Demand Planner (Health & Baby)

About this role

Clicks Group is looking for a Demand Planner based in Cape Town. The role focuses on forecasting demand for assigned categories, so that the business can grow sales, protect margins and use its stock and working capital well.

What you’ll do

• Create and manage statistical, promotional, event and total forecasts for new and existing product ranges, using the company’s systems and tools.
• Spot forecast exceptions, track actual sales against forecast and check forecasts for open-to-buy planning.
• Identify the factors that drive forecast changes, such as weather, events and promotions, and adjust your plans to suit.
• Work with stakeholders to spot trends, flag new products, assess risk and set inventory and replenishment needs.
• Prepare accurate, on-time management reports and track key metrics against targets.
• Review post-promotion and event results, and lead and prepare for consensus forecast meetings.
• Support the range review process and the Category team with category operating plans and sales, margin and stock targets.

What you need

• A Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Decision Science, Business or a related area, or equivalent experience.
• Strong planning and buying experience, with a solid grasp of financial and statistical analysis.
• 2 to 4 years of experience in distribution requirement planning and other supply chain processes, such as demand planning, production planning, scheduling and transportation.
• Knowledge of FMCG, supply chain and logistics, data analysis models, and how to fine-tune algorithms for better forecast performance.
• Understanding of customer needs, market trends and competitor activity.
• Proficiency in MS Office, including Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint, and experience with spreadsheets and databases.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and business maths skills, including retail calculations such as variance to last year and open-to-buy.
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• Advantageous: 1 to 2 years of experience planning and running projects across several teams.
• Advantageous: Experience in retail buying or logistics.
• Advantageous: Knowledge of supply chain software.
• Advantageous: Knowledge of financial planning models and supplier performance management.

Is this job for you?

This role suits a planner who enjoys numbers and can turn data into clear decisions. You should be comfortable working with buyers, category teams and other departments, and you should be able to explain your forecasts to people who do not work with data every day.

Tips before you apply

• Have your degree certificate and a recent CV ready. Mention the degree field and any equivalent experience clearly.
• Give examples of forecasts you built or improved, with the results you measured, such as accuracy or stock levels.
• Show your years of demand or supply chain planning experience in dates and roles, so the 2 to 4 year requirement is easy to check.

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