Demand Planner (Dubai Based)

Role objective

Demand planning and inventory

• Forecast demand using sales data and market trends in collaboration with distributors.
• Coordinate with supply planners to deliver new product developments and relaunches on time and in full.
• Monitor supply-chain performance KPIs and identify process-improvement opportunities.
• Manage distributor inventory to support sales and improve utilization; control demand and replenishment by SKU classification.
• Develop depletion plans for excess, blocked and short-shelf-life stock and align them with stakeholders.

Reporting and collaboration

• Report monthly on inventory days on hand, forecast accuracy and waste risks and depletion plans.
• Report SKU-level NS and IMS forecast accuracy for M+3 and M+1 for owned categories and markets.
• Track distributor stock coverage and expected year-end landing.
• Work with sales, marketing and finance; communicate supply-chain status, resolve demand issues and lead forecast cycles for business planning.
• Build distributor forecasting capabilities to stabilize forecasts and minimize waste from forecast fluctuations.

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university focused on engineering, logistics or supply chain.
• 5+ years of demand or supply planning experience in an FMCG company or similar industry.

Skills and languages

• High proficiency in MS Office, particularly advanced Excel; SAP R/3 and APO knowledge is advantageous.
• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, business-process understanding, teamwork and ability to work autonomously.
• Urgency, timely root-cause analysis and problem solving, and excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written English is mandatory; Arabic is a plus.