Strategy & Business Planner *ONSITE

Williams Distributing; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Williams Distributing seeks a Sales Planning Manager to bolster sales planning and business management through data analysis, reporting, and project coordination. You will support management decision-making with timely, accurate information across Sales, Marketing, Operations, Purchasing, Finance, Branch Management, and Daikin corporate stakeholders.

The role emphasizes data gathering, validation, and dashboards to enable sales productivity and operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of experience in business analysis, sales operations, inventory planning, or related analytical roles.
• Experience with Excel in a professional environment is required; Power BI, SQL, ERP systems, or reporting platforms preferred.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and maintain recurring sales, margin, inventory, profitability, and product performance reports.
• Report product sales and forecasts to Corporate.
• Conduct market analysis in coordination with sales teams.
• Collect, validate, organize, and reconcile data from ERP, sales reporting, inventory, pricing, and other systems.
• Aggregate external market intelligence from industry associations and third-party sources.
• Analyze sales trends, customer activity, product performance, and program adoption.
• Assist with annual budget development and forecast updates.
• Support pricing, rebate, and margin analysis with data-driven insights.
• Maintain dashboards, KPI reports, and standardized reporting tools.
• Track strategic product and growth initiatives and other priorities.
• Assist with quote tracking, win-rate analysis, and account segmentation.
• Conduct inventory analysis and identify branch-balancing opportunities.
• Prepare presentations and business summaries for leadership and vendor meetings.

Skills

Sales analytics

Data analysis

Forecasting

Excel

Power BI

SQL

ERP (P21)

CRM tools

Reporting

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Accounting, Data Analytics, Supply Chain, Marketing

Tools

Power BI

SQL

ERP systems (P21)

CRM tools

Job description

The Sales Planning Manager supports Williams Distributing's sales planning and business management activities through data analysis, reporting, process administration, and project coordination. This position serves as an analytical resource and assists in providing timely, accurate, and actionable business information to Sales, Marketing, Operations, Purchasing, Finance, Branch Management, and Daikin corporate stakeholders. The role focuses on data gathering, validation, analysis, reporting, and follow-through that enables management decision-making and supports sales productivity and operational efficiency.

Position Responsibilities may include:

• Prepare and maintain recurring sales, margin, inventory, profitability, customer, and product performance reports.
• Responsible for reporting product sales and forecasts to Corporate
• Conducts market analysis in coordination with the sales teams
• Collect, validate, organize, and reconcile data from ERP, sales reporting, inventory, pricing, and other business systems.
• Collect and compile external market intelligence — market share, economic indicators, and permit/housing data — from industry associations, housing associations, and third-party research providers.
• Analyze sales trends, customer activity, product performance, market indicators, and program adoption rates.
• Assist with annual budget development, forecast updates, target-setting exercises, and performance tracking.
• Support pricing, rebate, and margin analysis by compiling data, identifying trends, and preparing management summaries.
• Maintain dashboards, scorecards, KPI reports, and standardized reporting tools for management review.
• Track and report on strategic product and growth program initiatives and other company priorities.
• Assist with quote tracking, win-rate analysis, customer segmentation, dealer activity reviews, and follow-up reporting.
• Conduct inventory analysis — excess and slow-moving inventory, vendor/category performance, and inventory turns — and identify branch-balancing opportunities for Purchasing and Operations review.
• Prepare presentations, supporting schedules, and business summaries for leadership meetings, branch reviews, vendor meetings, and corporate requests.
• Assist with account maintenance, territory alignment, ship-to/account cleanup, data integrity initiatives,

Nature & Scope:

• Operates as an analytical and project support resource within the Sales Planning function.
• Applies working knowledge under the general supervision of the Manager, Sales Planning; supports day-to-day reporting, analysis, and process execution.
• Handles assignments of moderate complexity using established methods and some judgment, escalating non-routine issues to management.
• Supports business decision-making by gathering and validating data, identifying trends, and documenting findings; final decisions are made by management.
• Requires strong attention to detail, data integrity, follow-through, and the ability to manage recurring responsibilities and ad hoc requests.
• Regularly interacts with cross-functional, branch, and corporate stakeholders.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Strong analytical, quantitative, problem-solving, and data organization skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookup functions, conditional formulas, data cleansing, and report development.
• Ability to organize, analyze, and interpret large datasets and identify trends, anomalies, and business opportunities.
• Ability to capture and document business and reporting requirements from multiple sources.
• Working knowledge of Power BI, SQL/data extraction concepts, ERP systems such as P21, CRM tools, or reporting platforms preferred; this is a business analysis and reporting support role, not a data-science or data-engineering position.
• Understanding of wholesale distribution, sales operations, inventory management, pricing, margin, profitability, and external market/industry data concepts preferred.
• Ability to prepare clear reports, summaries, dashboards, and presentations for management review.
• Strong written/verbal communication, organization, project coordination, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks while collaborating effectively across departments.

Experience:

• 3-6 years of experience in business analysis, sales operations, inventory planning, financial analysis, reporting, distribution operations, or a related analytical role preferred.
• Internship or early-career experience involving data analysis, reporting, forecasting, inventory management, or business process improvement is beneficial.
• Experience using Excel in a professional environment required; exposure to Power BI, SQL, ERP systems, or reporting platforms preferred.

Education/Certification:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Accounting, Data Analytics, Supply Chain, Marketing, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combinations of education, analytical capability, and relevant business experience may be considered.

People Management: No

Physical Requirements / Work Environment:

• Must be able to perform essential responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodations.

The Company provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of a person’s race, color, religion (including religious dress or grooming practices), creed, national origin (including language use restrictions), citizenship, uniform service member or veteran status, ancestry, disability, physical or mental disability (including HIV/AIDS), medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, request for protected leave, marital status, sex, pregnancy, age (over 40), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law. The Company will comply with all federal and state regulations and statutes pertaining to individuals with disabilities.