Hunter Campbell is pleased to bring you our updated Supply Chain Salary & Employment Forecast Series.
This series will profile Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement and Technical positions with information including jobs in demand, salaries and employment prospects with recently updated information to reflect salary changes and changing market conditions.
In our first instalment, the role of Demand Planner is in the spotlight.
Purpose of the role
Demand Planners play an essential role in the Supply Chain of a company. They use the analytical, marketing, and sales data of a company to effectively and accurately forecast future product demands. Effective performance can have a significant impact on the bottom line and overall performance levels of effective Supply Chain management and customer delivery.
Key skills required
- Analytical capability and data modelling – the ability to work with large datasets and develop diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics models is a critical prerequisite. At a minimum, a Demand Planner must have a clear understanding of the analytics ecosystem and a foundational understanding of statistics and probability.
- Business acumen – it goes without saying that the ability to understand the commercial and operational dynamics of the business remain crucial to success. Beyond the data crunch, understanding the “why” and the business impact of commercial forecast drivers is a pivotal skill.
- Relationship management and ability to influence – as the unbiased arbiter, the Demand Planner should have the ability to influence decisions and translate business impact to stakeholders across different organisational functions well beyond the Supply Chain.
Career prospects
Demand Planners operate at the intersection of the sales team, business leaders, and other key stakeholders across areas such as NPD (New Product Development), Finance and Manufacturing. For this reason, Demand Planners work in a high visibility role and hold relationships in key elements of the company. If an individual proves capable as a collaborator and influencer among key stakeholders and business leaders, then they will likely be sought after for management roles in S&OP, Integrated Business Planning (IBP), Senior Planning or broader Supply Chain management roles.
Recruitment forecast
As Supply Chain evolution increases in complexity, businesses continue to see the skill gap widen as Demand Planner positions become harder to fill.
In recent years we have faced a series of major national and global events that have caused severe disruptions to supply chain and customer delivery. The impact on supply chain caused by COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and more recently the major weather events and Cyclone Gabrielle, has seen businesses become more concerned with Supply Chain risk and feedback points to an increased demand for specialists who offer sound decision-making, are able to mitigate risk, are able to improve performance and use big data to accurately forecast and plan current and future demand.
As a result, we expect businesses will continue to seek to augment their current team and capability with Demand Planners and specialists in S&OP and IBP who have demonstrable experience and capability. Additionally, companies are increasingly turning to new technology and analytics software in order to maintain efficient demand planning processes needed to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.
Salary guide
- Intermediate: $85,000 – $95,000
- Advanced: $100,000 – $120,000
- Leadership: $120,000
An experienced, accomplished Demand Planner capable of operating autonomously and who is able to influence and effectively manage accurate planning and forecasting can expect a base salary in the region of $85,000 – $90,000 (with $90000 becoming increasingly more typical).
Those individuals who take on increased responsibility in S&OP/IBP, optimisation, wider commercial and operational decision-making, or across more complex Supply Chains, command a salary in the region of $100,000 – $120,000. Management and leadership roles attract a salary upwards of $120,000 – though salaries for leadership roles in demand planning are typically in the region of $140000 – $150000 (and more for larger teams and particularly complex demand planning functions or those requiring significant optimisation/transformation).
Salaries for leadership roles vary considerably depending on the size of the team, scope of the role, number of SKU’s as well as the complexity of the Supply Chain, focus (i.e. more operational or more tactical/strategic or focused on optimisation).
If you would like to find out more about the role of Demand Planner, please contact Manager Wayne Fry. Wayne specialises in the recruitment of Supply Chain, Procurement & Operations roles. For more news and views visit our website by clicking here, see what opportunities we have available here or follow us on LinkedIn.
