Demand Planner

APN Consulting, Inc. is a progressive IT staffing and services company offering innovative business solutions to improve client business outcomes. We focus on high impact technology solutions in ServiceNow, Fullstack, Cloud & Data, and AI / ML. Due to our globally expanding service offerings we are seeking top-talent to join our teams and grow with us.

Demand Planner
Fulltime
Edison NJ

Client is seeking a Demand Planner who will develop, maintain, and improve demand forecasts that align customer sales expectations with business operations. This role serves as a key link between Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Customer Service, and Product Management to ensure demand forecasts support inventory planning, production schedules, and overall business objectives.
This position analyzes sales history, customer inventory levels, POS data, promotional activity, seasonality, new product introductions, and product transitions to create accurate demand forecasts. The Demand Planner works closely with Sales Managers and cross-functional teams to understand customer requirements, identify risks and opportunities, and ensure forecasts are translated into actionable plans.
The role requires strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, along with a solid understanding of forecasting, inventory management, manufacturing processes, and supply chain operations.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Own and maintain customer-, item-, and channel-level demand forecasts by analyzing sales history, POS data, customer inventory levels, seasonality, promotional activity, new product introductions, and input from Sales Managers.
• Serve as the primary link between Sales forecasting and the formal demand planning process, ensuring customer assumptions are accurately incorporated into supply, inventory, and manufacturing plans.
• Partner with Sales Managers to understand account-level opportunities, customer commitments, promotional programs, inventory trends, Back-to-School requirements, risks, and forecast drivers affecting future demand.
• Analyze supply chain constraints, manufacturing lead times, production capacity, raw material availability, inventory levels, service risks, and backorder trends to develop realistic and executable demand plans.
• Utilize forecasting and ERP systems, including Netstock, D365, EDI data, customer portals, and internal reporting tools to develop forecasts and identify demand, supply, and inventory exceptions.
• Lead recurring forecast review meetings with Sales, Manufacturing, Operations, and Customer Service to align forecasts with business and operational requirements.
• Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual demand projections by customer, product, product family, and sales channel; analyze forecast variances and recommend corrective actions.
• Support annual budgeting and rolling forecast processes by consolidating sales inputs, validating assumptions, identifying forecast changes, and communicating demand planning impacts to leadership.
• Coordinate with Sales Forecasting, Sales Managers, Marketing, Product Management, Operations, and Manufacturing on new product launches, promotions, item transitions, discontinuations, and end-of-life activities.
• Monitor forecast accuracy, forecast bias, service levels, and exception reporting; identify root causes of forecast variance and implement process improvements to enhance forecasting performance.
• Maintain forecast data integrity across all systems, ensuring customer, item, promotional, timing, and supply assumptions are documented, accurate, and consistently communicated.
• Prepare and distribute monthly forecast reporting, including sales performance, forecast accuracy, inventory risks, supply constraints, manufacturing impacts, and recommended action plans.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 3–5 years of experience in demand planning, forecasting, supply chain planning, replenishment, sales operations, or a related analytical role.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Analytics, Finance, or a related field preferred.
• Experience with forecasting software, inventory planning, and ERP systems preferred.
• Experience supporting a sales-driven, customer-focused business environment preferred.
• Consumer Packaged Goods (Client), retail, or mass merchant experience preferred.
• Experience with POS reporting, customer inventory analytics, replenishment systems, and EDI transactions preferred.
• Exposure to D365, Crystal Reports, Walmart/Sam's Club Retail Link, or similar customer reporting systems is a plus.
• Strong analytical, forecasting, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Knowledge of demand planning, forecasting, inventory management, replenishment, manufacturing processes, and supply chain operations.
• Experience with ERP platforms (D365 preferred), Netstock or similar planning software, reporting tools, EDI data, and customer portals.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Word.
• Ability to analyze forecast accuracy, variances, inventory performance, service levels, and root causes to support business decisions and process improvements.
• Strong organizational, project management, and multitasking skills, with the ability to manage changing priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships and work effectively with Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Customer Service, and other stakeholders.
• Strong business judgment, decision-making ability, and confidentiality when handling sensitive information.
• Ability to translate sales plans, customer insights, and market trends into actionable demand forecasts.
• Experience creating reports, conducting research, and presenting findings and recommendations to management.

We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where individuals from all backgrounds feel valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all genders, races, ethnicities, abilities, and experiences to join our team and help us build a culture of belonging.