Demand Planning Manager

Role Purpose

The Demand Planning Manager is responsible for leading the Planning function across Local, Import, and Promotional product portfolios, ensuring that stock availability and efficiency targets are consistently achieved across the business.

This role manages a team of Demand Planners, Junior Planners and Order Administrators, driving excellence in forecasting, replenishment and inventory management. A key focus of the role is optimizing stock efficiency addressing excess and slow-moving inventory, ensuring healthy stock rotation, and maintaining optimal availability in stores and warehouses.

The Demand Planning Manager plays a strategic role in supporting buying and commercial decisions through strong analytical insight, proactive risk management, and effective collaboration across Supply Chain, Buying and Operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Planning team by coaching Demand Planners, Junior Planners, and Order Administrators, setting clear objectives and KPIs, and fostering a high performance, collaborative culture.
• Oversee demand planning and replenishment by ensuring accurate forecasting, optimizing replenishment parameters, managing supply constraints, and maintaining data integrity within planning systems.
• Drive inventory efficiency by balancing product availability with inventory investment, reducing excess and obsolete stock, leading stock health reviews, and collaborating with Buying on actions such as promotions, markdowns, and supplier returns.
• Manage range transitions by leading the planning of new product launches and discontinued ranges, providing demand insights, coordinating with Buying and Merchandising, and ensuring accurate system setup and communication.
• Collaborate across functions by acting as the link between Planning, Buying, Logistics, Stores, and Finance to align supply and demand, improve supply chain performance, and support inventory and financial reporting.
• Monitor performance and drive continuous improvement by tracking key supply chain KPIs, reviewing planner and supplier performance, reporting on stock risks and opportunities to senior management, and implementing process improvements to enhance planning effectiveness.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business or a related field (Postgraduate qualification advantageous).
• 5–8 years experience in demand and supply planning, inventory management or merchandise planning, preferably within the retail or FMCG sector.
• Minimum of 2–3 years experience in a leadership or team management role.
• Strong knowledge of demand forecasting and replenishment systems such as Relex, SAP, Oracle, JDA or similar planning platforms.