Location: Hershey, PA

Job location: Hybrid

Reports to: Sr. Manager, Large Format Planning

 

 

 

Summary of Role:

The Sr Analyst Planning is accountable for the management and integration of data from Marketing, Sales, Customers, and Finance which are used to develop accurate and timely forecasts supporting Operations, Sales and Financial Planning. The planner is responsible for providing guidance, analysis, and oversight for their assigned customer group to ensure alignment with business direction and consistency with market trends.  Responsibilities include developing Gross Sales and Trade plans and the assumptions behind them and communicating plans through the Integrated Dynamic Planning platform, the IBM Demand process, and Supply Chain. 

 

 

 

Role Responsibilities:

Develop accurate forecasts of all line items for their accountable customer/segment of the business by using a combination of statistical forecasting integrated with insights gained via partnering with Sales and Finance departments. Ensure consistent integration into the forecast of customer insights, base business trends, merchandising promotional plans, new item volumes, plan-o-gram changes and seasonal volume with the goal of reducing working capital and minimizing forecast error. Manage Trade Promotion planning for assigned customer/segment. Work cross functionally toward continuous improvement of forecast accuracy and improve the error rate, leveraging WMAPE and Bias. Comprehensively analyzes the business to understand implications to Plan and Consensus. Works collaboratively with Key Stakeholders in the development of KPIs to track and monitor in-year performance

 

 

 

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Works with relevant teams to identify, isolate, and appropriately size R&Os; grasps challenges and topline/bottom line impact associated with gap-filling activities, assesses solutions and understands trade-offs, and influences/enables key decision making to maximize financial targets, minimize costs, and protect customer relationships. Maintains thorough and explicit record of key planning assumptions by building block and key driver/initiative within PlanEx. Serves as the voice for both Sales and IDP in core organizational processes (e.g., KEM Meetings, SKU Rationalization, product hierarchy changes)

 

 

 

Requirements:

Education - Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree preferred. Experience – Minimum 3 years of experience in Marketing, Sales, Category Management, Analytics, Finance, or Demand Planning Foundational understanding of the P&L, building blocks, mix implications, and growth levers

 

 

 

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