Demand Planner at Snack Innovations in NJ-Piscataway-08854

Job description

• The Demand Planner is a critical, cross-functional role responsible for building and maintaining a rolling demand forecast that connects shipment sales, POS data, promotional calendars, and customer-level dynamics into a single, integrated view. The forecast will directly inform financial planning, supply and production scheduling, and MRP inputs, making this role a foundational piece of the company’s operational infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Build and own a rolling 12–18 month forward demand forecast at the SKU × retailer / shipment / first receiver level, ensuring the model accommodates multiple pack size configurations as well as club rotation and seasonal/limited-time SKUs
• Anchor the forecast to POS data where available (Nielsen, IRI, retailer portals) to reflect true consumer takeaway rather than relying solely on shipment history
• Translate the demand forecast into actionable inputs for the financial forecast, supply and production planning, and MRP
• Incorporate promotional lift factors and account for all demand-shaping events, including, but not limited to: new distribution resets and pipe-fills, display and shipper activity, club channel rotations, seasonal SKU introductions and wind-downs, and pricing and trade promotional periods
• Maintain a shared input calendar for cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations) to submit planned events, promotional activity, distribution changes, and other demand drivers on a defined cadence ahead of each forecast cycle
• Be a key resource in building and running a structured monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, including owning the demand planning meeting cadence, pre-read materials, and post-meeting action tracking
• Align cross-functional stakeholders (Sales, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain) around a single consensus forecast
• Maintain a running Risks & Opportunities (R&O) log tied to promotions, new launches, distribution changes, seasonality, and customer-specific events and updating it monthly and presenting it as a standing agenda item in S&OP reviews
• Leverage retailer and distributor inventory data to monitor customer inventory positions in near real-time, using that visibility to inform shipment timing recommendations by customer
• Serve as a thought leader on inventory allocation strategy, proactively flagging customers at risk of over- or under-stock and recommending corrective actions
• Partner with the Sales and Operations teams to plan for secondary display events, including forecasting incremental volume for shippers, off-shelf displays, pallet drops, case stack deals, and similar in-store execution vehicles
• Support draw-down and load-in planning around promotional events and seasonal peaks
• Establish a forecast accuracy measurement framework (MAPE, bias, SKU-level error tracking) and publish a recurring KPI scorecard covering forecast accuracy vs. actuals by customer and SKU, forecast bias trends, inventory position vs. target, and fill rate / service level metrics
• Use KPI learnings to continuously improve forecast methodology, model inputs, and cross-functional input quality
• Analyze category dynamics (seasonality, competitive pricing moves, promotional elasticity, and inventory load-ins and drawdowns) to sharpen forecast inputs and provide context to leadership
• Support volume productivity analytics at retail on an ad-hoc basis (velocity, shelf productivity, penny profit); primary focus remains demand planning and retail analytics is a secondary, growth opportunity for the role.

Requirements

• Qualifications & Skills
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Statistics, or a related field
• 2–6+ years of experience in demand planning, supply chain, or CPG forecasting
• Proficiency with syndicated data platforms (Nielsen, IRI, SPINS) and/or retailer portals
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, Power Query, and structured financial/operational modeling
• Experience in a multi-customer retail environment (grocery, club, mass, natural/specialty)
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Experience with S&OP process design, facilitation, and continuous improvement
• Familiarity with ERP environments (NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Sage, or similar)
• Club and natural/specialty channel experience
• Background in snack, better-for-you, or perishable CPG categories
• Retail analytics or category management experience

Skills

Required

• Advanced Excel
• Power Query
• Nielsen
• IRI
• SPINS
• ERP (NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Sage)

Benefits

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Compensation: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year