Demand Planning SME - o9 IBP & SOE

Overview

Demand Planning SME for the o9 IBP and S&OP planning solution in the AMEA region, combining demand planning ownership with testing, training and go-live support for the new platform.

What you'll do

• Contribute to the demand management cycle of the integrated business planning (IBP) process for your categories and to strategy and structure discussions.
• Liaise with commercial and operational teams and develop ways to continuously improve communication between functions to support delivery of business KPIs for your families.
• Manage the forecast compilation process, owning the short-term weekly plan and the long-term forecast (three or more months).
• Interact with the modelling team to generate statistical forecasting.
• Participate in the integrated business planning process and manage the demand planning tool.
• Perform root-cause analysis for continuous plan improvement on key service issues, forecast error and bias, and share output with appropriate leadership.
• Develop the 0-24-month IBP forecast by brand and at SKU level, coordinating, challenging and influencing the building block with input from sales, marketing and other partners.
• Review the disaggregated short-term demand plan, including SKU/location mix and weekly pacing.
• Provide the finalized detailed demand plan by SKU to supply planners and adjust it based on feedback from supply planners or commercial teams.
• Execute Integration Test (iTest) and UAT test scripts end-to-end for Demand Planning processes, ensuring 100% script coverage as per the test strategy.
• Validate pre-load and post-load data accuracy during User Cutover Testing (UCUT), flagging discrepancies and coordinating resolution with the data and cutover teams.
• Perform security role validation, testing user access, roles and permissions ahead of each testing phase.
• Log, track and follow up on defects in qTest/Jira, ensuring timely resolution within SLA and supporting retesting of failed test cases.
• Execute E2E scenario testing including cross-stream scenarios with Data Science, Supply Planning and IBP Support.
• Support pre-test preparation including batch job readiness, test script pre-requisites documentation and environment checks.
• Participate in daily testing war rooms, morning kick-offs and end-of-day recaps to report progress, blockers and pass rates.
• Support delivery of Pre-UAT and UAT training sessions for BU end users, including o9 system basics, Day-in-the-Life (DILO) walkthroughs and advanced DP system training.
• Conduct shadow testing sessions walking end users through test scripts and o9 navigation.
• Act as a go-to resource for end users during testing phases, providing real-time guidance on o9 processes and ways of working.
• Support the BU Champion in change management activities, user communications and adoption governance.
• Contribute to training material review and localization for BU-specific contexts.
• Assist end users in running parallel run DILO/MILO cycles using real business cases, participate in BU Readiness Checkpoints and contribute to UAT sign-off documentation.
• Provide hypercare support post go-live as the first point of contact for end-user queries and issues, and document lessons learned.
• Support institutionalization of new ways of working and standard operating procedures in the o9 platform.
• Ensure high data quality before modelling runs, co-working with market planners and stakeholders on master, transaction and driver data.
• Work closely with data scientists to maintain the highest degree of forecast accuracy at item and planning account level based on industry trends and demand patterns.
• Conduct forecast review and analysis to assess demand trends, measure forecast accuracy and recommend data-driven adjustments.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support product lifecycle milestones and accurate demand planning for new items.
• Propose and implement forecasting improvements to enhance demand accuracy and efficiency.
• Partner with market planners to review KPIs, gather market insights and translate them into actionable forecast adjustments.
• Monitor KPI metrics to ensure they consistently meet business goals, and provide weekly performance recaps including ASE performance reviews, root cause analysis and action plans.

What you'll need

• A desire to drive your future and accelerate your career.
• Experience in a fast-moving consumer goods or consumer packaged goods environment.
• Experience within an IBP/S&OP environment.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams, working on priorities and improving the plan.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, able to understand and interpret data.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Team player who can work with many other functions on a daily basis.
• Solid understanding of Demand Planning processes (statistical forecasting, consensus planning, demand sensing).
• 4–8 years of relevant experience in Supply Chain Planning or a related operational role.
• Familiarity with planning tools or systems; exposure to advanced planning solutions (o9, Kinaxis, OMP, SAP IBP) is a necessity.
• Strong attention to detail, with ability to execute test scripts methodically and identify data discrepancies.
• Comfortable working with testing tools (qTest, Jira) and documenting test results and defects.
• Good communication skills, with ability to train and support peers in a clear, structured manner.
• Collaborative mindset, able to work in cross-functional, multi-market teams under tight timelines.
• Growth mindset, quick learner, and comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced transformation environment.
• Proficiency in English.
• Bachelor's Degree or postgraduate, with relevant demand planning experience.

Nice to have

• Experience in food or other fast-moving, dynamic industry where shelf life is a constraint.
• Additional regional language skills.

Details

• Location: Mumbai, India.
• No relocation support available.
• Job type: Regular. Department: Demand Planning, Customer Service & Logistics.