Demand Planning Manager

AFL; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Demand Planning and Forecasting expert to enhance their optical fiber network solutions. This role involves managing demand planning processes, producing reports on purchase commitments, and collaborating with various teams to ensure accurate forecasting. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of demand planning methodologies and experience with tools like Salesforce and Oracle. Join a forward-thinking company that prioritizes customer satisfaction and sustainability in its operations, making a significant impact in the EMEA region.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of demand planning processes is essential.
• Experience with Salesforce and Oracle is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Proactively troubleshoot cost, quality, and delivery concerns.
• Manage risk relating to quality, cost, delivery, and supply of purchases.
• Drive the SOIP monthly demand review meetings with recommended changes.

Skills

Demand Planning

Forecasting

Cost Management

Quality Assurance

Trend Analysis

Education

Degree in Business Administration

Degree in Supply Chain Management

Tools

Salesforce

Oracle

Excel

Job description

Founded in 1984, AFL is an industry-recognized global leader in optical fiber network infrastructure. Our customer-first, high-speed fiber network solutions serve various markets – including energy, enterprise, and hyperscale – across 130+ countries. Products and services include single- and multi-mode optical fiber cable, test and inspection equipment, and our award-winning Data Center Interconnect solution, enabling centralized resource management for enhanced performance across multiple data center facilities.

Our recent European expansion brings end-to-end, sustainable optical fiber solutions closer to our valued EMEA customers, prioritizing customer satisfaction while lowering emissions in line with our Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy.

AFL is headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, with facilities in multiple global locations, including the UK, Canada, India, China, Mexico, and Australia. AFL is a subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd.

Demand Planning and Forecasting

• Proactively troubleshoot cost, quality and delivery concerns
• Produce regular reports on purchase commitments, costs and delivery performance and share them at an established cadence with stakeholders
• Manage risk relating to quality, cost, delivery and supply of purchases
• Serve as key point of contact between demand and supply planning functions
• Support forecasting for projects and new product introduction initiatives
• Develop and implement demand planning and sales forecasting processes, data collection and reporting, tracking and reporting of KPI’s
• Contribute to future development of Sales and Operations Planning process
• Manage demand planning files to ensure accuracy; activity monitor and adjust Model % allocation as needed based on current trend analysis
• Drive the SOIP monthly demand review meetings with recommended changes to forecast
• Using demand planning methodology and trend/variance root cause analysis- make demand planning corrective actions and improvements
• Liaise with Product Management and Marketing teams relating to New Product forecasting, including updating demand file with current projections
• Knowledge of Oracle or similar forecasting system preferred
• Use and maintain the Demand Planning Excel models as the primary forecasting system tool
• Work with both Marketing and Sales on SKU level transition plan, track execution and call out risk and drive agreement when off-track
• Manage portfolio productivity with Marketing by target setting and driving necessary action
• Lead coordination efforts with Operations, Product Management, Finance, Customer Service, for product families within the business
• Develop multiple metrics to validate forecasting accuracy, as per industry standards and communicate corrective action(s) to ensure timely resolution within the Integrated Business Planning cycle
• Interact with Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service to understand demand forecast drivers

Preferred qualifications & experience

• Strong understanding of demand planning processes
• Degree in Business Administration/ Supply Chain Management
• Experience with Salesforce and Oracle desirable
• Integrated Business Planning experience would be highly advantageous