Senior Manager, Demand Planning

Genuine Parts Company•Atlanta, GA

21h

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Demand Planning leads a significant enterprise demand planning function and develops capabilities to improve forecast accuracy, demand visibility, business alignment, and operational performance. The role provides strategic leadership across teams, forecasting processes, and planning initiatives, aligning commercial objectives and customer demand with supply chain execution. It partners with Category, Marketing, Supply Chain, Inventory Planning, Finance, Operations, Sales, and Technology leaders to translate business strategy into forecasts and actionable planning decisions. The position owns the enterprise demand forecast and consensus planning process, and is accountable for improvements in forecast accuracy and bias, planning effectiveness, inventory productivity, customer availability, and organizational capability. Its scope includes S&OP/IBP leadership, consensus management, promotional and new product forecasting, and demand sensing. The role also leads planning teams and managers, transformation efforts, performance governance, analytics, and talent development. The role works in a standard office environment, with occasional travel possibly required. Extended hours may be needed during peak business cycles or project demands.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Analytics, or a related field.
8–12 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, analytics, supply chain, merchandising, retail operations, or related disciplines.
At least 3 years of people leadership experience, including leadership of managers or large teams.
Demonstrated success leading forecasting organizations and improving forecast performance.
Strong understanding of demand planning, statistical forecasting, demand sensing, S&OP/IBP, inventory management, and supply chain operations.
Experience leading cross-functional planning and business initiatives.
Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management capabilities.
Experience influencing executive-level business decisions through data-driven insights and recommendations.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading enterprise demand planning organizations.
Experience with SAP IBP, Blue Yonder, Kinaxis, Oracle, o9, Anaplan, or similar planning platforms.
Experience with advanced forecasting methodologies, predictive analytics, and demand sensing technologies.
Experience leading organizational transformation initiatives.
MBA, master's degree, or another advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute enterprise demand planning strategies aligned with company growth objectives and financial plans.
Lead short-, mid-, and long-range demand forecasts across product categories and business units.
Establish forecasting methodologies that improve forecast accuracy, demand visibility, and business responsiveness.
Evaluate demand risks, market shifts, customer trends, and business opportunities affecting forecast performance.
Balance revenue goals, customer service, inventory investment, and operational constraints in forecasting assumptions.
Set demand planning priorities that support long-term business growth and enterprise objectives.
Own the enterprise demand forecast and consensus planning process.
Lead forecast generation using statistical models, market intelligence, historical trends, promotional plans, and business inputs.
Improve forecast accuracy, forecast bias, and demand signal responsiveness.
Oversee promotional, seasonal, lifecycle, and new product forecasting activities.
Improve inventory productivity, working capital efficiency, service levels, and customer availability through effective demand planning.
Align demand plans with supply chain execution capabilities; monitor forecast performance and implement corrective actions when assumptions change.
Lead monthly demand reviews and forecast alignment as part of the S&OP/IBP framework.
Facilitate executive discussions about demand assumptions, market risks, and growth opportunities.
Drive cross-functional alignment on demand expectations and operational implications.
Develop scenario models and contingency plans for changing business conditions.
Align consensus demand plans with financial objectives and operational capabilities; represent demand planning in executive planning and business review meetings.
Lead multiple teams, managers, or large demand planning functions; establish priorities, goals, and performance expectations.
Build a high-performance culture centered on accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement; develop scalable organizational structures, engagement, leadership development, and succession pipelines.
Partner strategically with Category, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Technology leaders; influence enterprise decisions using forecasting expertise, data, and insights.
Represent Demand Planning in strategic initiatives and executive forums, build trust with senior leaders, and resolve cross-functional issues affecting demand signal quality and forecast performance.
Establish planning governance, forecasting routines, and performance management processes; drive execution consistency, standardization, and sustainable growth.
Monitor forecast performance and organizational effectiveness, remove barriers to planning effectiveness, and promote forecasting best practices.
Lead forecasting transformation initiatives, system implementations, and process redesign; drive adoption of demand sensing, AI/ML forecasting, and predictive analytics.
Modernize planning processes, systems, and decision-support tools; identify improvement opportunities and measure and communicate transformation impact.
Establish forecasting scorecards, performance metrics, and governance measures; use advanced analytics to identify demand trends, market shifts, and risks.
Drive fact-based decision-making, develop executive-level demand insights and scenario analyses, and promote analytical rigor and continuous improvement.
Develop managers and future planning leaders through coaching, talent acceleration, development plans, and succession strategies.
Strengthen forecasting and leadership capabilities and foster continuous learning, analytical excellence, and growth.