Incorporate supply constraints and business priorities into the final consensus demand plan.
Support demand planning across CPUS customer groups and product categories, incorporating North American market dynamics, customer buying patterns, seasonality, promotions, macroeconomic trends, commercial strategies, market developments, and growth initiatives.
Ensure forecasting consistency and standardization while accommodating US business requirements; support compliance with company policies, governance standards, and applicable US regulations.
Consider regulatory, trade, sustainability, packaging, recycling, deposit return system, and environmental factors that may affect demand where applicable.
Collaborate across CPUS business units and support alignment between US market requirements and North American supply-chain objectives.
Serve as a CPUS demand-planning and forecasting subject matter expert; support coaching, training, and capability development within the planning community.
Promote data-driven decision-making and cross-functional collaboration and contribute to the advancement of North American planning maturity and forecast accuracy.