Local Demand Planner

As a trusted partner, our Public Health mission is to make food systems safer, healthier and more sustainable. Throughout our global network in 27 countries, we offer to our customers a wide range of testing and innovative solutions dedicated to preventing health risks related to food, environment and consumer goods. External growth has been a key pillar of our history with more than 40 acquisitions completed in the last 10 years.

If you want to contribute to an inspiring long-term purpose, to be part of a fast growing company on a high-value market with significant build-up opportunities, and to grow in an entrepreneurial and warm environment, join us!

We are looking for a Demand Planner to join the UKI Supply Chain team. The role converts market and customer insight into a robust demand plan, connecting commercial ambition with supply capability and financial expectations. Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Customer Supply and regional/global Supply Chain teams, the Demand Planner will support strong customer service while balancing inventory, cost and risk.

The organisation is undertaking a global transformation from traditional Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) to Integrated Business Planning (IBP). The Demand Planner acts as the UKI IBP leader in this new process, connecting commercial, financial and supply perspectives and turning business intelligence into one aligned demand plan in volume and value. The role will make assumptions, risks and opportunities visible, support scenario-based decisions and help embed IBP as the standard way of working across UKI.

Reporting to the UKI Supply Chain Manager, the Demand Planner will work as an integral member of the UKI Supply Chain team, with close day-to-day collaboration across Demand Planning, Logistics and Customer Supply to align priorities, manage risks and deliver effective end-to-end supply chain outcomes. This role is based in Basingstoke in the office where we offer hybrid working of up to 2 days at home.

What will your responsibilities be?

• Own and maintain the UKI demand plan across agreed planning horizons, ensuring forecasts are timely, accurate and supported by clear assumptions.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to convert market, customer, tender and commercial insight into an aligned demand forecast.
• Extract and analyse the sales opportunities pipeline from Salesforce or a comparable CRM system, working with Sales and Marketing to translate opportunities, timing, probability and expected volumes into demand assumptions.
• Lead the monthly Demand Review, analysing actuals, orders, trends, forecast accuracy and bias, and agreeing corrective actions.
• Lead the UKI IBP cycle, coordinating cross-functional alignment, pre-reads, decision meetings and action follow-up.
• Reconcile the demand plan with Finance in volume and value, explaining gaps to budget and the impact of price, mix and changing assumptions.
• Prepare upside and downside scenarios, quantifying the customer, revenue, inventory and supply implications to support decisions.
• Focus discussions on material exceptions, risks and opportunities, translating complex data into clear recommendations and required decisions.
• Integrate product lifecycle, launch, substitution, discontinuation and equipment forecasts into the demand plan.
• Identify and support mitigation of shortages, allocation requirements, back orders, shelf-life, excess stock and obsolescence risks.
• Act as the UKI demand-planning process owner and IBP leader, championing the global transformation from S&OP to IBP through strong governance, data quality, deployment, training, adoption and continuous improvement.
• Represent UKI with regional and global Supply Chain teams, escalating local priorities and sharing best practice.
• Work collaboratively across the UKI Supply Chain team, particularly with Logistics and Customer Supply, to coordinate priorities, resolve operational issues and support strong customer service and end-to-end execution.

Who are you?

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Finance, Analytics or a related discipline.
• Minimum three years of relevant experience in demand planning, supply planning, S&OP/IBP or a comparable analytical supply chain role; experience in IVD, medical devices or pharmaceuticals is desirable.
• Good understanding of demand planning, forecasting, inventory management, product lifecycle management and S&OP/IBP processes.
• Experience using SAP APO, SAP IBP or comparable enterprise planning tools, with strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills. Experience using Salesforce or a comparable CRM system to extract and analyse the sales opportunities pipeline is desirable.
• Strong analytical and numerical capability, with the ability to interpret complex data, identify root causes and turn findings into practical recommendations.
• Commercial and financial awareness, with confidence linking volume assumptions to revenue, budget and business performance.
• Ability to challenge constructively, facilitate cross-functional discussions and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Clear communicator who can present assumptions, risks, scenarios and recommendations to both operational and leadership audiences.
• Well organised, able to manage conflicting priorities and deliver to a structured monthly planning calendar.
• Business- and customer-oriented, collaborative, curious and committed to continuous improvement.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

Full job description from WhatJobs. Apply for this role →