Senior Demand & Planning Lead

Job Title: Senior Demand & Planning Lead Location: Remote Summary: The Senior Demand & Planning Lead is responsible for leading the company's Demand Planning, Sales & Operations Execution (S&OE), and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes. This role drives forecast accuracy, inventory productivity, service levels, and cross-functional alignment through disciplined, data-driven planning. The position serves as the operational owner of the planning cadence, consolidating demand, supply, and inventory insights to support executive decision-making and improve business performance. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Employee must be able to perform these essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, absent undue hardship. Demand Planning & Forecasting * Own the demand planning process across business segments, product categories, and key SKU groupings. * Develop, maintain, and improve statistical and business-informed forecasts. * Identify trends, seasonality, risks, and opportunities impacting revenue, inventory, and service. * Partner with Sales, Category Management, and Supply Chain to align forecast assumptions. * Drive forecast improvements through segmentation, exception-based planning, and forecast value add (FVA). S&OE (Sales & Operations Execution) * Lead weekly S&OE cadence to balance short-term supply and demand. * Facilitate execution meetings focused on constraints, shortages, inventory risks, and fill-rate performance. * Identify and escalate critical business exceptions requiring executive decisions. * Coordinate cross-functional action plans with Procurement, Operations, and Commercial teams. S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) * Manage the monthly S&OP process and executive review cadence. * Consolidate demand, supply, inventory, and financial assumptions into a single operating plan. * Prepare executive-ready insights and recommendations for leadership review. * Drive alignment between operational execution and business objectives. KPI Ownership & Analytics * Own planning KPIs including WAPE, Forecast Bias, FVA, Fill Rate, Inventory Turns, and Excess & Obsolete Inventory. * Develop dashboards, scorecards, and executive reporting. * Analyze data to identify root causes and corrective actions at SKU, category, and supplier levels. Process Improvement & Planning Maturity * Improve planning processes, governance, and standard work. * Establish exception-based workflows to prioritize the highest-value opportunities. * Support future planning system enhancements, automation, and AI-enabled analytics. * Manage special projects and perform other duties as assigned. * Comply with the requirements of the company's ISO 9001 Quality Management System (when required). Physical Requirements: * Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. * Regular visual effort involving analysis of reporting and system data. * Occasional travel as business needs require. Required Education/Experience/Skills: * Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Engineering, Analytics, or related field. * 5+ years of experience in demand planning, supply chain planning, forecasting, inventory management, or S&OP. * Advanced Excel and analytical skills. * Experience facilitating cross-functional planning meetings. * Strong communication and executive presentation capabilities. Preferred Education/Experience/Skills: * Experience in aftermarket parts, industrial distribution, manufacturing, or high-SKU environments. * Deep understanding of S&OP/S&OE/IBP processes. * Experience with ERP/MRP software such as NetSuite & SAP ByDesign * Strong facilitation and change management skills.