Education & Experience:

Minimum 4 - 6 years of relevant experience in Demand Planning, Forecasting, Sales & Operations Planning, Supply Chain Planning or a closely related FMCG commercial/supply-chain function.
Demonstrated experience developing and managing forecasts across multiple SKUs, categories, customers and/or channels.
Experience using statistical forecasting and analysing forecast accuracy and bias.
Experience working with Sales and Marketing to incorporate commercial intelligence, promotions, launches and market events into the demand plan.
Experience participating in S&OP/IBP and consensus demand planning processes.
Experience analysing demand deviations and converting learning into forecast improvements.
Experience working with ERP/demand planning systems and large datasetsKey Responsiblities

Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills:

Strong knowledge of demand planning, forecasting, statistical forecasting and demand management principles.
Strong understanding of FMCG demand drivers including seasonality, promotions, pricing, distribution, product lifecycle and customer behaviour.
Proficiency in ERP/Demand Planning systems (e.g. SAP) and advanced Excel.
Experience with data analytics, forecasting and reporting tools, preferably Power BI or equivalent.
Understanding of Demand Plan Accuracy, Forecast Bias, Forecast Value Added and forecast error analysis.
Understanding of IBP/S&OP, Consensus Demand Planning and cross-functional alignment processes.

Soft Skills:

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Effective communication and collaboration skills.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Attention to detail and proactive decision-making.
To develop and maintain an accurate, unbiased and commercially realistic demand plan for the assigned portfolio by combining statistical forecasting with customer, consumer, market and commercial insights.
The role is responsible for translating market and business intelligence into a reliable demand signal, driving consensus across Sales, Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain, and proactively identifying and managing demand risks and exceptions.
The role will contribute to the IBP/S&OP process and continuously improve forecast accuracy, forecast stability and value-added planning across the business.

Maintain Data and Systems

Create and maintain the appropriate master data in the planning systems in use, minimising errors, and avoiding duplication and obsolescence.
Maintain system hygiene and health to ensure demand signals are not polluted, in close collaboration with Customer Services.

Collate Information and Assumptions

Ensure commitment from all functions, build and maintain good communication and collaboration both within Supply Chain and with Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing and Finance, according to the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) best practices.
Capture, prioritize, analyze and input Marketing and Sales events; customer, consumer & competitor information; other external / internal trends and influences which impact demand.

Manage Portfolio and Lifecycle

Effectively use all Demand Planning system functionality to enable an exception based management approach.
Maintain the systems to reflect the lifecycle of products (predecessors, successors, temporary promotional variants.
Collaborate with Marketing and Sales by providing input on a regular basis regarding product launches, portfolio optimization, rationale of commercial decisions, promotions and customer behavior.

Develop and Maintain the Forecast

Use appropriate statistical models and parameters, and enrich statistical forecasts to generate accurate base demand forecasts.
Generate and maintain a demand plan for a given portfolio of products, locations and/or customers, at the levels (product hierarchy and time) at which business decisions are taken.
Focus on and deliver a stable demand plan, but taking into account appropriately recent events, along with achievement of Demand Plan Accuracy (DPA), controlled variability of accuracy and no systematic bias.
Ensure that business planning is operated at the correct level of aggregation (product hierarchy and time).

Reach Consensus through Alignment

Contribute to cross functional planning activities such as IBP and the Consesus Demand Planning Framework (CDP) according to Best Practice.
Contribute to Customer Facing activities such as Collaborative Planning, Promotional Forecasting, ad hoc joint Supply Chain improvement projects as appropriate.
Share and Publish the Forecast
Through systematic reporting, provision of links or ad-hoc reports and communications, ensure that Demand Plan information is available to internal business partners as required.
Cascade knowledge of Best Practices and tools to other Demand Planners.

Track and Manage Demand

Actively follow-up actual sales to customers and sell-out (POS) data to identify exceptional or unforecasted activities.
Drive fast, appropriate actions to minimize the impact of deviations from the Demand Plan. Communicate these actions to stakeholders.

Measure and Track Performance

Consistently improve Demand Plan Accuracy (DPA accuracy level and variability) and drive out systematic forecast bias through detailed analyses of past performance. Track errors using DP Reason Codes and maintain an efficient Learning Log.
Implement improvements to Demand and Supply Planning processes and tools to deliver tangible benefits (e.g. time savings, increased efficiencies).
Knowledge of Demand Nigeria FMCG market dynamics
'Understanding of Nigerian FMCG demand drivers, market volatility, seasonality and channel dynamics.
Understanding of distributor/customer behaviour and its impact on demand patterns.
Understanding of promotional, pricing, competitive and macroeconomic factors affecting demand.
Understanding of the impact of demand decisions on inventory, manufacturing capacity, customer service and working capital.

Key Success Metrics and Demand Planning Scorecard

Demand Planning Executive At Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Key skills