The Global Demand Planning Manager is responsible for the global demand planning process, driving forecast accuracy, improving business predictability, and supporting strategic decision-making.
The role will lead regional demand planning assessments, implement best-in-class forecasting practices, drive machine learning (ML) forecasting adoption globally, and leverage SAP IBP Demand Planning capabilities to generate value-added business insights and measurable performance improvements. The role represents the demand side of Supply Chain Management within the operational side of the business.
Key responsibilities
1.Global Demand Planning
- Lead and govern the global demand planning process.
- Drive alignment between Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Supply Chain functions.
- Facilitate monthly global demand review and executive S&OP/IBP meetings.
- Ensure demand plans support business growth objectives and operational efficiency.
2. Regional Assessment and Continuous Improvement
- Conduct comprehensive assessments of regional demand planning maturity, processes, systems, and capabilities.
- Identify gaps in forecasting performance, data quality, planning discipline, and organizational capabilities.
- Develop and execute regional improvement roadmaps with measurable milestones.
- Coach and mentor regional demand planning teams on best practices.
- Monitor implementation progress and ensure sustainable capability development.
- Establish benchmarking and performance comparison across regions.
3. Machine Learning Forecasting Implementation
- Lead the global deployment of machine learning forecasting capabilities across all regions.
- Partner with IT, Data Science teams, SAP consultants, and external vendors to implement ML-based forecasting solutions.
- Evaluate and validate forecasting algorithms and model performance.
- Drive adoption of ML-generated forecasts within regional planning teams.
- Develop governance processes for forecast review, exception management, and continuous model improvement.
- Promote a data-driven forecasting culture across the organization.
4. SAP IBP Demand Planning Excellence
- Serve as the global business lead for SAP IBP Demand Planning.
- Optimize SAP IBP functionalities including:
- Statistical Forecasting
- Demand Sensing
- Forecast Consumption
- Segmentation and Analytics
- Collaboration Workflows
- Alert Monitoring and Exception Management
- Drive system enhancements and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure effective integration between SAP IBP and ERP systems.
- Develop advanced dashboards, reporting, and planning analytics to support business decisions.
- Maximize user adoption and utilization of SAP IBP capabilities.
5. Forecast Performance Management
- Monitor and report global forecast accuracy metrics.
- Lead root-cause analysis for forecast deviations.
- Implement corrective actions to improve planning performance.
6. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with Commercial, Finance, Operations, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Supply Planning teams.
- Support business planning, budgeting, and strategic initiatives.
- Provide demand insights to support inventory optimization and capacity planning.
- Drive consensus forecasting processes across global regions.
- Work on 5-year volume planning with the regional teams based on management decision on planning frequency.
7. Data & Analytics Leadership
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- Establish data governance standards for forecasting inputs.
- Drive advanced analytics and predictive planning capabilities.
- Identify opportunities for automation and digital transformation.
- Deliver actionable business insights from demand trends, customer behavior, and market intelligence.
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- Graduated with a bachelor's degree / master’s in business administration in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, Statistics, Data Analytics, or related field.
- 5-7 years of Demand Planning, Supply Chain Planning, or Integrated Business Planning experience.
- Proven experience managing global or multi-regional demand planning organizations.
- Hands-on experience with SAP IBP Demand Planning.
- Experience implementing Machine Learning forecasting solutions.
- Strong background in S&OP / IBP processes.
- Fluency in English, both written and spoken, other languages are a plus (for example Dutch, Chinese, German, Spanish)
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Contact
SIG Talent Acquisition Team
Phone: +49 246 279 1436
Email: recruiting@sig.biz
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