Senior Demand Planner - Merrell

Wolverine Worldwide•Rockford, MI

18d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Demand Planner plays a critical role in the Integrated Business Planning cycle, leading the development and execution of demand forecasts across product categories and distribution channels. The role owns material-level forecasting and drives alignment between demand plans and brand financial targets. It partners with cross-functional teams to lead the forecasting process, align assumptions, develop actionable insights, and support operational execution and business performance. The Senior Demand Planner develops and maintains forecasts using statistical methods, market inputs, historical sales data, and order book analysis. The role builds and improves forecasting models, translates model outputs into operational forecasts, incorporates qualitative and external demand drivers, and provides scenario analysis to support decisions under uncertainty. It also advances forecast accuracy, model robustness, planning efficiency, and forecasting practices while serving as a technical thought partner and mentor to other planners and analysts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations Research, Statistics, Economics, Data Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
2–4 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, or advanced supply chain analytics roles.
Strong understanding of statistical forecasting methods, including time-series analysis and regression-based approaches.
Advanced Excel skills for large datasets, modeling, and validation.
Experience using demand planning or forecasting platforms such as SAP IBP, Blue Yonder/JDA, Oracle Demantra, Kinaxis, or similar.
Demonstrated ability to analyze forecast performance, diagnose issues, and improve results over time.

Responsibilities

Partner with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations to align on demand assumptions and forecast outcomes.
Support planning and S&OP / IBP processes by communicating forecast changes, risks, and drivers.
Present demand insights and recommendations in a clear, structured, and data-driven manner.
Develop and maintain demand forecasts across multiple time horizons using statistical methods, market inputs, historical sales data, and order book analysis.
Design, test, and refine forecasting approaches, including baseline demand modeling, seasonality analysis, and trend adjustment.
Monitor forecast accuracy and bias, investigate root causes of forecast error, and implement corrective actions.
Apply appropriate forecasting methodologies by product, customer, channel, or segment based on demand behavior.
Build, maintain, and enhance forecasting models within demand planning systems and analytical tools.
Translate statistical model outputs into operational forecasts aligned with planning and supply processes.
Define and document assumptions, methodologies, and limitations to ensure forecast transparency and repeatability.
Partner with technology and planning teams to improve forecasting tools, system parameters, and automation.
Incorporate promotions, pricing actions, market dynamics, and product lifecycle events into forecasts.
Evaluate the impact of demand drivers and external signals on forecast performance and planning risk.
Provide scenario analysis and sensitivity views to support decision-making under uncertainty.
Improve forecast accuracy, model robustness, and planning efficiency through ongoing analysis and learning.
Identify opportunities to standardize best practices, improve forecast governance, and reduce manual effort.
Serve as a technical thought partner and mentor to other planners and analysts.
Perform duties consistent with the Company’s AAP/EEO goals and policies, and other duties as required or assigned by the manager.