Director of Forecasting and Planning Job Posting, New Jersey

Qualifications.....
-- BS degree in any discipline [Engineering, Mathematics, Business, or Other]. Advanced degree desirable.

-- 10+ years experience in Forecasting Demand Planning in a pharmaceutical or other FDA regulated environment.

-- Strong project management skills.

-- Expertise in sophisticated demand planning and forecasting tools [ie Manugistics Logility, Demand Solutions, etc.

-- Strong leadership, communication, and team building skills.

-- Knowledge of and experience in clinical materials and supplies,

-- IBF Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF)

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Senior Demand Planning Job Posting, IL USA

Principle duties include support over the implementation of a new S&OP process, managing the sales forecasting and demand planning process, and acting as the primary contact representative for sales and marketing when participating in the demand planning and supply planning process.
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Buy In and the Politics of Forecasting

Forecasting demand and safety stock can prevent delays, disruptions and overstock situations. However, a recent survey of 180 top retail, manufacturing and wholesale/distribution companies concluded that less than 30% of these companies surveyed do not have a process in place.

Planning Improves Processes, Lowers Costs

Now more than ever, top management should recognize the importance of forecasting and have a formal Sales and Operations Planning Process. Need some help? An article recently published in the Journal of Business Forecasting talks about the Politics of Forecasting and how to get buy in from upper management.

"The Politics of Forecasting In Sales And Operations Planning"
Chris Whisenant
Shaw Industries

“The Key Players of Politics In Corporate America Are The Executive Branch (senior Management), The Legislative Branch (sales And Marketing), And The Judicial Branch (finance) … To Win The Support Of Finance You Must Show Cost, Average Selling Prices And Margins … One-number Forecasting Is The Key To The Success of the S&OP Process.”

Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning/IBF members can download this for free, or non-members pay $10. Click Here to download and search more articles on demand planning, forecasting and Sales and Operations Planning.

The Demand Planner and the Road to Success

Browsing through recent Demand Planner job postings for 2009, it is clear that one must embrace all aspects of the Supply Chain and Operations field to find success.

Today hiring managers are looking for people who:

1) understand the process and how the forecast drives the supply chain
2) are proficient in the various forecasting models
3) are great communicators
4) have excellent analytical skills
5) have a business background
6) posses working knowledge of every forecasting ERP, MRP tool available
7) are able to forecast with POS and syndicated data
8) can forecast for new products

In addition practitioners must be able to juggle all this while keeping abreast of best practices in the field.

The skill set of a demand planner is certainly well diverse and the encouraging news is that improving upon all of these qualities can be quite rewarding as you climb the corporate ladder. Across the board, understanding forecasts is only the beginning of your journey to a successful career. In more experienced positions, you will find that traits such as leadership and salesmanship are crucial in order to lead Sales and Operations Planning Teams as well as your own team. How does the planner gain this skill set and when does the mentoring begin? Demand planning, as it does in many careers, requires on the job training as well as continuing education.

So how can you juggle all this and still stay true to the heart of the role? Perhaps just keeping in mind of these few things that were passed onto me recently from DP Recruiters and others in the field:

Spot on: Companies, especially now during these turbulent economic times, should recognize the importance of a good forecast, as it drives efficiencies and bottom line values.

Classic Rewind: The process never goes out of style.

Building a Foundation: The value of professionals with procurement and supply chain experience has indeed grown and it is believed these skills are now currently in the "top 10" in Europe which companies look for when hiring new staff.

KPI’s: Analyzing and reporting the right KPI’s to upper management can influence businesses to make intelligent decisions

You cannot afford NOT to do this: What is the use of building a forecast and analyzing the data when you are not measuring forecast accuracy. Continuous improvement goals should always be a part of the demand planning role.

Learn from a Mentor: Be a sponge and learn from your colleagues. Designate someone as a mentor and commit to being a mentor yourself at some point in your career…pay it forward!

KISS: Sometimes you only require an aspirin to alleviate the pain, not necessarily prescription pain killers. Same applies to forecasting. Start with the basics first when choosing a forecasting model and measure the accuracy. You may achieve better results this way, rather than complicating things.

IBF Responds to the Current Economic Crisis with Unprecedented Offer

IBF Extending Unprecedented Offer of Slashing Fee
Thursday, 15 January 2009

UNPRECEDENTED OFFER: CONFERENCE ONLY FEE, $595

The Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning (IBF) recognizes that these are difficult times for many companies. They realize that budgets for travel, professional development, training, and education have been temporarily slashed.

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Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning Publishes Special Issue on POS

Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning Publishes Special Issue on POS

Demand Woes

Forecast Tab
Originally uploaded by Gregula

Demand Higher than Expected for Converter Boxes, Gov’t in a Pickle
The drastic change in the economic climate and the resulting challenges this change has brought about in demand planning, has the government scrambling at the last minute. As a result the transition may need to be delayed. Is this situation unfortunately a common one, or are companies/organizations adapting to this new economy?

View Article Here: Demand Higher than Expected for Converter Boxes