Demand Planner in Ashley

Our client, a leading and ever-growing organisation within the FMCG food and beverage sector, is seeking a proactive and analytically minded Demand Planner to support business growth through accurate forecasting, effective inventory planning, and strong cross-functional collaboration. This is an excellent opportunity for a detail-focused planner to play a key role in shaping demand planning and supporting the S&OP process across the organisation.

Job Role

Reporting to the Supply Chain Manager, the Demand Planner will be responsible for creating, monitoring, and refining demand forecasts to ensure high levels of accuracy and product availability. You will provide visibility on sales, demand, distribution, and supply trends, helping to align commercial plans with operational execution through the S&OP process. You will work closely with Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to ensure that promotions, product launches, and product phase-outs are effectively incorporated into planning cycles.

Responsibilities

• Create, monitor, and continuously improve demand forecasts to meet accuracy targets.
• Support the development and maturity of the S&OP process by providing robust baseline demand forecasts.
• Analyse historical sales trends, promotional activity, and market signals to refine forecasting assumptions.
• Review forecast performance against actual sales, identifying root causes of variances and recommending corrective actions.
• Coordinate cross-functional reviews to reconcile differences between sales, marketing, and supply plans.
• Manage and maintain the end-to-end demand planning process for assigned product lines.
• Develop and support inventory strategies to ensure optimal stock levels and service performance.
• Use Power BI, Slim4, and Business Central data to track forecast performance and availability.
• Monitor stock holding levels to ensure they remain within agreed targets.
• Manage product phase-outs and obsolete stock to minimise business risk and write-offs.
• Track and report OTIF performance, highlighting risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Produce and maintain monthly brand performance trackers and end-of-month reports.
• Work collaboratively with Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing teams to align planning cycles.
• Proactively identify and resolve supply-demand imbalances ahead of impact.
• Support new product launches and promotional planning through accurate demand input.

Personal Profile

• Experience in Demand Planning, Supply Chain, or Inventory Management.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Confident communicator with the ability to influence and challenge constructively.
• Highly organised with excellent time management and ability to work under pressure.
• Solutions-driven mindset with strong problem-solving capability.
• Advanced Excel skills and strong overall MS Office competence.
• Experience working to KPIs in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience within FMCG, ideally food and beverage, is desirable.
• Experience of S&OP processes would be advantageous.
• Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Slim4 experience is desirable.
• Collaborative, proactive, and detail-oriented with a flexible working approach.

Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Early finish on Fridays, Hybrid working with up to 2 days per week working from home.

Package: Private Healthcare, Competitive Pension, Discretionary Bonus, Staff Discount, Car Lease Scheme, Group Income Protection, Life Assurance, 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays and birthday).

To apply, please send your comprehensive CV in strict confidence, quoting the reference above and for the attention of Jon Hemming-Nash. Please include current salary details within your application. Due to high response levels, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you have not received a response within one week, regrettably your application has not been successful on this occasion.