Demand Planner

KAO; City Of London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beauty brand is seeking a Demand Planner to join their team in London. In this role, you'll analyze data and market trends to create accurate demand forecasts that support sales plans and inventory management. Ideal candidates will have 3–5 years of experience in demand planning, strong analytical skills, and experience with ERP systems. The position offers the chance to work collaboratively across functions and contribute directly to business performance.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years’ experience in demand planning or merchandising, ideally in beauty or FMCG.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel and communicate with teams across different countries.

Responsibilities

• Own, develop and drive demand planning 12-month forecasts.
• Gather information regarding product demands for accurate forecasting.
• Improve forecasting accuracy by proposing corrective actions.
• Organize and lead monthly demand planning meetings.

Skills

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Inventory management

Forecasting accuracy improvement

Advanced Excel skills

Knowledge of ERP systems

Relationship building

Communication across teams

Education

Degree or professional qualification

Tools

ERP systems

Statistical forecasting software

PowerBI

Python or R

Job description

The Role:

We are seeking a Demand Planner to join our team at Molton Brown. In this role, you will work closely with Sales, Marketing, Production, and the wider Supply Chain to analyse historical data, assess market trends, and build accurate demand forecasts. Your work will play an important role in supporting sales plans, ensuring effective inventory management, and helping us maintain strong service levels for our customers. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with data, collaborating across functions, and contributing directly to business performance.

Key Requirements:

• Own, develop and drive Molton Brown Demand Planning 12-month forecasts utilising KAO forecasting system & tools.
• To work with the Molton Brown Commercial teams regionally to gather all information regarding product demands for their customers is used to maximum effect in establishing an internal forecast that reflects actuals as closely as possible, e.g. promotion`s planning input, NPD volumes validation.
• To continuously improve forecasting accuracy by analysing the demands vs actual sales & proposing corrective actions for both products forecast and process optimization. To deliver monthly reports on forecast deviation and proposals on improvements on demand planning parameters to reach ultimately the best practice benchmark.
• Be the key demand planning contact for sales and marketing team for stock availability and allocation queries and any other ad-hoc support required. Work with them to maximise sales opportunities.
• To provide analysis of write-off risks and disposal costs for Finished Goods, Components & raw materials (with support from supply planners) to identify slow movers and enable short-term sales and marketing activities to minimize any financial risk.
• To organize and lead monthly demand planning meetings with appropriate consensus from Cross Functional Teams and sign offs on decisions with the
• Joint responsibility with the Supply Planner(s) to ensure that inventory levels are optimized and maintained at the targeted levels.

What you will do:

• Degree or professional qualification preferred, but not essential
• 3–5 years’ experience in demand planning or merchandising, ideally in beauty or FMCG
• Supply Chain knowledge or subject matter expertise is an advantage
• Experience with ERP systems and/or statistical forecasting software
• Advanced Excel skills (PowerQuery, PowerPivot, Macros, PowerBI)
• Knowledge of Python or R is a plus
• Proven ability to build strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders
• Experience managing short- and medium-term objectives independently
• Willingness to travel and communicate with teams across different countries

Molton Brown is part of Kao founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people's lives with our high-quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all - a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all areas of the global community.