Demand Planning Manager

PinnacleU; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,600,000; Full time

Job summary

PinnacleU is seeking an experienced Demand Planning Manager in Bengaluru to own end-to-end demand planning for our brands, driving seasonal planning, forecasting, inventory strategy, and Open-to-Buy management. You will leverage data, analytics, and AI to ensure the right inventory is available across channels while maximizing sales and profitability.

Key responsibilities include building and improving forecasts across categories, channels, and SKUs using statistical methods and AI-driven

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of demand or merchandise planning experience in footwear, apparel, sports, or retail.
• Strong expertise in demand forecasting, OTB, inventory planning, and weekly trading processes.
• Experience across retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels.
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills; exposure to SQL, Python, or BI tools is a plus.
• Practical experience using AI tools to improve planning, forecasting, or analytics.

Responsibilities

• Own seasonal merchandise financial planning, including sales, inventory, margin, and OTB.
• Build and continuously improve demand forecasts across categories, channels, and SKUs using statistical methods and AI-driven forecasting.
• Drive weekly business reviews, reforecast demand, monitor inventory health, and recommend actions on allocations, replenishment, markdowns, and promotions.
• Track and improve key planning KPIs including forecast accuracy, stock turn, weeks of cover, ageing, and stock efficiency.
• Build dashboards, automate planning workflows, and use AI tools to enhance forecasting, scenario planning, and reporting.
• Partner with Merchandising, Supply Chain, Finance, and Commercial teams to align inventory with business objectives.

Skills

Demand forecasting

OTB

Inventory planning

Weekly trading

Excel

SQL

Python

BI tools

AI tools

Data analytics

Tools

SQL

Python

BI tools

Job description

As Demand Planning Manager, you will own end-to-end demand planning for one of our brands, driving seasonal planning, forecasting, inventory strategy, and Open-to-Buy (OTB) management. You'll leverage data, analytics, and AI to ensure the right inventory is available across channels while maximizing sales, profitability, and inventory productivity.

Key Responsibilities

• Own seasonal merchandise financial planning, including sales, inventory, margin, and OTB.
• Build and continuously improve demand forecasts across categories, channels, and SKUs using statistical methods and AI-driven forecasting.
• Drive weekly business reviews, reforecast demand, monitor inventory health, and recommend actions on allocations, replenishment, markdowns, and promotions.
• Track and improve key planning KPIs including forecast accuracy, stock turn, weeks of cover, ageing, and stock efficiency.
• Build dashboards, automate planning workflows, and use AI tools to enhance forecasting, scenario planning, and reporting.
• Partner with Merchandising, Supply Chain, Finance, and Commercial teams to align inventory with business objectives.

What We're Looking For

• 3-5 years of demand or merchandise planning experience in footwear, apparel, sports, or retail.
• Strong expertise in demand forecasting, OTB, inventory planning, and weekly trading processes.
• Experience across retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels.
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills; exposure to SQL, Python, or BI tools is a plus.
• Practical experience using AI tools to improve planning, forecasting, or analytics.
• A builder's mindset with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.