Demand Planner

About the role

As the Demand Planner, you will be responsible for developing and maintaining high quality consensus demand plans for the organization by leveraging statistical analysis with the best available cross-functional inputs, and applying sound judgment based on knowledge of the business. This position will collaborate with the Business System Administrator and Forecast Modeler roles to optimize the performance of the statistical models/parameters used. This position will also partner with local and regional Sales and Marketing partners and product launch teams to reconcile business objectives and strategies to support the creation of the final consensus demand plan.

What you will do

• Create and maintain high quality demand forecasts and demand forecast analytics. Must assemble and analyze all data pertinent to creating/maintaining the demand forecast, including historical order bookings/shipments, item master data, market and macro-economic trends, seasonality, promotions, and product life-cycle management
• Serve as the primary demand planning contact for Marketing, Sales, and Finance business partners, as well as for the IBP Franchise Manager, Analyst or Global Operations Master Scheduler(s)
• Facilitate or lead the demand planning process, coordinating/consolidating plans with other Demand Planners, to ensure the process is effective and runs efficiently
• Act as a liaison to cross-functional senior management to provide education around the demand plan and its implications and risks and provide detailed documentation of key assumptions as part of each monthly review cycle
• Partner with the global IBP team to ensure demand plans are communicated effectively across the supply functions
• Successfully partner with cross-functional teams in the monthly demand planning working sessions and Executive Demand Reviews
• Ensure the demand plan is collected and approved by the required business and financial leaders as defined in the process flow per the required monthly cadence
• Represent the demand planning process within Stryker’s Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process, demonstrating thought leadership, creativity in solving problems, and the ability to appropriately communicate and escalate issues as needed
• Support execution of the product life-cycle management process for all new product launches and product exits as it relates to the demand planning function
• Monitor SKU levels and recommend rationalization initiatives for future considerations to Divisional/Global Operations leadership and make recommendations for targets based on changes in demand and market trends
• Partner with planning analyst(s) Forecast Modelers to create reporting of analytics to support the business needs for better information in decision-making
• Understand the corporate/departmental objectives for demand planning and ensure adherence to established standard business and system processes
• Assist with continuous improvements in development, modification and adjustment of procedures, policies, processes, and technologies within the demand planning organization
• Improve the demand forecast quality by effectively analyzing sources of forecast metrics and recommending appropriate action plans, collaborating with the central Forecasting Central team
• Maintain awareness of industry best practices and the ability to advocate for and translate those into forecasting practices where appropriate

What you need

• Bachelor's degree highly preferred; or in lieu of a degree, 6 years of equivalent experience will be considered, in addition to the requirements below
• 2+ years' experience required
• Experience in: Supply Chain Planning, Demand Management/Forecasting, Sales Operations/Planning, Finance/Accounting, or Marketing preferred
• Highly proficient in Excel
• Fluency in English

Preferred requirements

• Prior experience with demand planning tools like Oracle Demantra
• APICS/IBF or other professional certification in Supply Chain concepts
• Must understand end-to-end supply chain interactions and interdependencies
• Business experience in the medical device or related industry
• Cross-functional experience in related fields
• Fluency in a second language at International Divisions is a plus

About Stryker

Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology and Orthopaedics that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 150 million patients annually.