Demand Planner

Sakata Seed America, INC.•Woodland, CA

6d•$75,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Vegetable Demand Planner is responsible for balancing supply and demand to maximize sales while optimizing costs. This role manages demand and supply forecasting for an assigned portfolio, including intercompany procurement of finished goods. The Demand Planner continuously reviews forecasts and inventory targets in response to demand changes and serves as the primary liaison between Sales and Operations, ensuring accurate supply and demand information is communicated effectively.

Requirements

Extensive experience in MPS, MRP, and CPFR within a production and purchasing environment.
Proficiency in inventory management and transaction accuracy.
Ability to analyze situations and react in a timely manner.
Deep understanding of the requirements of production, logistics, marketing, sales, and finance.
Knowledgeable in different forecasting algorithms and ability to interpret statistical data.
Extensive hands-on experience with Excel-based planning and forecasting systems.
Ability to handle stress, especially during projects, deadlines, or high workloads.
Must be able to work under strict time constraints and requirements.
Excellent communication skills.
5 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, production, and inventory planning.
2 years of experience in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP).

Nice To Haves

Experience in Dynamics AX or any ERP system.
Professional certification by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

Responsibilities

Generates 36-month statistical sales and supply forecasts, analyzing market trends, seasonality, competition, and promotions to validate forecast models.
Manages the demand review process collaboratively, ensuring consensus among demand planning, sales, and finance for an unconstrained sales forecast.
Executes the Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) process with internal vendors.
Develops a constrained sales plan based on the demand review and CPFR outputs.
Supports the annual Sales Budget and quarterly Latest Estimate reviews by providing a realistic 12-month forecast, considering supply constraints, new product introductions, and pricing.
Manages supply forecasts and procurement of finished goods, including creating purchase orders, submitting them to vendors, and maintaining accurate quantities and delivery dates.
Monitors inventory levels against actual demand using MRP tools to ensure availability.
Supports the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process by providing KPI reports and supply status information.
Acts as the main contact with Sales, Customer Service, Product Management, Supply Planning, and intercompany vendors to establish a supply plan detailing projected inventory, resource constraints, and new product introductions (NPI).
Supports the New Product Introduction process by ensuring seed availability for product launches and anticipated demand.
Aligns sales forecasts with the product life cycle (PLC) to manage inventory levels, reduce stock for phased-out products, and ensure smooth exit strategies.
Contributes to the quarterly Inventory Reserve review process, ensuring inventory decisions align with projected supply and demand plans.
Facilitates regular demand planning meetings to review forecasts, share insights, and align on demand assumptions.
Conducts weekly supply and demand status meetings with the customer service team to discuss shortages, make allocation decisions, and address order fulfillment issues.
Stages the PO receiving process by allocating lots and creating lot information records in the system.
Ensures Master Data and Bills of Materials (BOMs) are consistently updated for the assigned portfolio.
Drives continuous process improvement in supply and demand planning, forecasting, and inventory management.